Livestreaming social media platform, Bigo Live, is investing in the eSports community in Saudi Arabia, to help enhance gamers’ skills and talents, and facilitate potential career opportunities within the industry.
In the second half of 2020, Bigo Live intends to collaborate with more than 3,000 gamers in the Middle East, offering incentives such as sponsorships and the opportunity to experience international eSports championships live in-app.
Bigo Live will welcome celebrity gamers onto the platform and assist with the identification and development of talent from users who aspire to be professional gamers. The app will feature a series of online leagues, in which amateur gamers will have the chance to compete with each other as well as with professionals, with the intention of ultimately representing Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East region in global eSports tournaments.
The Strategy and Middle East report, titled “Skin in the Game,” reveals that the GCC eSports market is undergoing expansion at a rapid pace, and is estimated to be worth $821 million by 2021 — up from $693 million in 2017.
On a regional level, the market in Saudi Arabia specifically is expected to expand rapidly and become the largest among the GCC countries.
