How Saudi Arabia’s esports push is turning play into a profession for budding gamers
RIYADH: For years, gaming in Saudi Arabia lived in the informal spaces of cafes, bedrooms and late-night Local Area Networks. Today, it resides on national stages.
With the Esports World Cup now anchored in Riyadh and a government strategy targeting tens of thousands of jobs, this is no longer just play — it is a career, forever changing what it means to be a gamer.
Few people have a better vantage point on this transformation than Faisal bin Homran, chief product officer at the Esports World Cup Foundation.
In an interview with Arab News, he traced a social shift that mirrors the sector’s rapid professionalization. He believes that for the average Saudi Arabia gamer, the idea of working in esports is no longer a niche ambition.
