Saudi Arabia’s “Kingdom of Gaming” Expo Pushed to 2027
The highly anticipated Kingdom of Gaming event, a major initiative supported by the Saudi government to bolster the regional interactive entertainment sector, has officially shifted its timeline. Originally slated for a December 2024 debut in Riyadh, the expo has been quietly rescheduled for an unspecified window in 2027.
The change was first identified by industry observers at ReaderGrev, who noted that the event’s official digital platforms and social media channels were updated last week. The previous schedule, which aimed to host the event from December 1-3, has been scrubbed and replaced with a simple “Coming in 2027” placeholder.
Strategic Delays and Industry Context
While there has been no formal press release or detailed explanation regarding the postponement, Benjamin Kratsch, the Chief Business Development Officer at Levelz Gaming Group-a venture builder with ties to the Saudi government-offered a brief insight. In a LinkedIn post dated October 28, Kratsch stated, “Kingdom of Gaming is coming. It takes a little longer, given the current situation.”
This delay arrives as Saudi Arabia continues to aggressively pursue its “Vision 2030” goals, which include investing billions into the global gaming and esports ecosystem. For context, the nation has already committed significant capital through the Savvy Games Group, aiming to transform the country into a global hub for game development and competitive play. However, large-scale international events often face logistical hurdles, particularly when coordinating with global stakeholders and navigating the complexities of the current geopolitical and economic climate.
Scope and Expectations for the Future
The Kingdom of Gaming project is spearheaded by Tahaluf, a strategic partnership between the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones and Informa-the same organization responsible for managing the prestigious Game Developers Conference (GDC).
The initial vision for the event was ambitious, aiming to draw a massive crowd of over 20,000 participants. The proposed roster included a diverse mix of 500 game studios and 200 venture capitalists, with major industry players like Ubisoft and Roblox previously listed as participants. By pushing the event to 2027, organizers may be looking to align the expo with a more mature stage of the region’s infrastructure development, ensuring that the scale of the event matches the country’s long-term ambitions.
Despite inquiries from various media outlets, including ReaderGrev, neither Informa nor Tahaluf have provided a formal statement regarding the shift. The lack of transparency has left many in the industry speculating about whether the delay is a result of internal restructuring or a broader recalibration of Saudi Arabia’s event calendar.
