Saudi-backed Kingdom of Gaming event delayed to 2027

Kingdom of Gaming, a new Saudi government-backed games industry event, has been pushed back from December to an unspecified date in 2027.

As first reported by ReaderGrev, the event's website and social accounts were quietly updated last week to read "Coming in 2027," replacing its original December 1-3 dates in Riyadh.

No public announcement or explanation has been made. The closest thing to an official acknowledgement came from Benjamin Kratsch, chief business development officer at Saudi government-linked venture builder Levelz Gaming Group.

"Kingdom of Gaming is coming," Kratsch wrote on LinkedIn on October 28. "It takes a little longer, given the current situation."

Kingdom of Gaming is organized by Tahaluf, a joint venture between Informa, which runs GDC, and the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones. The event had promised more than 20,000 attendees, 500 studios, and 200 investors, with companies including Ubisoft and Roblox on its line-up.

According to ReaderGrev, neither Informa nor Tahaluf responded to requests for comment, but in a trading update on October 27, Informa said escalating disruption in Saudi Arabia had forced it to reschedule further events. These include its Cityscape Global show, which has moved to January 2027, and the in-person Global Health Exhibition, now pushed to October 2027. Informa now assumes it will make no further revenue in Saudi Arabia this year.

The delay comes amid the wider regional conflict following the US and Israel's war with Iran, which has seen Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia escalate in recent weeks, including strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport.