• The collaboration will focus on inspiring people to play together through local community-building efforts and live events across the region.
  • This partnership aligns with Savvy’s mission to enhance the games and esports ecosystem in the region, contribute to Saudi Arabia’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy, and bring new experiences to local players.

RIYADH – Savvy Games Group (“Savvy”), Saudi Arabia’s National Champion for Games and Esports, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Niantic Inc. (“Niantic”), a global leader in augmented reality (AR) and location-based games, to support Niantic’s expansion into the MENA-3 region, specifically in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.

The partnership will focus on inspiring people to play together through local community-building efforts and live events in the region, promoting exploration and discovery of cities and local neighborhoods.

Niantic’s games are already played broadly across the region, and today’s partnership aims to accelerate this growth, providing new opportunities for the market’s fast growing mobile gaming audience to participate.

Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy Games Group, said: “Our collaboration with Niantic marks a significant milestone in our efforts to bring cutting-edge games and esports experiences to the MENA-3 region.  By leveraging our local expertise and resources, we are excited to support Niantic’s expansion and create engaging, localized content that resonates with players across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt.”

“Our partnership with Savvy Games Group will significantly enhance our reach in this vibrant region and support our growing community of players,” said John Hanke, Founder and CEO of Niantic.  “Savvy’s deep understanding of the local markets and commitment to innovation makes it an ideal partner to inspire new audiences to explore the world and build real-world connections.”

Savvy will additionally look at ways to aid Niantic in establishing its regional operations in the MENA-3 area.  This support could include identifying and securing office space, assisting with the recruitment of local talent, and providing administrative and logistical assistance to set up a functional regional office.

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About Savvy Games Group

Savvy Games Group (“Savvy”) is the leading games and esports company founded to drive the long-term growth and development of esports and the wider games industry worldwide.  Savvy was set up, and is 100% owned, by the PIF.  As a global champion of the sector, Savvy will become a global leader in games and esports through deploying significant capital over the long-term.  As Saudi Arabia’s National Champion for Games and Esports, Savvy is dedicated to supporting the thriving local community and driving the sector’s development in the Kingdom.

Savvy Games Group website – savvygames.com

About Niantic, Inc.

Niantic's global-scale augmented reality platform and digital map power spatial computing experiences in the real world. Incubated out of the Maps team at Google, Niantic first created Ingress and then Pokémon GO, a cultural phenomenon and hit game played by tens of millions of people each month. Niantic’s maps platform, which powers Pokémon GO, also supports the company's other games including Pikmin Bloom, Peridot and Monster Hunter Now. Developers use Niantic’s platform to build their own AR applications and experiences.

Niantic website – nianticlabs.com