Mubadala Investment Company and Abu Dhabi Gaming signed a preliminary agreement to develop an eSports ecosystem in Abu Dhabi in a bid to attract global talent and boost the local creative industry as part of its economic diversification agenda.
The deal will set a framework for both entities to explore opportunities for collaboration, help individuals and companies to come up with content for the industry, support events, and create employment opportunities.
It aims to advance education in many fields including virtual reality, coding, design, and development.
“As an active investor in innovation, we are always on the lookout for new opportunities,” said Badr Al Olama, executive director for UAE investments at Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm.
“E-sports and gaming have quickly emerged as an exciting sector and we look forward to developing opportunities related to it, and complementing our efforts in further diversifying the UAE’s economy.”
The gaming industry has continued to thrive globally and is one of the sectors that is being prioritized in the UAE’s 10-year National Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Industries.
The program aims to put these sectors among the country’s top 10 most important economic industries and increase their contribution to gross domestic product to 5 percent. The Ministry of Culture and Youth also unveiled its blueprint for the strategy last week.
The global e-sports industry has been valued at $1.08 billion in 2021, an increase of about 50 percent from last year, data from Statista shows.
Revenue is forecast to grow to as much as $1.62bn in 2024, with Asia and North America representing the largest markets in terms of revenue, and China alone accounting for about a fifth of the market.
Overall, the global games market is one of the fastest-growing sectors worldwide and is estimated to have a market value of $175.8bn in 2021, according to gaming market data platform Newzoo.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Technology Express staff and is published from a syndicated feed)
