RIYADH: The Saudi gaming market boomed in 2020 as more people turned to their controllers and joysticks to pass the time during a year of lockdowns.
The gaming market in the Kingdom is estimated to be worth SR2.6 billion ($690 million) and its growth rate is among the highest in the world. The market is expected to reach SR9.5 billion by the end of the decade.
Online gaming in particular is one of the sectors currently recording strong growth.
Last week Saudi Arabia said it was measuring the gaming response times across its major telecoms networks in the latest move by the government to encourage investment in the booming industry.
The Kingdom’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has launched the ‘Game Mode’ initiative, to drive competition among telecom operators to provide the best experience for gamers.
It includes the launch of a quarterly award for the Internet service provider with the best response time for video gaming, a key indicator of the network’s performance, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
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