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What Ward means by speed
Ward argues that speed matters in a games business where opportunities and competitors move quickly. Drawing on his experience at Electronic Arts, he framed rapid decisions as especially important in dealmaking: “In doing deals and transactions and so forth, time is not your friend. You’d better move fast, or the next guy will be right behind you.”
For Savvy, that logic has included acquisitions and partnerships intended to bring companies, expertise and commercial relationships into the sector. It is a business rationale, not evidence that fast investment alone can create a self-sustaining regional industry.
Why local talent is the slower, essential work
Ward’s central qualification is that growth requires people who can fill jobs in Saudi Arabia. “We need to develop the skills and talent of the people who are there in order to fill those jobs,” he said. He also cautioned: “Talent development and skill development for building a games and esports hub is not something that will be achieved overnight, but the faster we can move on that front, the better off we’ll be.”
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In the 2024 interview, Ward discussed a Saudi games-sector objective of 39,000 jobs. He said it was possible but would not happen in four years; the figure is a target, not a count of jobs already created. Ward also said 67% of Saudi Arabia’s population considered themselves gamers, but the interview did not identify the survey or year behind that statistic.
A March 2026 GamesBeat interview provides later examples of education initiatives, while not establishing that the jobs objective has been met. Ward said a Play to Learn pilot had 700,000 children signed up, 30,000 teachers and 150,514 game concepts submitted. He said the Ministry of Education wanted to expand it to six million children; that was a plan, not a reported participation total. He also described curriculum partnerships with five Saudi universities and said, of the education effort, “That’s not something you build overnight.”
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Events can demonstrate reach, not local capacity
GamesBeat reported that Riyadh’s 2024 Esports World Cup ran for eight weeks. The publication said Savvy reported more than 500 million viewers and over 250 million hours of content, and reported a peak audience of 3.5 million for the League of Legends Grand Final. These are event figures reported by GamesBeat and attributed to Savvy; they show reported scale, but do not by themselves establish local employment, Saudi studio output or lasting sector economics.
Ward expressed confidence in Riyadh’s prospects, saying, “I don’t have any doubt that Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, will become a global games and esports hub.” That is his outlook, not an independently verified outcome. In the March 2026 interview, Ward cited year-over-year increases of 30–50% in key Esports World Cup metrics, including hours viewed, but the article did not enumerate all the metrics or provide an underlying dataset.
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What acquisitions and brand partners are meant to add
Ward described Savvy’s acquisition of ESL and Faceit as a response to a fragmented esports sector with difficult economics. His thesis is that long-term capital and combining businesses can strengthen the sector. He said publisher, sponsorship and advertising agreements had become longer and monetized better. That is Ward’s assessment; the interview does not independently isolate consolidation as the cause.
GamesBeat also reported several partnership examples:
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- Niantic: Savvy signed a memorandum of understanding intended to support Niantic’s expansion into Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt.
- Xsolla: Savvy signed an MoU aimed at creating more economic opportunities in the Middle East and elsewhere.
- Kwalee and a Saudi startup: The relationship illustrated how an overseas partner could contribute external-development expertise while supporting local game-development capability.
The interview does not disclose commercial terms, investment amounts or measured outcomes for these arrangements. An MoU or partnership example indicates an area of cooperation; it is not proof that a project has delivered jobs or revenue.
In March 2026, Ward said Savvy had revised its brand-partnership sales pipeline and clarified ownership and accountability across esports product lines. He also forecast EBITDA positivity that year and cash-flow positivity the following year. Those were expectations, not confirmed financial results.
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What the interview establishes—and what it does not
The interview presents speed as a way to seize opportunities and assemble businesses, while treating skills development as the longer-term foundation for a Riyadh hub. Event audience figures and named partners help show activity and ambition. They do not, on their own, answer whether the sector has created the targeted number of jobs, built lasting local studios or achieved the financial results Ward anticipates.
GamesBeat published the interview on August 26, 2024, and updated it on June 18, 2025. Its discussion of hosting Olympic esports in 2025 reflected expectations described in 2024, not a current status update. GamesBeat disclosed that it was a media partner for the New Global Sport Conference and that the reporter’s trip to Riyadh was paid for by the conference.
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