This move is part of the Kingdom’s strategy to diversify it’s economy away from oil, with the desire to become a large player in the $184 billion global gaming market.
Has this ever happened before?
There have been similar instances where cities or entire countries have made investments and devoted time to the gaming industry, with a few examples being:
Montreal: Over the past 25 years, Montreal is known as one of the top five cities in the world regarding video game production. As a result of such, big gaming organizations such as Electronic Arts (EA), Ubisoft and WB Games Montreal Inc. had grown large studios in the city, with Ubisoft in particular committing to Montreal in order to take the industry to the next level.
South Korea: The nation is the fourth biggest market in the video game industry, having a value of over $15 billion which contributes to 9% of the global market size.
The investment will be made through the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, it will be interesting to see how well the Kingdom contributes to the global gaming market through this initiative.