Saudi Arabia is moving aggressively with its investments in more gaming companies, the Canadian industry veteran steering the kingdom's push to become a global hub for the sector told AFP Friday.
"It's a good time to be in the market, looking for good teams in studios," said Ward, a former executive at"Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Microsoft. "There's a lot we want to do to get it done and to reach our targets at 2030," said Prince Faisal, who is also Savvy vice-chairman.
Saudi Arabia aims to create 250 gaming companies and studios on its soil, 39,000 game-related jobs, be in the top three of professional gamers per capita and to produce a blockbuster"AAA" game by 2030. "The tools are there... I think we can come up with not just the next great game, but the next great story."In 2020,"League of Legends" maker Riot Games backed out of a sponsorship deal with NEOM, a $500-billion futuristic Saudi city, after criticism from fans about doing"There's a lot of misconceptions about Saudi and who we are as Saudis," Prince Faisal said.