If the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, is a fan of the Call of Duty game, his passion for video games will be even greater starting next year. His country plans to host an annual esports world cup starting in 2024.
In a press release, Prince Mohammed said the event was “a natural step in Saudi Arabia’s plan to become the world’s leading hub for video games and esports.”
“The most popular games”
The tournament “will include the most popular games in the world, from all genres combined, and will offer the largest prize pool in the history of electronic sports,” the statement added, without giving further details. Details of the future World Cup will be made public early next year.
The first edition of this global electronic sports competition should take place next summer in Riyadh, replacing the Gamers8 festival, which this year offered a total prize pool of 45 million dollars (about 42 million euros).
39,000 jobs created thanks to electronic sports
Last year, Prince Mohammed announced an investment strategy of 38 billion dollars (almost 36 billion euros) in the Savvy Games group, specialized in games and electronic sports and owned by the Saudi sovereign fund.
The goal is to create 39,000 esports-related jobs by 2030.
Source: BFM TV
