The government-run Saudi Esports Federation will reportedly host a Saudi-only Tekken tournament with a million-dollar prize pool, the biggest in Tekken history.
This news comes on the heels of Evo 2022, which ran its fighting game tournament from August 5 through August 7.
Given Evo’s status as the most prestigious fighting game tournament in the world, Tekken, of course, played a significant role in the festivities.
Publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment even teased the next Tekken entry during the event. But it would appear that Tekken will soon enter the spotlight once more in the coming days.
Saudi Esports Federation hosting Tekken tournament this month
As reported by Tekken commentator and Twitch streamer Spag, the government-run Saudi Esports Federation plans to host an offline Tekken tournament in its capital city, Riyadh.
The tournament will last from August 14 through August 15, with only Saudis eligible to participate in the fighting game event. According to Spag, the tournament boasts quite the prize pool, too, since it sits somewhere between $700k – $1 Million USD.
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In a follow-up post, the commentator noted that this counts as the “biggest prize pool in Tekken history.”
Such an arrangement does raise a few concerns, especially with respect to the country’s human rights issues.
[BREAKING] The Saudi Esports Federation owned by the Government are running a Saudi-Only #TEKKEN event on 14-15 August in Riyadh 🇸🇦The event will be offline on PS4 and per sources the prize pool is between $700k – $1 Million USDNo news on where a stream will take place yet pic.twitter.com/z0iNnf6l78
— Spag 🇵🇸 (@SpaghettiRip) August 10, 2022
And the government’s growing interest in the gaming industry in recent years has raised alarm bells, as well. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman now owns a majority share in SNK, for instance, with over 96 percent of the company belonging to one of the Prince’s foundations.
Plus, another of the country’s subsidiary companies recently invested $1 billion in Embracer Group, the Swedish outfit that’s been buying up IP and studios left and right for several years. The latest of its acquisitions saw it assume ownership of the Deus Ex and Tomb Raider licenses.