- ARAB NEWS
- 02 May 2024
Since 1975
RIYADH: Game On, the first sports and entertainment center of its kind in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, recently opened its doors in the Ishbiliya District in Riyadh.
Islam Gasser, partner and CEO of Game On, told Arab News that the brand is under the umbrella of the General Entertainment Authority.
“We’re bringing two brands under the same sports entertainment umbrella: Battle Karts and Game On. Battle Kart is a Belgian karting brand and it’s the first brand that makes video game arcades a real experience with games like the Mario Kart or Crash, the game that we played when we were kids … so they brought it to life.”
He explained that “Game On is interactive sports arcades that bring eight sports together” including football, basketball, handball and more.
4Steps is a Saudi company specializing in the field of entertainment and sports, and it is supported by the General Entertainment Authority and the Ministry of Investment, and its first station was Game On in Riyadh.
With support from authority and its keenness to support emerging and medium-sized companies and to provide the best entertainment experiences to all citizens, residents and tourists, 4Steps was able to attract the Belgian Battle Kart brand, which has 26 branches in Europe, to Saudi Arabia to sign a strategic partnership to open branches in several cities.
The company aims to create unique sports entertainment experiences that keep pace with Saudi Vision 2030.
BattleKart is the world’s first real-life kart racer with a blend of video games and augmented reality. It includes BattleSnake, based on the beloved Snake mobile game, BattleFoot for football lovers, and other games including BattleColor, which sees competitors try to cover the tracks with their teams colors. The track contains 12 karting players who can challenge opponents for 15 minutes in four different modes for SR120 ($32) for one game.
Adrian Lacroix, the trade and investment counselor at the Belgian Embassy, stated that this move is excellent for Saudi Arabian investments, particularly given the country’s strong video game culture.
“Since Saudis enjoy gaming so much, we felt it was a smart idea to open the center here and it ties in perfectly with Saudi Vision 2030. I estimate that 80 percent of Saudis are gamers. This is a unique form of entertainment that is enormous and essentially catered to this particular customer base.”
Larcroix’s role involves assisting companies in conducting business in a manner similar to that of Saudi companies. Their objective is to entice investment from Saudi Arabia to Belgium and vice versa.
The Trade Promotion Agency of Belgium, together with the Embassy of Belgium, is organizing a trade mission from March 3-6 in Riyadh. A business delegation will arrive from Belgium and Luxembourg. The international trade mission and will be focused on tech companies and will have signed agreements during LEAP.
For booking and more details, visit battlekart.com.
