News
Saudi Arabia’s Gaming Sector Is Quickly Gathering Momentum
Around 3,000 locals already attend Gamers8, an 8-week eSports festival in Riyadh, with a tournament prize pool of $45 million.
Saudi Arabian locals make no secret of their passion for video games and eSports, with even Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman rumored to be an avid Call of Duty player.
Last year, the Saudi royal announced a $38-billion investment strategy for the Kingdom’s Savvy Games Group, which is owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund.
Meanwhile, as Gamers8 — an eight-week eSports festival in Riyadh with 3,000 attendees — gathers momentum, the government is increasingly emphasizing local game production, hoping to turn Saudi Arabia into “an Eden for game developers” with homegrown titles promoting Arabic culture.
“In the past, Arabs were only buying games, not developing games. Now, there is an opportunity to develop games, design your own ideas, and make them a reality according to local customs and traditions,” explained developer Mohammed Al Fakih.
Two-thirds of the non-immigrant population of Saudi Arabia is aged under 30, making the country an important player in the world video game market. In addition, some 25,000 domestic and foreign developers are currently working to find the winning formula that will help a locally-produced title break out on the world stage.
“With the expertise coming from outside and the knowledge being transferred, we will soon notice some games that can really take off internationally,” said Faisal bin Homran, chief eSports officer at the Saudi Esports Federation.
Also Read: Abu Dhabi-Developed AI Arabic Language Model Unveiled
Saudi Arabia’s national strategy has even more ambitious dreams: By 2030, officials hope that 30 globally competitive games will have been produced in domestic studios.
News
Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users
Google brings its latest image model to Gemini and Search, adding 4K output and tighter text control for regional users.
Google has opened access to Nano Banana 2 across the Middle East and North Africa, pushing its newest image model into everyday tools rather than keeping it inside the exclusive (and expensive) Pro tier.
The rollout spans the Google Gemini desktop and mobile apps, and extends to Google Search through Lens and AI Mode. Developers can also test it in preview via AI Studio and the Gemini API.
Nano Banana 2 runs on Gemini Flash, Google’s fast inference layer. The focus is speed, but also control. Users can export visuals from 512px up to 4K, adjusting aspect ratios for everything from vertical social posts to widescreen displays.
The model maintains character likeness across up to five figures and preserves fidelity for as many as 14 objects within a single workflow. This enables visual continuity across scenes, iterations, or edits — supporting projects like short films, storyboards, and multi-scene narratives. Text rendering has also been improved, delivering legible typography in mockups and greeting cards, with built-in translation and localization directly within images.
Also Read: RØDE Adds Direct iPhone Pairing To Wireless GO And Pro Mics
Under the hood, the system taps Gemini’s broader knowledge base and pulls in real-time information and imagery from web search to render specific subjects more accurately. Lighting and fine detail have been upgraded, without slowing output.
By embedding the model inside Gemini and Search, Google is normalizing advanced image generation for a mass audience. In MENA, where startups and marketing teams are leaning heavily on AI to scale content across languages and borders, that shift lands at a practical moment.
The move also folds creative tooling deeper into search itself, so that image generation is no longer a separate workflow. It now sits right next to the query box.
Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users
GluCare Rebrands To Metabolic, Dropping Diabetes-Only Identity
Apple’s March 4 Event Rumored To Put New Macs In Play
Google Adds Arabic AI Music Creation For Ramadan
