Gamers8 2023 is rapidly approaching, and it will feature more esports competitions and prize money than it did the year before. The Saudi festival information is provided below.
Following a debut in 2022, the Saudi Arabian gaming and esports fair Gamers8 will return in 2023 with an occasion dubbed “The Land of Heroes.”
The Saudi Esports Authority organizes the festival, which will span eight weeks and feature esports competitions, musical performances, festival activities, and the Future World Forum conference.
Gamers8 wants to be “stronger in every manner” in 2023, including the number of esports competitions and the prize pool. Per the festival’s organizers, the $45 million prize money is the “biggest prize pool” in the esports industry.
Despite having a significant prize pool, the Gamers8 event has come under fire from the esports industry because of its associations with the Saudi government and Saudi Arabia’s history of human rights abuses. The forthcoming Gamers8 festival is covered in detail below. As new information comes to light, this article will be amended.
Schedule for Gamers8 2023:
On July 6, the 2023 edition of Gamers8 will start, and it will last for more than eight weeks until coming to finishes in September (no official end date has been provided).
The celebrations will take place in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. The NXT LVL Arena, a specially designed venue in Riyadh Boulevard City, is anticipated to host the event. It was revealed in advance of the 2022 festival.
Esports competitions and prizes in Gamers8 2023:
Gamers8 has already announced six esports competitions with a combined prize fund of $20.5 million for the 2023 edition. The event will feature Dota 2, Fortnite, and Rocket League again, while CS:GO, StarCraft: Remastered, and Starcraft II will be played for the first time.
This year though, it’s likely that there will also be specific awards for the top players—for example, Zhang ‘Faith brian Ruida, a former member of PSG.LGD was awarded $100,000 for becoming the Dota 2 championship’s MVP.
The number of esports competitions that will take place during the event has yet to be made public by the organizers. Competitions for Rainbow Six Siege and PUBG Mobile were also present at the last event.
Gamers8 will host the following esports competitions:
- Fortnite ($2 million) from July 6 to 9.
- 17–30 July: Dota 2 ($15 million)
- StarCraft: Restored and StarCraft II ($500,000 total), August 3–6.
- CS:GO ($1 million) from August 14 to 20
- 21-27 August: Rocket League ($2 million)
Gamers8 2023: Defining the Controversy:
The massive prize pool at Gamers8 may be praised by many, but the festival still needs to receive criticism from a variety of sources. Charles ‘MoistCritikal’ White, the well-known streamer who started Moist Esports, turned down an invitation to the Rocket League competition hosted by Gamers8 last year. To hide its violations of human rights, the Saudi government has been charged with applying its sports-washing strategy to gaming and esports.
With worries about the significant impact of Saudi Arabian money in esports, Gamers8 will start happening. At the time, Noah Hinder, the manager of Moist, declared, “I would not associate with a nation that does not acknowledge LGBTQ+ individuals as human beings. I consider prioritizing my principles and beliefs crucial before my financial interests.
The Savvy Gaming Group (SGG), owned and controlled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, recently unveiled a SAR 142 billion (about $37.9 billion) investment plan as part of the Vision 2030 initiative to make the kingdom a global powerhouse for gaming and esports by the end of this decade. After a $1.5 billion deal completed last year, SGG purchased both ESL and FACEIT. As per HLTV.org, the production team for the Gamers8 festival will be ESL.
Also read: Rocket League Season 2 Release date, Trailer and Gameplay
