Playing to win
The Middle East is witnessing an unprecedented boom in gaming and esports, with multiple reports confirming its rapid growth. According to the MENA Gaming & eSports Summit 2023, there are more than 377m gamers across the Middle East. Statista says Egypt has the region's largest gaming population, Saudi Arabia the most gaming revenue and the UAE the highest revenue per user. An AnalysysMason report names Saudi Arabia as the Middle East leader, accounting for over 40% of MENA's overall market share, followed by the UAE. It's clear that gaming is thriving in the region.
Amid this explosive growth, Dr Mohammed Alshahrani, Country Manager KSA at BytePlus, sat down for a fireside chat with Arif Aabed, Senior Manager of Technology Partnerships at MBC Group, at the BroadcastPro Summit KSA. The duo discussed the factors driving gaming in the region, and the evolving role and impact of MBC's Wizzo app.
Opening the 'Playing to Win: How MBC Wizzo is engaging the swipe generation' session, Dr Alshahrani noted how MBC had been an early mover in gaming, launching the Wizzo app in 2015 before the industry had gathered momentum. Shedding light on the insights that shaped MBC's foray into gaming, Aabed said: 'We changed how we looked at Gen Z and the Alpha generation. They don't have shorter attention spans, they simply make quicker decisions about the type of content they want to consume. They also multi-screen and can consume content from up to five screens simultaneously. And finally, they prefer content they can relate to. Videos filmed on an iPhone are more appealing to them than high-quality content produced with cutting-edge technology.'
'They also want content that is interactive, relevant and can help them build a community. This is where gaming comes in. With gaming, they are no longer passive consumers. They become actively involved in its progress and direction. They must put effort into the game, which earns them bragging rights and allows them to build a community. We were able to give them all of this through Wizzo.'
With the gaming industry experiencing a dramatic spike in metaverse integrations and cross-platform play that allows seamless experiences across multiple devices, Dr Alshahrani asked how MBC keeps pace with these ever-changing trends.
'The Arab world spans a huge geography, from the Middle East to North Africa. Each country has its own cultural nuances, which we incorporated into our games. We didn't just build games, we created experiences that were tailored to every individual region. For instance, Egypt is driven by humour-based content, while games for Saudi Arabia focus on the traditions of Arab warriors and the stories around them,' Aabed explained.
This deep cultural integration is reflected in Wizzo's inclusion in the region's pop culture. Aabed recalled a recent viral moment: 'When Egypt's airport systems went down and the authorities started stamping travel documents manually, people started referencing our Madame Afaf game, which has a similar concept.'
Another feature that makes Wizzo immensely popular with gamers is its live streaming and video uploading capability. For this, Wizzo partners with BytePlus to offer a seamless and enhanced in-app experience.
'Live streaming has become an important pillar of Wizzo's community-building offering. It's helped us capitalise on gamers who are not just bounty hunters but covet bragging rights. These people are the most invested in the game in terms of time and effort; they play with a certain showmanship and are invested in the game itself rather than just the monetary rewards it brings,' said Aabed.
The popularity of video hosting and distribution was reconfirmed by Dr Alshahrani, who highlighted how Capcut, a ByteDance video editing app, is currently number three in Saudi Arabia. 'We leverage AI-driven solutions to continuously enhance product experience for our users and enterprise customers. In fact, we have a new AI-enhanced video editing tool that can transform archived videos to HD at very pocket-friendly prices.'
Here, Wizzo's live chat option plays an important role too. 'There are different ways, especially in open-world games, of completing missions,' explained Aabed. 'Multiplayer games boast artistic ways of scoring points or getting the kill. All these elements serve as the starting point of many conversations, and to be able to live chat with other players or audiences at these moments makes the game even more rewarding.'
Another critical factor driving Wizzo's popularity is user security. 'With a significant number of users being children or young adults, Wizzo's security measures, such as the ability to delete user data, has succeeded in earning the confidence of families,' commented Dr Alshahrani.
Beyond gaming enthusiasts, Wizzo has been attracting passionate and talented stakeholders including game designers, publishers and distributors. Dr Alshahrani highlighted MBC's initiatives to support SMEs and startups in the gaming sector. By collaborating with local and regional game developers, the group creates opportunities for them to showcase their work in Saudi Arabia.
Elaborating on the process, Aabed said, 'We're always working at finding the right talent to bring into Saudi Arabia, or connecting them with established companies to make relocating to Saudi Arabia lucrative. We can do this on a global scale thanks to our leading position in the media industry. As the biggest media group in the region, we give them a taste of what it's like to launch in this part of the world. We are also training people at the grassroots level. We are reaching out to the Kingdom's graduates and are trying to convince them to adopt gaming as an actual business.'
Such efforts have not been without challenges. 'There are a lot of cultural issues with parents resisting their children from working in gaming, so we conduct many awareness and educational campaigns, regionally and globally.'
Looking ahead, Wizzo is gearing up to launch an updated version soon. While the release date hasn't been confirmed, gamers can look forward to several new features and an enhanced immersive experience.
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