Dubai versus Riyadh

How Arab princes are reaching for the gaming world

Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Bin Salman and Hamdan bin Muhammad Al Maktum from Dubai want to turn their countries into strongholds for video game development.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/AFP/UAE‘s Ministry of Presidential Affairs; APA/Saudi Ministry of Media; Activision-Blizzard)

Hereditary Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Muhammad bin Rashid Al Maktum of Dubai is wooing thousands of qualified immigrants - from the gaming industry - with a visa tailored to their needs. Developers, programmers and even influencers can apply. Dubai wants to attract 30,000 professionals to the country in order to build a world-leading gaming industry - three times the size of the German one. However, Dubai is in competition with Saudi "blood prince" Mohammed bin Salman on the Arabian Peninsula.

The de facto Saudi ruler, who is said to have ordered the particularly brutal murder of regime critic and journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in 2018, has plans for glittering desert cities and dreams of making Saudi Arabia the hub of the world when it comes to video games. He paid more than a billion euros to buy the most important league for competitive gaming - the ESL, and tournaments with tens of millions of dollars in prize money are said to be planned. But why are two filthy rich oil sheikhs in their forties so interested in computer and video games? A search for clues.