Saudi Arabia’s video game industry is expanding rapidly, with imports of gaming consoles surpassing 2.4m units in 2024 and 2025, according to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority.
In 2024 alone, more than 1.7m consoles were brought into the Kingdom, while 684,489 units have been imported so far in 2025.
The top suppliers were China, Japan, and the United States.
Saudi games console boom
The Saudi Internet Report 2024, released by the Communications, Space and Technology Commission, highlighted an 88 per cent improvement in response time for popular online games, alongside strong digital infrastructure growth.
Smart devices remain the most widely used gaming platform (24.2 per cent of users), closely followed by PlayStation (23.8 per cent). PlayStation dominates among players aged 10–19, while older demographics prefer mobile gaming.
Whiteout Survival, Roblox, and Subway Surfers ranked as the most downloaded mobile games.
The Kingdom’s gaming ambitions are further showcased by the Esports World Cup, taking place in Riyadh until August 24. The event features more than 2,000 players from more than 100 countries, competing for prizes worth more than $70m, cementing Saudi Arabia’s position as a global hub for gaming and esports.
