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Mon, Nov 10, 2025 | Jumada al-Awwal 19, 1447 | Fajr 05:13 | DXB 
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E-sports economy: The Middle East's next billion-dollar industry
A look at the players, partners, and policies driving esports from niche to mainstream across the Middle East
The Middle East has a long tradition of pursuing bold ideas. From building futuristic cities in the desert to investing in space technology, the region has consistently sought to diversify beyond hydrocarbons and carve out a role in industries that define the future. Today, another arena is emerging as part of this diversification. Competitive gaming, once dismissed as a hobby, is becoming a structured economy, attracting investment, policy support and millions of young fans.
Esports in the Gulf is no longer a passing trend. It is a field where governments, private companies and audiences are converging, creating both spectacle and opportunity. Saudi Arabia has placed itself on the global map through the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. The UAE, by contrast, has concentrated on building talent pipelines and education through organisations such as NASR Esports.
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Together, these two approaches reveal the ambition of the Middle East to transform esports from a niche pastime into an industry of scale, influence and commercial weight.
Gen Z and the gaming generation
Any discussion of esports in the Middle East begins with demographics. More than half of the region’s population is under thirty. For this generation, gaming is not a subculture. It is an ordinary part of life, as familiar as football, music or film. Consoles, smartphones and streaming platforms have created a world where entertainment, competition and socialising merge.
Yet regional attitudes towards esports are far from uniform. Lalit Vase, Founder and Chief Executive of NASR Esports, draws attention to a striking contrast.
“In this region, youth are not willing to put in the time and effort required to become pro players without significant pay, while youth in the Levant and North Africa are willing to put in the effort, but the money to fund this is in the GCC,” he says.
This gap highlights one of the most significant challenges facing the industry. While talent is emerging in North Africa and the Levant, financial resources and infrastructure are largely concentrated in the Gulf. In the Gulf itself, enthusiasm is abundant but young people are often reluctant to view esports as a serious career option unless there are immediate financial rewards. Most continue to see gaming as entertainment, preferring to follow influencers, streamers and content creators rather than pursuing professional pathways. The result is an ecosystem in which passion is evident but the transition to professionalism remains uncertain. Unless this gap is addressed, the region risks cultivating a culture of fans without developing enough professionals to compete at the highest level.
Sponsorships and credibility
For esports to thrive as an economy, commercial sustainability is essential. Just as in traditional sport, sponsorships and partnerships form the backbone of the industry. Yet in esports, credibility matters as much as money.
Fans are quick to dismiss tokenistic branding and are particularly sensitive to partnerships that do not feel authentic. For organisations, the challenge is not simply to secure deals but to demonstrate that sponsors are genuinely invested in the culture of gaming.
Vase underlines this point. “Long-term partnerships are essential for success in a growing industry. We focus on delivering value to the lives of gaming and esports fans and followers. Any partner must think long-term about this target audience and offer a product or service that adds something positive,” he explains.
This emphasis on value has helped NASR retain international partners such as Kaspersky, TikTok, Under Armour and Red Bull. For the industry more broadly, it signals a shift. Sponsorships are no longer about logo placement or one-off campaigns. They are about building sustained relationships with communities that are young, sceptical of traditional advertising and deeply protective of their culture.
Building talent in the UAE
The UAE has positioned itself as a hub for professionalisation. Rather than focusing solely on international tournaments, organisations in Abu Dhabi have sought to embed esports into the wider digital economy by offering structured training and career pathways.
The NASR Academy is central to this ambition. It provides opportunities for young people to pursue a “path to pro” while also preparing them for roles that go beyond competition. Coaches, performance analysts, content creators and event organisers are all seen as essential to the industry’s future.
“The Academy is focused on helping gamers make their passion a lifelong career,” says Vase. “We provide a clear path to pro for talented youth, but also a masterclass programme that trains young people for careers beyond being a pro player.”
This dual approach has already yielded visible results. NASR has produced internationally recognised players such as Tekken Master, Angry Bird, Big Bird and Latif, all of whom have competed on global stages. Yet the broader success lies in how the academy has expanded the definition of esports careers. It is no longer only about being a professional player but about building an industry with multiple points of entry.
For the UAE, this aligns with a wider strategy to diversify the economy through technology, skills and innovation. By professionalising esports at the grassroots level, the country is embedding it into the structures of the digital economy, creating resilience that can outlast short-term trends.
Riyadh’s global stage
If Abu Dhabi represents the incremental approach, Riyadh embodies scale. Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in esports as part of its Vision 2030 agenda, with the Esports World Cup becoming the flagship of this strategy.
The 2025 edition of the event was unprecedented. Running for seven weeks, it featured twenty-five games, more than 2,000 players from over 100 countries and a prize pool exceeding seventy million US dollars. It attracted over three million visitors to Boulevard City in Riyadh and was broadcast in thirty-five languages across 140 countries. Peak concurrent viewership during the League of Legends finals reached nearly eight million.
Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy Games Group, which oversees the tournament through its subsidiary ESL FACEIT Group, stresses the magnitude. “Operating the EWC is comparable to staging the largest events in traditional sports. But beyond the numbers, it created unforgettable moments, whether it was Magnus Carlsen showing that chess belongs on the esports stage, or Team Falcons securing back-to-back titles,” he says.
For Ward, the ambition is not simply to host events but to redefine Riyadh’s global identity. “Just as London is synonymous with Wimbledon or Paris with Roland-Garros, Riyadh is fast becoming the city the world looks to each summer for the pinnacle of esports,” he observes.
Soft power and national strategy
The Esports World Cup was designed as more than a competition. It was a cultural spectacle. Appearances by Cristiano Ronaldo, Post Malone and Tony Hawk ensured that the festival attracted not only esports fans but also wider audiences. It was as much about tourism and cultural diplomacy as it was about competition.
Reports from Saudi media suggest that tourism rose significantly during the tournament period, with major crowds drawn to Boulevard City in Riyadh. Teams such as Team Falcon gained visibility and inspired younger generations, while Saudi professionals took leading roles in production, broadcasting and event management. The strategy reflects how esports is being woven into Saudi Arabia’s wider vision for economic diversification and cultural repositioning. It is an instrument of soft power as much as an economic project.
Two models, one ecosystem
The strategies of Saudi Arabia and the UAE represent different approaches to the same goal. Saudi Arabia has chosen a top-down model, using state-backed investment to build scale and attract international attention. The UAE has taken a bottom-up path, developing talent pipelines and building structures that professionalise the industry from within.
Both approaches have their limitations. Large-scale tournaments risk being showcases for imported stars if local talent pipelines are underdeveloped. Grassroots training programmes may take longer to yield results and may struggle to capture global visibility without marquee events. For the Middle East to realise its esports ambitions, these models must converge. Riyadh can provide the stage, Abu Dhabi can develop the skills, and together they can create a self-sustaining ecosystem.
The Five-Year Horizon
Industry watchers widely expect esports revenues in the Middle East and North Africa to grow strongly in the years ahead, fuelled by sponsorships, live events and media rights. The upward trend is clear, even if precise figures vary depending on the source.
The real test will be whether the region can: Convince young people that esports is a viable career path rather than a pastime
Secure long-term sponsorships that feel authentic to fans
Balance the spectacle of mega-events with grassroots development
Ensure financial support reaches players across the region, not only in the Gulf
Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have made clear that esports will remain part of their long-term national strategies. The task now is to turn ambition into an ecosystem that is both profitable and culturally embedded.
Sana Eqbal
Sana Eqbal is a journalist with over 10 years of experience and a media strategist specialising in corporate communications, public relations, digital media, and content management.
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