Saudi Arabia has won the rights to hold the first ever Olympic eSports Games in 2025. The announcement came as part of a 12 year long agreement between Saudi Arabia and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The arab country has been working on changing its international image, which always takes a hit due to the country’s track record of human rights abuses. In addition to that, it is also trying to keep its youth busy, giving them a platform that will give them more exposure to the outside world.
The 12 year agreement means that both parties are interested in holding this event regularly. Considering the financial muscle that Saudi Arabia has, it comes as no surprise that there was little problem in working out the agreement between the two parties.
The eSports World Cup
Saudi Arabia is currently hosting the eSports World Cup. It is an event that has attracted gamers from all over the world, competing for a $60 million prize pot.
If that prize sounds ridiculous to you, here’s one for you. The Arab country is investing $38 billion to become the gaming hub of the world! That prize money pales away in comparison, as it is only 0.16% of the total spending.
For years, the Saudis have enjoyed the wealth of their oil reserves. Now, they’re using that wealth to diversify away from the dependence on oil.
There is no doubt that with the amount of money they have, Saudi Arabia can pull this off. They already did it with golf and football. There’s no reason why they can’t do it in gaming.
Except of course, the political reason. Saudi Arabia has a poor human rights record and that will come to haunt them every step of the way.
What this means for gaming stocks?
Any business would want to have a piece of the $38 billion that the arab country is investing in gaming. Many big names will make money out of this. Even outside the gaming stocks, there’s companies like Adidas, KitKat and many media companies that will come out of this richer than before.
But the big questions remains: at what cost?
Many players have refused to participate in the World Cup(not that Saudi Arabia cares). Many in the eSports community have opposed the event.
Where do players draw the line? Do they silently join the tourney knowing the country does not respect LGBT rights? While Saudi Arabia can rewrite its story based on sporting events, can gaming and media companies really get away with making money from this?
Here’s what the boss of the eSports World Cup had to say:
Everyone can participate in the competition and no-one will be discriminated against. That’s a promise we can give.
In every country in the world, there are different local habits and cultural norms, which you need to adhere to. So what we’re telling everyone is, don’t be explicit. Act locally to respect the local culture. And I think that’s fair. It’s something that happens all over the world.”
According to a recent survey, one in five gamers identify as LGBT. Steve Arhancet, CEO Team Liquid, and openly gay, expressed it perfectly when he said:
So how do we continue operating with our values in a region of the world that conflicts so strongly, and with pretty egregious human rights violations?
It remains to be seen how these companise make money from this event witout goinga gainst their principes and those of their customers.
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