Middle East Gaming Market: How Telcos Are Driving the Esports Booms

By Jürgen Hatheier, CTO, International, Ciena

The Middle East gaming market is booming. Competitive gaming has become a major attraction drawing in millions of fans across the region, where players vie for cash prizes in e-tournaments, which have become a major attraction, drawing millions of viewers across the globe. This phenomenon is particularly thriving in the Middle East, where many identify as gaming enthusiasts, competing in games like Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and Fortnite.

The Growth of Esports in the Middle East

The interest in e-sports in the region has been steadily growing, with the number of gamers expected to rise to around 87 million by 2026. Saudi Arabia has emerged as a dominant market for e-sports, largely driven by widespread mobile penetration and government investment in gaming infrastructure, including state-of-the-art gaming zones, like NEOM’s gaming hub. Currently, Saudi Arabia’s Esports World Cup is the globe’s largest e-sports tournament in the world.

In the UAE, the government’s vision for economic diversification is paving the way for improved digitalization and its emergence as an e-sports powerhouse. This is evident from recent investments in setting up gaming hubs, including Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC)’s new Artificial Intelligence (AI) centre in Dubai that integrates Crypto and gaming centres.

Why Telcos Are Winning in the Middle East Gaming Market

Telcos are eager to take part in the Middle East’s growing gaming scene.

With deep roots in tech and innovation, they’re now exploring ways to enable and monetize this opportunity. In Saudi Arabia, STC’s gaming platform, STC Play, allows users to browse content, buy digital gear, join tournaments, and connect with other players through built-in chat, creating a vibrant, interactive community.

Telcos in the Middle East, too, are also actively supporting the gaming ecosystem by offering a Gaming Pass that provides dedicated data for gaming. e&’s eLife TV Gaming service allows subscribers to access over 70 premium games in HD quality directly through its eLife TV set-top box.

Gaming Tourism and Hospitality Trends

The popularity of gaming has led to the rise of ‘gaming tourism’, with personalized, gaming-integrated hospitality experiences. Some hotels have fully equipped gaming rooms for gaming aficionados. For instance, Rove Hotels in Dubai offers gamer guests high-speed wired internet connection for their gaming needs, in addition to leisure facilities.

Gaming tourism is an attractive opportunity for telcos in the region to tap into this rapidly growing market and diversify their business. However, the next generation of gaming services enabled by 5G will require high-capacity, resilient networks that support today’s bandwidth needs.

How Telcos Support the Middle East Gaming Market

Telcos can promote gaming culture in the UAE in many ways. These include offering premium game subscriptions, supporting in-app purchases, and using data analytics to enhance user experience and streamline operations.

Across the region, telecom providers are also upgrading their infrastructure to meet growing demand. For example, e& UAE plans to deploy Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme, making it the first to deliver 1.6 Tb/s speeds in the Middle East.

In addition, e& UAE and Lenovo are working on a new 5G Edge-in-a-Box solution. This technology will allow for faster, more flexible deployment of 5G connectivity across various locations.

Meanwhile, STC in Saudi Arabia is expanding its fiber optic network to enable high-bandwidth, low-latency connections. These efforts support Saudi Arabia’s broader goals—powering mega-projects, enabling smart city development, and becoming a global esports hub.

Meeting gamers where they are

Telcos face a growing challenge: scaling their network resources to handle peak gaming demand. Gamers today are still tied to a single platform, physical hardware, and long software downloads.

But that’s changing. Players increasingly want more flexibility, mobility, and freedom in how they game.

As graphics improve and real-time mobile gaming gains popularity, latency—or lag—becomes a critical concern. To reduce this, telcos may need to rethink their network architecture. Solutions like edge networking and enhanced data center interconnects can help minimize lag and keep performance high

What’s Next for Gaming in the Gulf?

As the gaming industry in the region scales even further, analytics and network intelligence will be critical to identify congestion and latency during peak periods of usage and to activate additional network resources on demand. Instead of simply ‘throwing more bandwidth at the problem’, an adaptive network will put telcos in the driver’s seat, presenting gaming as a valuable monetization opportunity.