The NEOM Project: Unfinished and Unlikely to be Completed
Saudi Arabia’s attempt to construct NEOM, a futuristic cognitive city, aims to reduce dependence on oil and transform the kingdom’s economy. The $500 billion megaproject, targeting automation, renewable energy, and innovation for its planned 10,000 square mile area, represents a core piece of Saudi Vision 2030. However, NEOM faces deep-rooted challenges including lack of investment, economic obstacles, and privacy issues that realistically inhibit its full completion.
From a gaming perspective, NEOM’s viability as a hub for esports and next-generation entertainment also remains doubtful. Its progress is continually impeded by the kingdom’s constrained economic diversification, restrictive policies, and insufficient specialized infrastructure.
Background on NEOM
NEOM‘s blueprint focuses heavily on leisure offerings, including ambitions to become a regional gaming and esports hub. Planned venues like the NEOM Esports Arena hint at facilities for hosting gaming tournaments. The city also aims to provide a regulatory sandbox for developing new gaming technologies.
Overall, NEOM wants gaming ecosystem supremacy to match its outsized Smart City goals. Gaming seemingly aligns with NEOM’s emphasis on attracting youth and talent. However, the kingdom spending billions on entertainment spaces without resolving economic and institutional problems seems questionable.
Dependency on Oil Revenue
NEOM‘s funding fully relies on proceeds from Saudi Aramco, the state oil company that generates over 50% of Saudi Arabia’s annual GDP. Yet despite 2022 oil prices surpassing $100 per barrel, gaming market observers remain unconvinced sufficient petrodollars exist for NEOM‘s budget.
Saudi Arabia‘s gaming market only generated $881 million as of 2021 according to Statista. That represents under 0.2% of last year’s $592 billion GDP. For perspective, Japan‘s gaming market generated over $19 billion in 2021 — outpacing Saudi Arabia nearly 22X over.
So realistically, can a country with minimal existing gaming infrastructure and revenue rapidly evolve into a global hub just by tapping oil funds? Unlikely, without more economic diversification.
Foreign Direct Investment Hurdles
Compounding matters, foreign direct investment in Saudi Arabia has declined over recent years despite attempts at economic liberalization. FDI dove from around $8 billion in 2008 to barely $3 billion in 2017 partly due to regional volatility. Global gaming investors are often equally risk-averse.
Consider that the peak fundraising year for Middle East & North Africa (MENA) startups in 2021 only amassed $2.6 billion according to MAGNiTT. For comparison, global gaming fundraising in 2021 exceeded $71 billion according to InvestGame. Launching NEOM‘s planned gaming ecosystem would require attracting overseas gaming firms and holding marquee international esports events – difficult given FDI barriers.
Privacy Concerns
Data privacy represents another dimension hindering NEOM’s advancement as a gaming hub. NEOM’s “cognitive” ambitions emphasize using data analytics to anticipate resident needs before they arise. That could enable personalized gaming services, but prompts worries of invasive surveillance.
Gamers are especially wary of data exploitation, censorship and behavior manipulation. Saudi Arabia notably lacks a formal data protection law equivalent to the EU’s GDPR privacy legislation. NEOM provides no transparency around consent or oversight to prevent abuse of access to users’ information. Such opacity deters gaming firms from embracing NEOM.
Policy and Legal Considerations
On the governance front, restrictive domestic laws also constrain growth for high-tech industries like gaming. Saudi Arabia lacks formal legal provisions protecting intellectual property crucial for new gaming ventures. The kingdom also severely limits gaming content featuring gambling, nudity or other taboos according to official Resolution No. (37234927) governing video games as of 2022. Such tight control over creative expression repels gaming talent.
Saudi censorship body General Commission for Audiovisual Media has broad authority over gaming products and events. Any gaming company activations must strictly follow Islamic values according to Saudi law. But heavy-handed compliance structures tend to hinder innovation. Relaxed regulations fostering R&D have enabled gaming booms from South Korea to Canada – unlikely prospects for NEOM presently.
Human Capital Limitations
An inadequate education pipeline also hinders Saudi Arabia from achieving NEOM’s technology and talent goals. Despite youth unemployment exceeding 30%, most graduates lack adequate digital skills for envisioned knowledge economy roles. Curricular focus remains heavily concentrated in Islamic studies rather than learning programming languages, animation skills or game development.
Bridging those gaps to cultivate sufficient homegrown gaming contributors could take generations. Attracting overseas talent familiar with emerging game technologies like virtual reality, cryptocurrencies or non-fungible tokens may also prove challenging if personal liberties are constrained by patronage networks or religious law. So for now, NEOM’s aspirations to transform Saudi Arabia into a dynamic gaming hub appear far from achievable.
Unresolved Fundamentals Undermine Viability
Like past regional attempts at constructing future cities, NEOM downplays solving systemic economic issues, policy reform and foundational capacity-building. Without properly addressing those fundamental prerequisites, constructing flashy gaming arenas risks becoming white elephants. Strengthening the kingdom’s long-term human capital foundations and institutional transparency matter more.
Conclusion
In conclusion, NEOM faces too many endemic challenges to credibly position itself as a next-generation gaming Mecca anytime soon. From unsupportive national gaming policies to ingrained resistance adapting the Saudi economy beyond petro-states, realizing NEOM’s lofty goals requires realistic building blocks.
With gaming poised to surpass $200 billion industry revenues by 2023, NEOM obviously seeks to capitalize on this momentum. But the kingdom’s modest investments in its gaming ecosystem so far seem inadequate given competition from regional hubs like the UAE and Israel.
Advancing as a bonafide global gaming capital relies on more than sovereign wealth alone. Attracting international esports contests and nurturing domestic development talent compels fundamental reforms Saudi Arabia appears unwilling to implement presently. While select NEOM gaming venues may open, fully realizing its grand gaming vision looks increasingly like game over.