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On August 26, 2024, Xsolla and Savvy Games Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance video-game development and create economic opportunities in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East. It is a stated partnership plan. The announcement did not disclose an investment amount, did not describe an acquisition, and the official material from both companies does not report how much of the plan has been delivered.
What the two companies agreed to
An MoU records the parties’ intended cooperation. It is not a contract with fixed deliverables, so the scope below describes what was proposed, not what has been built. Xsolla’s August 26, 2024 announcement listed the following initiatives:
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- A developer academy. The Xsolla Savvy Game Development Academy, with incubator and accelerator programs meant to support local and international studios.
- Industry events. Events aimed at both business and consumer audiences, which the partners said they would explore.
- Project funding and investor links. Exploring funding for game-development projects and connections between local studios and international investors.
- A regional headquarters in Riyadh. An Xsolla regional office with planned product, development, technology, customer-support, and business-development services.
- A jobs target. Fostering 3,600 new video-game-industry jobs by the end of 2030.
Savvy’s 2024 annual report independently confirms the MoU and describes its academy as aimed at developer training. It does not add a separate list of initiatives, so the Xsolla release remains the most detailed description of the plan.
The 3,600-job figure is a target
The 3,600 figure is a goal for the end of 2030. It is not a count of jobs created so far. Savvy’s current Saudi Arabia ecosystem page still presents it as a future goal tied to the academy initiative. As of October 2026, the deadline is roughly three years away, so the figure cannot yet be judged as met or missed.
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What is confirmed and what is not
The table separates each element of the deal from its current evidence. “Not stated” means the official material available for this article does not say, not that the item has failed.
| Element | Where it appears | Status in official material |
|---|---|---|
| MoU between Xsolla and Savvy | Xsolla announcement (August 26, 2024); Savvy 2024 annual report | Confirmed by both sources |
| Developer academy | Xsolla announcement; Savvy 2024 annual report | Aim confirmed; whether it has opened or enrolled students is not stated |
| Incubator and accelerator programs | Xsolla announcement | Announced; launch date and participating studios not stated |
| Industry events | Xsolla announcement | Proposed for exploration; no specific event named |
| Funding and investor connections | Xsolla announcement | Proposed for exploration; amounts not stated |
| Riyadh regional headquarters | Xsolla announcement | Planned; opening date and operating status not stated |
| 3,600 new jobs by end of 2030 | Xsolla announcement (2024); Savvy ecosystem page | Target only; jobs achieved to date not stated |
| Xsolla as a current partner | Savvy ecosystem page | Listed as a partner in Savvy’s current ecosystem materials |
Reading Savvy’s current materials
Savvy’s ecosystem page keeps Xsolla on its list of partners, and that listing is the strongest current signal that the relationship is still active. It does not show that the jobs target is being tracked, and it does not confirm that each program is running. Savvy’s media center shows ongoing ecosystem activity in 2026, but it does not include a progress update on the Xsolla agreement. Savvy’s annual report is a 2024 document and is not an implementation report.
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The stated rationale
Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy Games Group, described the agreement in Xsolla’s announcement: “This partnership with Xsolla represents a significant step forward in our mission to elevate Saudi Arabia’s games and esports ecosystem to global prominence.” This is Savvy’s statement of why it wanted the deal. It is not evidence that the goals have been reached.
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Readers tracking this partnership should look for concrete, dated disclosures rather than restatements of the 2030 goal. The following would each count as evidence that an initiative has moved beyond announcement:
- A named intake, cohort, or curriculum for the Xsolla Savvy Game Development Academy.
- Published selections or participating studios for the incubator or accelerator programs.
- A specific industry event, with a date and organizer, linked to the partnership.
- A disclosed funding amount or named investor connection tied to the agreement.
- Confirmation of the Riyadh office opening, or a stated headcount from either company.
- A jobs figure from Xsolla or Savvy that states the date it was measured.
Until one of these appears in official material, the accurate description is that the MoU was signed, its scope was announced, and the 3,600-job target remains open.
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