Saudi Arabia has been investing huge amounts of money in sport for years. In addition to traditional sports, Saudi Arabia is also entering the field virtually and investing in E-Sports. The country is thus conquering a still young industry and is on the way to establishing itself as a new epicenter there.
It’s going to be packed up a notch: when the world’s best e-sports athletes come to the third edition of e-sports in the summer World Cup When she travels to Saudi Arabia, she expects total prize money of $75 million. That’s another five million US dollars more than last year.
And that’s hardly one event over, the next one is already waiting: E-sports will take place for the first time in November Nations Cup will take place in Riyadh, where not teams but nations will compete against each other. A world championship of countries with a cumulative prize pool of $25 million.
Investments of 40 billion dollars
Saudi Arabia is thus underlining its claim to become the center of the industry and to lead e-sports into a new era with its investments. This also includes the takeover of the game manufacturer Electronic Arts last September by a consortium around the Saudi Public Investment fund (PIF), which contributed 93 percent of the total $55 billion purchase price. The PIF also owns the games Pokémon Go and Monopoly Go and holds minority stakes in several development companies, including Nintendo.
The national one Gaming– and e-sports strategy is part of the “Vision 2030” designed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The desert state wants to become independent of its oil sales by 2030 and diversify its economy. The e-sports sector is expected to create 39,000 jobs by then and contribute a cumulative $13.3 billion to Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product. The investments going into the e-sports industry via the PIF are said to be at $40 billion. The Saudi government’s goal is to make the country a global esports sport by 2030.Hub to establish.
According to the Saudi “Family Statistics Report By 2024, around 70 percent of the population will be under 35 years old, and 67 percent of the population will play video games, which means that the games market in the country can be expected to have high growth rates: in 2024, the market volume was 1.77 billion US dollars. The World Tourism Forum Institute forecasts an increase to about $4.44 billion by 2033.
Investing in your own system of rule
The gaming industry benefits from the enormous amounts of money that the country invests in e-sports. “Because Saudi Arabia is not only willing to pay market prices, but Saudi Arabia is willing to pay a significant premium”says Professor Christoph Breuer, sports economist at the German Sport University in Cologne. However, it is questionable whether the investments will ultimately be worthwhile for Saudi Arabia. ‘A classic’Return on investment“The larger the investment, the more difficult it is to achieve.”said Breuer.
Sports economist Professor Christoph Breuer
The investments therefore probably not only serve an economic strategy, but also other purposes. “On the one hand, to use the world’s attention for sport in order to present ourselves there accordingly. On the other hand, the investment is also directed inwards.”says Breuer. “Saudi Arabia has an above-average young population and a very strict dictatorship. And if you give the young population games, so to speak, then the likelihood that they will rebel against the ruling system is presumably lower.”
Internationally, the Saudi government under de facto ruler Bin Salman is criticized primarily for its disregard for human rights. According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, 292 people were executed in the first ten months of last year alone. There were 345 executions in 2024 – disproportionately against foreign citizens and people from the Shiite minority. Amnesty criticized “grossly unfair trials” and the “Disregard for human life”.
Criticism of the Saudi investment
“If you had to draw a country that is contrary to e-sports in terms of its mechanisms and its political influences, then Saudi Arabia would be a bit like the supervillain from the comic in the sports scene.”says Timo Schöber, e-sports expert at the Institute for Ludology. E-sports stands for diversity, equality and tolerance. “These are all values that we unfortunately cannot find in Saudi Arabia.”
Critics accuse the country of this “Sportswashing” before. Sports economist Breuer also sees this as one of the main reasons for Saudi involvement in e-sports. “Of course, as with many investments or sponsorships, it’s about improving your own image. And that’s also the goal of these investments in e-sports. You want to appear as a dynamic, tech-savvy, entertainment-oriented nation.”says Breuer. “If we say that the intention of a positive image transfer for the state is one of the reasons for this investment, then one would say: Yes, it is therefore a type of sportswashing.”
Ralf Reichert, one of the pioneers of e-sports and now managing director of the E-Sports World Cup Foundation, unsurprisingly sees things differently. The investments are only economically and culturally justified. “Sport is first and foremost sport and not politics”claims Reichert. “And values are fair play and competition.” In addition, the image of Saudi Arabia is distorted and ignores political developments. The country is in transition: “Any person who has been to Saudi Arabia on business over the last few years has already noticed that the image of Saudi Arabia constructed in the media is very far removed from the reality on the ground.”
Europe as a location under pressure
With the enormous investments from Saudi Arabia, the existing e-sports centers in South Korea, North America and Europe are under pressure. “Europe as a location comes under pressure the more resources Saudi Arabia offers. Many people follow the lure of money”explains sports economist Breuer. “The question is whether enough can be offered or whether Europe will have to give up a larger piece of the pie in the longer term.”
We are still a successful location, but we must continue to innovate, says Breuer. In terms of infrastructure in particular, we are still well positioned: “The trade fairs and the large halls that we have in Europe certainly play a central role in this.” E-sports expert Timo Schöber criticizes that this advantage has already been given away. “It would now be up to us to develop our own platforms again.”
Saudi Arabia recently suffered a small setback with the cancellation of the Olympic E-Sports Games accept. The kingdom was actually supposed to host the tournament for a period of twelve years, starting in 2027. However, at the end of 2025, Saudi Arabia and the IOC terminated the contract after a joint review. The games should still come – with a different organizer.
