<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia has ramped up its economic diversification efforts driven by its ambitious Vision 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a bid to diversify its economy away from a dependence on oil, the kingdom has embraced emerging technologies, such as blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI), and tapped into booming markets like gaming.<\/p>\n
But while the country has yet to leave a significant mark in the global game and AI development, the ripples of its investments in the gaming sector could extend far beyond \u2014 at least, that\u2019s what Web3 experts say.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on our work and communications that we have, Saudi [Arabia] is very, very interested in Web3,\u201d Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu told Cointelegraph.<\/p>\n
Given the kingdom\u2019s partnerships with entities such as The Sandbox<\/a> and even Animoca<\/a>, Siu sees that there\u2019s an effort from Saudi to venture into the new iteration of the internet. The executive said:<\/p>\n \u201cI think Saudi [Arabia] understands the principle that Web3 gaming or blockchain gaming \u2014 the one that we actually prove the owner assets \u2014 is going to be the future of gaming.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Thanks to the interest of its young, tech-savvy population, Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates, is driving the growth of the Middle East\u2019s gaming market. According to a Boston Consulting Group report, the kingdom represents 45% of the sector in the region, with a value of more than $1.8 billion. It also boasts one of the largest game revenues in the area, according<\/a> to game content studio Allcorrect.<\/p>\n In 2017, the kingdom established the Saudi Esports Federation to regulate and develop the country\u2019s gaming industry.<\/p>\n Recent:\u00a0Ron DeSantis\u2019 falling polls: Could crypto lose its candidate?<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Bloomberg reported<\/a> in April that Saudi Arabia, through its Public Investment Fund, invested $38 billion in the sector as it looks to become a global gaming hub.<\/p>\n Although the Saudi government understands the \u201chigh-level concept\u201d of Web3, its potential, and how it can align with esports \u2014 where teams can own stakes in games they play \u2014 Siu said it remains unclear what its integrations to gaming would be due to the absence of clear rules on cryptocurrency and other virtual assets:<\/p>\n \u201cCryptocurrency is something that is still to be explored. It\u2019s being investigated. I think [Saudi Arabia is] quite forward about how to deal with it. But they haven\u2019t come up with anything yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cIn places like Hong Kong, Japan and the UAE, there\u2019s much more clarity as to what you can do with crypto and Web3. You can map out a strategy,\u201d Siu added.<\/p>\n While it remains to be seen what Saudi Arabia\u2019s Web3 gaming applications would look like, Siu noted that the kingdom is looking at other markets and learning.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why they\u2019re talking to us. Because they want to know what the best practices are and how they can learn,\u201d the executive explained. \u201cThere are very few places in the world that we\u2019ve seen such a hunger and desire to sort of be at the cutting edge.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can feel sort of the desire to have progress and to lead in Saudi Arabia. I think that\u2019s kind of unique,\u201d Siu added.<\/p>\n While pushback from the traditional gaming community and developers<\/a> persists, Siu claims a successful conversion of users into Web3, whether it\u2019s in gaming or not, should come with financial literacy.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t really be a true Web3 user if you don\u2019t have at least a certain level of financial literacy that goes above and beyond having a bank account,\u201d Siu said.<\/p>\n The Animoca co-founder claimed that most Web2 users are not capital investors because they\u2019re mostly labor people compared to Web3 people who understand investing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we found is that the path to Web3 mass adoption isn\u2019t giving [Web2 users] just a wallet. That\u2019s actually the easiest part. The harder part is how to make them aware that what they now have is an asset that has potential value, and it could do things and has different network effects that need to be maintained as real value.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Meanwhile, Mythical Games CEO John Linden told Cointelegraph that he already sees Web3 adoption in the gaming sector, albeit at a slower pace.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re seeing some [adoption] already. We\u2019re seeing people that they\u2019re introducing the [Web3] concept. They do understand the concept of buying and selling assets,\u201d Linden said.<\/p>\nHow gaming can spur Web3 adoption<\/h2>\n