But this wasn’t a sudden leap. Long before the bright lights of EWC, Saudi’s gaming story was already unfolding. In the 1970s and 80s, consoles like Atari lit up living rooms. Informal markets made games widely accessible, often for just a few dollars, turning gaming into a shared social language. The early years also sparked game localization and development, revealing a clear appetite for culturally relevant content. As internet access grew, cybercafes became gathering grounds for Saudi youth—spaces where communities formed, reflexes were tested, and rivalries took shape. The 2000s marked a turning point. Saudi was entering the digital age, and digital enablers like stc group were laying the groundwork. Our rollout of essential infrastructure including DSL broadband around 2003, sparked the rise of internet gaming cafes—spaces where young Saudis came to belong, compete, and grow. These early proving grounds evolved into a national movement, setting the stage for today’s esports champions. The scale is staggering. According to PwC, Saudi Arabia is home to an estimated 23.5 million gamers - around 67% of the population This surge is powered by a youthful majority nearly 89% under 35, driven by a hunger for competition and immersive play. At the heart of this scene? Fighting games. The digital dojos of titles like Street Fighter and Tekken—have long held a special place in Saudi gaming culture. They are more than button-mashers. They require discipline, strategy, and sharp reflexes—traits every boxing fan respects. Intense one-on-one battles and local rivalries were the early training ground. Today, with EWC spotlighting Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6, and Fatal Fury, that legacy has found a global stage, powered by stc group’s world-class connectivity. The rise of Saudi esports is not the start of something new. It is the echo of years spent playing, learning, and dreaming in arcades, cafés, and living rooms. Backed by Vision 2030, the sector is set to generate over US$13.3 billion and create 39,000 local jobs, with national investments already exceeding US$38 billion. This is a culmination, not a beginning. And with stc group powering the next era of play, the world now sees what has always existed here: a fighting spirit built to compete.
From Local Arcades to the World Stage: Saudi’s Fighting Spirit Shines Bright at the Esports World Cup The lights beat down. The crowd’s roar is a physical force. On stage, two figures are locked in intense concentration. Every movement is precise. Every second counts. The difference between triumph and defeat? Precision, nerve, and a world-class network. Listen closely. There’s no bell. No footwork. Just the rapid click of buttons and the glide of a thumb stick. This isn’t your traditional ring; this is the electrifying arena of competitive Street Fighter at the Esports World Cup (EWC) in Saudi Arabia. Powered by stc group, this first-of-its-kind global gaming event is rewriting the playbook and showing that precision, discipline, and heart matter just as much in digital arenas as they do in the ring. The Kingdom’s investment in gaming is anything but recent. In 2024, the Esports World Cup stormed onto the global stage, raising the bar for digital connectivity and competitive play. Hosted in Riyadh, the inaugural tournament put up serious numbers: over 500 million viewers tuned in, watching over 250 million hours of content, making it the most-watched esports tournament of the year, with peak viewership hitting 3.5 million. Behind that scale was stc group, an Elite and Founding Partner, powering the tournament’s digital core. Our infrastructure, built for champions, featured high- performance servers for lag-free action, a 5G network that kept thousands of players online at blistering speeds, and systems engineered to crush latency. Because in esports, just like in the ring, milliseconds make champions. A dedicated stc crew worked round- the-clock, like a seasoned corner team, ensuring every connection held. At the heart of it all was the stc play Gaming Hall, transformed into a global arena hosting over 1,500 top players from more than 100 countries.
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