Kingdom of Gaming, a new games industry event backed by the Saudi government, has been postponed from its original December dates to an unspecified time in 2027. As first reported by ReaderGrev, the event's website and social media accounts were quietly updated last week to reflect the new timeline, replacing the initial schedule of December 1-3 in Riyadh.
No official public announcement or detailed explanation has been issued regarding the delay. The closest acknowledgment came from Benjamin Kratsch, chief business development officer at Levelz Gaming Group, a venture builder linked to the Saudi government. On October 28, Kratsch stated on LinkedIn that the event is still coming but will take longer to materialize given the current situation.
The event is organized by Tahaluf, a joint venture between Informa, which operates GDC, and the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones. Kingdom of Gaming had previously promised to host more than 20,000 attendees, 500 studios, and 200 investors, with major companies like Ubisoft and Roblox confirmed on its lineup.
While neither Informa nor Tahaluf responded to requests for comment, Informa's trading update on October 27 indicated that escalating disruption in Saudi Arabia forced the rescheduling of further events. This includes moving its Cityscape Global show to January 2027 and pushing the in-person Global Health Exhibition to October 2027. Consequently, Informa now expects to generate no further revenue in Saudi Arabia for this year.
The postponement occurs against the backdrop of wider regional conflict following the war between the US and Israel with Iran. In recent weeks, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have intensified, including strikes targeting Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport.
Sources: GamesIndustry.biz.