Saudi Arabia to host Kingdom of Gaming conference in 2026

A new games conference is set to take place in Saudi Arabia next year.

The Kingdom of Gaming conference will be held in the country’s capital, Riyadh, between December 1 and 3. The show is being organised by Tahaluf, a joint venture by GDC organiser Informa and the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP).

The conference is anticipating more than 20,000 attendees, and 300 exhibitors and sponsors. That’s on top of 500 studios, more than 50 startups, and 200 investors. Furthermore, the Kingdom of Gaming organisers expect 25 investment and publishing deals to come out of the event.

“The Kingdom of Gaming marks Tahaluf’s next mega global brand – a platform built in alignment with Vision 2030 to accelerate the Kingdom’s creative economy,” Tahaluf EVP, Annabelle Mander, said.

“Riyadh is shifting from being a market for games to becoming a place where games are made. By bringing developers, studios, platforms and investors together in one ecosystem, we’re creating the conditions for new IP, new talent and new opportunities to emerge from Saudi Arabia and scale globally.”

Saudi Arabia has long hoped to make itself a key player in the global games industry.

The country holds stakes in a number of top companies in the sector, such as Take-Two, Nintendo and Capcom via the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The sovereign wealth fund also has a games and esports investment arm in Savvy Games Group, via which the country owns Pokémon Go creator Niantic, ESL Faceit and Scopely.

Back in 2023, it was reported that the PIF was looking to invest $38 billion in the games industry via Savvy Games Group.

More recently, the Public Investment Fund – along with Silver Lake Capital and Affinity Partners – announced that they were going to be acquiring US publishing giant Electronic Arts for $55 billion. The PIF is set to hold a 93.4% stake in EA upon the deal’s completion, in addition to holding “significant” stakes in its partners in the acquisition.

In February, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Saudi Arabia would host the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in 2027, though last month the parties involved “mutually agreed” to cancel the event.