His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province, sponsored at the Governorate’s headquarters on Tuesday the ceremony honoring the winners of the “Asharqia Chamber Electronic Games Hackathon” award.
His Highness the Governor of the Eastern Province highlighted the importance of supporting initiatives that foster creativity and innovation among young people and provide them with suitable opportunities to develop their skills and showcase their abilities in modern technical fields. He explained that investing in national talent and enabling it to develop innovative solutions and products contributes to building an economy based on knowledge and innovation and enhances the Kingdom’s competitiveness in future sectors, in fulfillment of the targets of Saudi Vision 2030.
Chairman of Asharqia Chamber’s Board of Directors, Mr. Fahad bin Abdullah Al-Farraj, delivered a speech in which he affirmed that the electronic games sector is one of the promising, rapidly growing sectors in the Kingdom, driven by the great support it receives within the targets of Saudi Vision 2030, aimed at raising the sector’s contribution to GDP, providing high-quality job opportunities, and enhancing the growth of national companies specializing in game development.
Al-Farraj explained that the hackathon comes within Asharqia Chamber’s efforts to support the entrepreneurship ecosystem and the digital economy, in cooperation with the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority “Monsha’at,” the Digital Entrepreneurship Center “CODE,” Innosoft, Kamlna Studio, SBI Middle East, and Merak Capital, with the aim of enabling national talent to develop innovative ideas and solutions in the electronic games sector, refining the participants’ technical and creative skills, and encouraging the establishment of promising projects capable of competing.
Al-Farraj noted that the Asharqia Chamber Electronic Games Hackathon 2026 targeted developers, programmers, game designers, artists, animators, data analysts, students, and those interested in the sector. He explained that total prizes exceeded SAR 200,000, with SAR 100,000 for first place, SAR 60,000 for second place, and SAR 40,000 for third place. The hackathon saw the participation of more than 13 teams, received more than 30 applications to participate, and had more than 111 contestants, reflecting the growing interest in this promising sector and the eagerness of national talent to take on high-quality experiences that help develop their abilities and enhance their opportunities in the labor market.
Al-Farraj extended his thanks and appreciation to His Highness the Governor of the Eastern Province for his patronage and continued support of the award since its launch on the sidelines of the “RAD 2025” entrepreneurship forum and exhibition, affirming that His Highness’s support has had a great impact on the success and continuity of the initiative and on strengthening the Chamber’s efforts in serving the business sector, supporting national priorities, and stimulating investment and innovation.
At the end of the ceremony, His Highness the Governor of the Eastern Province honored the winners, sponsors, and members of the judging panel.