Esports in Middle East Gets a Boost from Bigo Live

The region’s fastest growing livestreaming social media platform, Bigo Live, is investing in the Esports community in Saudi Arabia, to help enhance gamers’ skills and talents, and facilitate potential career opportunities within the industry.

In the second half of 2020, Bigo Live intends to collaborate with over 3,000 gamers in the Middle East, offering incentives such as sponsorships and the opportunity to experience international Esports championships live in-app.

Bigo Live will welcome celebrity gamers onto the platform and assist with the identification and development of talent from users who aspire to be professional gamers. The app will feature a series of online leagues, in which amateur gamers will have the chance to compete with each other as well as with professionals, with the intention of ultimately representing Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East region in global Esports tournaments.

The Strategy & Middle East report, titled ‘Skin in the Game’, reveals that the GCC Esports market is undergoing expansion at a rapid pace, and is estimated to be worth USD821 million by 2021 – up from USD693 million in 2017.

On a regional level the market in Saudi Arabia specifically will expand rapidly and become the largest among GCC countries.

“Esports in Saudi Arabia is filled with people who have exceptional skill and talent,”, said a spokesperson from Bigo Live’s Singapore headquartered parent company, BIGO Technology. “We believe that Esports can become a career for a lot of gamers as the space grows and options for gamers are booming every day. It can also have positive influence for the community. At Bigo Live, we are excited to be able to provide a platform for gamers where they can stream their game play and interact with their viewers at the same time. We hope to provide a unique place for the gamers to follow their dreams and uncover opportunities for themselves as well as the future of the Esports industry in their countries.”

In the U.S., Bigo Live recently launched Gaming House 2020 that aims to provide a platform for Esports giants to access mainstream audiences across the world. The on-going initiative featuring a large-scale Fortnite tournament has generated more than 2.3 million views on the Bigo Live platform. The continued rise in engagement levels will continue to enhance the profiles of gamers that are participating in the tournament as well as inspire recreational gamers. 

“We look forward to replicating a similar experience for gamers in the Middle East and are very excited to see how the talents both in Saudi Arabia and across the region develop their skills and profiles in their respective Esports journeys,” said the spokesperson from BIGO Technology.

In the MENA region, Bigo Live already has a strong user base. During the second quarter of 2020, the MAUs in the MENA region grew by over 30 percent and this growth is expected to continue as more people explore the possibilities and opportunities that live streaming will bring.