WAVES Summit 2025: How India and Saudi Arabia are shaping the future of gaming
Gaming is no longer just a timepass, it’s a revolution sweeping across continents, connecting cultures, creating jobs, and building futures. There’s no better stage for this transformation than the WAVES Summit 2025 in Mumbai, India.
The WAVES Summit 2025 in Mumbai
This year’s WAVES Summit, held in Mumbai, was a melting pot of ideas, innovations, and intent. From government policymakers to indie developers and tech giants, everyone gathered to discuss one thing: how gaming is reshaping the global narrative.
With India’s media and entertainment sector surging ahead, WAVES has become a launchpad for the country’s ambitions to lead the global gaming industry. Sessions spotlighted key trends like AI-driven game design, cultural storytelling, and data’s role in user experience.
Saudi Arabia’s vision 2030
Shifting focus to the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is rewriting the playbook. Under Vision 2030, the Kingdom is aggressively positioning itself as a global gaming hub. Their National Gaming and Esports Strategy — launched in 2022 — is ambitious but deeply structured. By 2030, they aim to generate over 39,000 jobs, contribute $13 billion to GDP, and field over 100 pro teams among their 21 million gamers.
Saudi Arabia’s flagship gaming projects
The Esports World Cup, launched by HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, made its grand debut in Riyadh, with 200 clubs, 1,500 athletes, 2 million attendees, and 500 million global viewers. This is the kind of scale and vision that’s putting Saudi Arabia on the global esports map.
At the core of Saudi Arabia’s strategy is people. Through the Saudi Esports Federation, the country is building platforms for innovation, youth participation, and gender inclusion. Nearly half of Saudi’s gamers are women, and dedicated programmes are ensuring that gaming is inclusive and equitable.
India-Saudi Arabia collaboration potential
At WAVES 2025, it’s clear how aligned India and Saudi Arabia are in their gaming ambitions. Both countries understand that the future hinges on technology-driven creativity, international collaboration, and building robust ecosystems. Indian developers could find significant opportunities in Saudi Arabia, while Saudi Arabia’s top-tier infrastructure supports greater esports exchange and regional competition.
WAVES and initiatives like NGSC (New Global Sports Conference) are proof that new voices are steering the global entertainment ship. From partnership signings to investment announcements, they’re shaping the future of global gaming policy and infrastructure.
WAVES Summit 2025, in Mumbai is a game-changer!
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND)
Connecting with gamers, AI artists, and creators is inspiring. Witnessing tech-driven innovation and Bharat's exceptional talent was truly captivating.
The future is bright!
India’s gaming revolution
Indian government-led initiatives such as the “Create in India Challenge” are encouraging young developers to craft games that are rooted in Indian culture and folklore. Many of these innovator’s hail from premier institutions like the IITs, bringing hardcore tech talent into the creative fold.
Startups like Zupee are showing how Indian gaming can blend tradition and tech. By turning games like Ludo into skill-based competitions, they’re making gaming both fun and rewarding. Zupee’s focus on culturally relevant content has helped it reach users across age groups and regions.
Industry voices from India
Roland Landers, CEO of AIGF, nailed it when he said, “I think ‘Create in India’ is about ideation and innovation. What we are seeing in the online skill gaming industry is a lot of both. Many founders are young engineers who have come up with truly innovative products.”
Ravi Shankar Jha from Zupee adds weight to this idea, stating that India’s heritage of stories and strategy games gives us a unique advantage globally.
Shankar explained, “Our mission has always been to bring culturally relevant games to the Indian mass audience. India has always been a land of games and stories, and we believe that with the right support, domestic developers can take Indian games to a global audience.”
Gokul V Subramaniam of Intel India highlighted the role of data in today’s content creation. With AI and immersive graphics becoming mainstream, the power of processing is driving the user experience.
Subramaniam noted, “WAVES is an amazing opportunity because a lot of content creation involves audio and video, which is at the core of everything we do with data. Data is huge, and at Intel, we focus on several aspects of processors. WAVES is bringing together the diverse range of data needed to make this possible.”
Ankit Kashyap from M-LEAGUE summarised the big picture by stating: “Our thesis remains that we will create in India but build for the world. The idea is to leverage the talent and resources here to develop games that can be played globally. Games have the power to connect people, whether in Brazil, India, or the US.”
