Saudi E-sports federation gives their best effort to the E-sports industry

This time, they launched the Gamers8 Festival

This festival is the latest step the Saudi government has taken to get more involved in gaming and E-sports.

Some industry commentators allege the country’s recent E-sports push amounts to ‘esportswashing’,

An attempt to deflect from the country’s human rights record.

Both BLAST and Riot Games faced backlash from fans

When they announced partnerships with NEOM, a controversial $500m (~£397m) Saudi government-backed development.

However, this has not deterred the Saudi governments’ interest in E-sports.

In December 2021, the Global E-sports Federation appointed Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud as its Vice President.

Therefore, Gamers8 Festival launched this time.

Gamers8 Festival will be an eight weeks event taking place in Riyadh this summer.

The event will start from July 14th to September 8th,

The event boasts a prize pool of $15m (~£12m)

Which will be split over six international E-sports events.

While the central focus of the event will be gaming and E-sports,

Gamers8 will also be catering to other audiences.

Part of the festival will include a two day summit for industry professionals.

According to the release, the event will also cater to more of a general audience through a multitude of activities and attractions.

Some of these activities include concerts from international artists, as well as comedy and magic shows.

be ready for the event!