Saudi Arabia: The Swamp Thing of Esports
The tentacles of financial influence are deep and growing in the global esports ecosystem.
The Saudi government has become the Swamp Thing of esports—that’s not a pejorative; but it’s a good anecdote to describe how deeply it has spread its influence through cold, hard cash. DC Comics describes this powerful entity in this way:
“The monstrous Swamp Thing can control every iota of plant life on this planet, from the fungus on stale bread to forests of towering oaks. Superhumanly strong and grotesque, he can grow himself a full array of titanic bodies from even the tiniest sprout of green. A living embodiment of the power and terror in our environment, the Swamp Thing protects both humanity and the environment—usually from each other.”
This week the Esports World Cup Foundation announced its Club Support Program (we won’t bore you with the details—you can read about it on The Esports Advocate), which provides financial incentives to esports organizations looking to expand into games that are part of the Esports World Cup program and for those willing to promote the event on social media and other channels.
Thirty teams took money from the Saudi government (the Esports World Cup Foundation would say that this money comes from a “sports grant” provided by the government but all of this money is flowing from the Public Investment Fund): 100 Thieves, Blacklist International, Cloud9, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, Furia Esports, G2 Esports, Gaimin Gladiators, Gen.G Esports, Guild Esports, Karmine Corp, KOI, LGD Gaming, LOUD, OG, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, NRG Esports, Spacestation Gaming, T1, Talon Esports, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, Team Secret, Team Vitality, TSM, Tundra Esports, Twisted Minds, Virtus.pro, and Weibo Gaming.
But money is flowing to media outlets too; for example, Esports Insider took around $30K from Qiddiya (a mega-city project backed by the Saudi government) for serving as the presenting sponsor ESI London in 2023.
Later this month VentureBeat’s GamesBeat will take an undetermined amount of funding from Scopely and ESL FACEIT Group (both a part of Savvy Games Group, which is owned by the Saudi government and whose chairman of the board is the country’s ruler, HRH Crown Prince MBS) for the GamesBeat Summit. Scopely’s co-CEOs, Savvy Games Group CEO Brian Ward, and ESL FACEIT’s Mike Sepso will all be in attendance.
HLTV inked a partnership with ESL FACEIT Group in January to integrate Counter-Strike 2 game data into its website in January.
The Saudi government also has financial ties to both the International Esports Federation (IESF) and the Global Esports Federation (GEF), with HRH Prince Faisal serving in executive leadership roles at both organizations. Further, sources have been telling TEA for months that the European Esport Federation (EEF) has been seeking an investment from the Saudis. And while the British Esports Federation said that it is not receiving any money from the Saudi Esports Federation in a deal announced earlier this year, it certainly is promoting the partnership as a way to grow revenue and create jobs for the Kingdom…
With media outlets, influencers like Seth “Scump” Abner (and many others), marketing agencies such as SPORTFIVE, federations, stakeholders (such as Riot Games, Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, Tencent, Garena, KRAFTON, and Valve), and the top tier-one esports organizations all taking money from the Saudi government, it has become like Swamp Thing, with its roots touching almost every living thing in the global ecosystem.
Here’s some recent news related to the Saudi government, as well as a guest appearance by the People’s Republic of China, and Poland’s president:
30 Teams Selected for the Esports World Cup Club Support Program
100 Thieves Explains its Participation in the Esports World Cup
IESF Fully Embraces the One-China Principle
British Esports Federation President Heads to Riyadh for GREAT FUTURES
European Esports Federation Elects New President, Board Members
People on the Move
Here’s some of the most recent promotions and hires in the esports and gaming industries:
Jess Filby has been appointed to the role of deputy games editor at Dexerto.
Nicole Pike takes on the new position of global head of sport at YouGuv.
Frederikke Nyborg starts new position as a designer at ESL FACEIT Group.
David Lim takes on the role of head of Razer Gold - SEA & ANZ at Razer.
Chi Zhao joins the Allied Gaming & Entertainment board.
Adam Pliska resigned as a director of the Allied Gaming & Entertainment board
Yinghua Chen resigned from the Allied Gaming & Entertainment board but remains as CEO.
Yangyang Li has been appointed as president of Allied Gaming & Entertainment, but remains chairman of the board.
Ronny Lusigi is appointed to the Global Esports Federation's international relations and development commission.
Ethan Spencer joins OS Studios as executive producer - live production & broadcast.
Paramount Global replaces CEO Bob Bakish with three other executives.
Behshad Behzadi joins Sportradar as CTO and chief AI officer.
Jill Priya Keshyap has been named executive producer of Guild of Guardians.
Jeremy Flynn leaves PBR to join All Elite Wrestling as its new senior marketing director of live events.
Gregg Sulak joins Skybound Entertainment as CFO.
Will Kassoy joins Skybound Entertainment as head of consumer strategy.
Cooper Beebe joins the Kansas City Pioneers team.
In Other News
☕ Team Falcons signs Barns Coffee as a partner.
✅ iDreamsky announces expansion into Saudi Arabia with its game Strinova.
👧🏼 Racy esports cafes in China get scrutiny over sexy servers.
💵 University of Texas at Dallas building a $13M esports center.
✍🏼 TSM signs an Overwatch 2 roster.
🏎 Guild Esports launches ESL R1 team.
💰 TalkEsports secures $1M in funding.
🧱 Riot: LoL Vanguard not bricking PCs.
😅 Activision Blizzard pays $23.4M for patent infringement.
🛑 Mr Beast dumps Night Media?