WHAT?
The Next World Forum is an esports and gaming forum hosted by the Saudi Esports Federation in Riyadh this week on September 7-8.
It is bringing together all the key sector leaders and experts from the Kingdom and across the world with more than 1,200 delegates meeting to highlight the future, opportunities and challenges facing esports and gaming.
The forum will involve panel discussions, activations, bilateral meetings, and the game-changing opportunities that exist to fast-track sector growth through investment and collaboration, across two days.
WHERE?
The Next World Forum is at the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh Kingdom Center.
WHY?
Next World Forum is a platform to showcase new ideas, investment, and talent development. It will highlight Saudi Arabia’s thriving role in the gaming and esports industry, as the nation strives to contribute substantially to global ecosystem in collaboration with the global sector leaders shaping the industry.
Gaming is the fastest growing sub-sector globally. The industry’s rapid growth will be worth an estimated $321 billion by 2026. Saudi Arabia is an avid gaming nation with around 70 percent of its population gamers, and where gaming consumption is projected to reach $6.8 billion by 2030.
It officially closes to the Gamers8 festival – the biggest esports, gaming and entertainment festival worldwide taking place over the last 10 weeks Boulevard Riyadh City.
WHO?
Ministers of sport from various leading nations, investors, gamers, developers, tech providers, start-ups, public sector representatives, brands and advertisers, publishers, broadcasters, and federations and leagues. Speakers include the Chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation; the CEO of British Esports; the CEO of Neom, the President of the International Esports Federation; the Chief of Partnerships at UNICEF; and Managing Director Qiddiya Investment Company.
Full speaker list (click here).
HIGHLIGHTS
The Next World Forum will be inaugurated with a unique panel session entitled ‘Saudi Spotlight: What Now, What Next?’, featuring some of the most prominent government and private sector figures propelling Saudi Arabia’s growth strategy for gaming and esports.
Other discussions include Gaming and Esports as the Next Frontier of Media; Gaming as an Untapped Economic Powerhouse; VR/AR and the Metaverse in the Spotlight; Gaming for Good: The Light Side and the Dark Side of Gaming; and Leveling Up Esports and Gamer Health.
- Key tech development challenges affecting the shifting landscape of the gaming and esports ecosystem
- Trends including cloud gaming, distribution platform development and appetite for fresh content
- The rise of thinking around impact-driven gaming, real-world impact and gaming for innovation across multiple sectors
- Solution-based discussion on government attitudes to gaming, ecosystem talent development and infrastructure development
- The emerging Saudi market landscape and opportunities to be part of its story
- Genre innovations, regulation, and legislation
His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, Chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation, said: “The Next World Forum bridges the gap between virtual-world creativity and real-world development. There are numerous high-level opportunities, that can genuinely shape the future of esports and gaming, which will emanate from the Next World Forum – a new era in the phenomenal growth of the industry”.
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