RIYADH: The performance of online games in Saudi Arabia improved by 38 percent in the third quarter as compared to the same period in 2022, which indicates the level of service provided by telecom companies in the Kingdom. A report titled “GameMode” issued by the Communications, Space, and Technology Commission showed improved download speeds of online games across popular gaming platforms in the Kingdom reaching more than 98 percent compared to the declared speeds of fixed internet packages. It stated that Mobily and Salam companies led the pack with the most speedy downloads for online games on PlayStation. Mobily, it added, also topped the list in XBOX and STEAM with downloading speeds going up to 99 percent and 100 percent respectively. The report showed stc and Mobily services topped in the average response time in eight games namely Call of Duty, FIFA, Apex Legends, VALORANT, OVERWATCH2, Rocket League, Battlefield, and Halo Infinite, while stc, Mobily, and Zain were all at the top of the list in “Among Us” online games. However, stc was the top in six games: Fortnite, Counter Strike, Dota2, World of Warcraft, Rainbow Six Siege, and League of Legends, while Mobily took the lead in PUBG and PUBG MOBILE. The report also included a series of guidelines for improving the quality of internet connection for online games, as well as home network setup and network device efficiency guidelines. It also highlighted the steps to participate in achieving the objectives of the “GameMode” initiative, by registering for a “Meqyas fixed internet” device, which allows the user to know the internet performance of the most popular apps and online games. The initiative increases competitiveness among telecom service providers to provide the best experience for players while raising the level of transparency in the market by publishing data and indicators’ results, along with enabling investors and interested parties to view market performance indicators in Saudi Arabia.