RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s esports industry will gain a major boost as the Kingdom has signed a memorandum of understanding with the South Korean firm Wemade to foster its ambition to become a global gaming hub by 2030. The partnership between the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia and Wemade — the developer behind the global blockchain gaming platform WEMIX PLAY — will see the South Korean firm expanding its presence to accelerate the gaming industry in the Kingdom. The move is part of MISA’s strategy to join forces with international companies to streamline investment and expansion initiatives in Saudi Arabia as the Kingdom looks to diversify its energy-based economy under Vision 2030. “This progress would be yet another step further into realizing the national objective of becoming a hub for gaming and esports in line with the National Gaming and Esports Strategy,” said a MISA representative in a statement. This development comes as the ministry aims to facilitate business opportunities for foreign entities in the Kingdom by providing arrays of services and networks to leading players in the local ecosystem. “The MoU and partnership with MISA mark a significant milestone for Wemade’s expansion plans in Saudi Arabia,” said Henry Chang, CEO of Wemade. He added that it demonstrates their sustained ambition to collaborate with leading strategic partners throughout the Middle East and North Africa region. In January, the company established its offices in Abu Dhabi with plans to collaborate with local projects and companies. The partnership with MISA comes in the backdrop of Wemade’s participation at the Saudi-Korea Investment Forum in November 2022, where it held meetings with Saudi Arabia’s Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih and other Saudi officials. This resulted in a collaboration between Wemade and Savvy Games Group’s Nine66 in February for exploring various programs aimed at training, educational content, localization of games and sponsorship of regional events. In the first week of April, Savvy Games, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, signed an agreement to acquire US-based gaming company Scopely for $4.9 billion. Saudi Arabia is on its way to becoming a gaming hub, and the most important move toward that goal was taken in September 2022, when the Kingdom’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, established the Savvy Games Group plan.