Kingdom of Gaming 2026: Riyadh’s next move beyond the esports arena

Mghamer Editorial Team · 5 October 2026

4 min read

Savvy, Ubisoft and Roblox headline the announced line-up for a December gathering focused on game development, investment and Saudi creators.

Saudi Arabia’s gaming ambitions will get a different kind of showcase this December. Kingdom of Gaming, a new event organised by Tahaluf, is scheduled for 1–3 December 2026 at the Riyadh Exhibition & Convention Center in Malham. Its central question reaches beyond who wins on stage: who builds, funds and publishes the games people will play next?

In its September 21 announcement, the organiser named Savvy Games Group, Ubisoft and Roblox as Global Gaming Leaders for the inaugural edition. The event will be co-located with Black Hat MEA, bringing a gaming-industry programme alongside the cybersecurity gathering.

The essentials: dates, venue and scale

Kingdom of Gaming runs from December 1 to 3 in Malham, Riyadh. Tahaluf projects more than 20,000 attendees, 500 studios and developers, 300 exhibitors and sponsors, and 200 investors. These are announced targets for a forthcoming first edition, not attendance results.

The programme is designed to connect developers, publishers, technology businesses and investors, with a consumer-facing festival alongside the industry activity. For readers planning a visit, the important distinction is the breadth of that programme: this announcement sets out an industry gathering, rather than a particular esports tournament or match schedule.

Who is taking part?

Alongside Savvy, Ubisoft and Roblox, the release identifies Tuwaiq Academy, NEOM and AWS as Founding Partners. It also announces participation from PUBG MOBILE, Unreal Engine, Tencent Cloud, Impact46 and Merak Capital.

Those names span several parts of the games business: creation tools, platforms, infrastructure and finance. Their appearance on the line-up is not, by itself, confirmation of a new game reveal. What matters next is how the published programme turns that mix into useful sessions and opportunities for attendees.

The announced speaker roster includes Sir Ian Livingstone of Hiro Capital, Bandai Namco Studios and Delphi Interactive CTO Julien Merceron, Yalla Group president Saifi Ismail, Kojima Productions’ US studio head Riley Russell, and Motion Blur Game Studio director Omer Faruk Gungor.

The creator programmes worth watching

For aspiring developers in the region, two initiatives stand out. Made in the Kingdom, supported by Unreal Engine, is intended to help creators develop and showcase their work. A PUBG MOBILE World of Wonder showcase is also planned for projects created by Saudi students, with further details to follow.

These programmes could offer a practical entry point for readers whose interest in gaming extends to building maps, designing experiences or developing a first project. The next details to watch are eligibility, submission dates, selection criteria and what support participants actually receive. The launch announcement does not provide a complete application guide.

Four stages, with business and learning on the agenda

Tahaluf plans more than 200 speakers across four stages, naming the Main Stage, Investor & Startup Stage and KoG Academy in its release. Topics include investment, publishing, development, artificial intelligence, talent, original intellectual property and esports.

Workshops, training, curated networking, investor meetings and executive roundtables are also part of the announced programme. A student may get most value from a practical session; an independent studio may prioritise a publisher meeting. The eventual timetable will matter more than the headline size of the event when choosing what to attend.

Why this matters for the Arab gaming scene

For Mghamer, the most interesting story is the connection between the region’s gaming audience and the people building games for it. Competitive success attracts attention, but a wider industry also needs designers, engineers, producers, funding and routes to market.

Kingdom of Gaming’s proposed mix puts those roles in the same conversation. Its value will become clearer through the opportunities delivered to creators and the projects and relationships that continue after December. For now, the announced programme gives Arab players and aspiring industry professionals several concrete developments to follow.

This preview is based on the organiser’s September 21, 2026 press release. Programme details may change; consult the official event website for registration information and subsequent announcements.