Saudi Arabia teams up with South Korea’s Wemade to drive gaming and blockchain sectors

South Arabia’s Ministry of Investment has signed an initial agreement with South Korean video game developer Wemade to boost the growth of the gaming and blockchain industry in the kingdom.

The agreement followed Wemade’s participation in the Saudi Korea Investment Forum in Seoul in November, where it held meetings with the Kingdom’s Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih and other Saudi officials.

“We are very excited about Wemade’s progress in expanding its activities in Saudi Arabia and look forward to continuing to support Wemade’s footprint by connecting it with strategic partners in the sector,” a representative from the Ministry of Investment in Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday.

“This progress will be another step forward in realizing the national goal of becoming a gaming and e-sports hub in line with the national gaming and e-sports strategy,” the representative added.

The Saudi ministry is teaming up with international companies to streamline investment and expansion initiatives in Saudi Arabia. As part of the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision which focuses on diversifying the country’s energy-based economy, the ministry aims to facilitate business opportunities for foreign entities.

In February, Wemade also teamed up with Savvy Games’ Nine66, backed by public investment funds. The units are exploring various initiatives aimed at training, production of educational content, localization of games and sponsorship of regional events.

“As the demand for gaming and blockchain technologies continues to grow in Saudi Arabia, we are committed to showcasing our capabilities and delivering innovative solutions that meet their needs,” said Charles Huh, global investment officer at Wemade. The national.

“We believe that our cooperation with [the Saudi ministry] will not only benefit both parties, but also create new opportunities in the global gaming industry.”

Wemade was founded in 2000 and is behind the blockchain gaming platform Wemix and the The legend of Mir series of video games that have attracted millions of users globally.

Blockchain – the technology behind cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin – is a digital chain of transactions linked together with cryptography, a mechanism for secure communication, on an open ledger. The database is a real-time library of records that are difficult to tamper with as each change creates a new record.

It has created a new gaming experience for both businesses and players who use non-fungible tokens and digital currencies to purchase in-game assets that can be exchanged for real money.

The gaming industry in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, is set to grow 250 percent by 2030, with esports leading the growth, a recent study by YouGov found.

The growth will mean its contribution to Saudi Arabia’s GDP will have increased around 50 times by 2030 compared to 2022, the London-based market research firm said.

In February, the kingdom’s gaming industry received new funding worth $488 million. The funding was provided by the Saudi Esports Federation, the National Development Fund and the Social Development Bank.

This month, Savvy Games announced the acquisition of California-based game developer and publisher Scopely for $4.9 billion.

Gaming spending in the kingdom is projected to reach $6.8 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate of 22 percent, Boston Consulting Group said in a recent report.

Seoul-based Wemade established its Middle East headquarters in Abu Dhabi in January to focus on the region.

Updated: 25 April 2023 at 05.00