- Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025
- Bolivia stun Colombia in World Cup qualifiers
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Greece earn late win against England in Nations League, Italy-Belgium stalemate
- Trump biopic 'The Apprentice' hits US theaters weeks before election
- Pavlidis dedicates 'special' Greece win over England to tragic Baldock
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- 'Like a quake': Beirut shaken after deadliest strikes on centre
- Fallen giants Ghana in AFCON trouble after Sudan draw
- Asian leaders meet in Laos with US, Russia on world turmoil
- England gamble backfires as Pavlidis fires emotional Greece to victory
- Obama stumps for Harris, Trump talks US protectionism
- New-look France ease past Israel in Nations League
- Belgium fight back to draw with 10-man Italy in Nations League
- 'Get a life': Hurricane whips up US election storm
- Japan stay perfect in World Cup qualifying
- Relief as Lebanon evacuees dock in Turkey
- Lebanon says 22 dead in Israeli strikes on central Beirut
- NBA boss Silver sees games back in China 'at some point'
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Table tennis and Netflix push Ukraine teen into French Open contention
- Civilians flee Gaza's Jabalia in tightening Israeli siege
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 18
- At least 10 dead in Florida from tornadoes caused by Hurricane Milton
- Warhol's rare 'Queen' collection opens at Dutch museum
- Three-time NBA champion Green retires
- MLB Twins up for sale after 40 years
- S.Sudan floods affect 893,000, over 241,000 displaced: UN
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Windies sweat on injury to 'crucial' Taylor at World Cup
- Lebanon says 11 dead, 48 injured in Israeli strikes on Beirut
- Panama lashes out at EU over tax haven 'outrage'
- Erdogan says Gaza 'shame of humanity', calls for permanent ceasfire
- TD Bank to pay more than $3 bn to US in money-laundering case
- SAfrica prosecutors drop criminal complaint against president
- 'Good opportunity': Nagelsmann upbeat despite Germany's long injury list
- Hurricane whips up bitter US election battle
- Cameroon bans media talk of president's health amid rumours
- NFL MVP Jackson and rookie phenom Daniels set for showdown
- Chad's capital under threat as floodwaters rise
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit central Beirut
- No answers on strike on reporters in Lebanon one year on: watchdog
- Ramharack picks four wickets as Windies beat Bangladesh in Women's T20 World Cup
- France's City of Light switches to climate-resilient power cables
- Djokovic hails Nadal 'legacy' as Alcaraz in 'shock' over retirement
- Obama hits campaign trail for Harris
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Djokovic tells Nadal: 'Your legacy will live forever'
- Ethel Kennedy, wife of RFK, dead at 96
- Zelensky denies ceasefire with Russia under discussion on trip
Jordan aims to score big in global gaming industry
For many, gaming is a waste of time. Hours lost staring at glowing screens. But Jordan is betting on its youth to capture a slice of a lucrative global market.
At the Jordan Gaming Lab, Nasser Kasabreh, 21, sits behind his computer, working on a game he has been developing over the past months.
He and two friends have already designed three video games including "Drift Arabs", downloaded on Google Play more than 100,000 times. But he confides "our ambition is still much greater than this".
Set up in 2011, the lab aims to help young people develop and design their own games.
With the support of the King Abdullah II Fund For Development, it provides modern equipment and free educational courses to young people aged nine and above on all aspects of the gaming industry from manufacturing, to production, and even marketing.
The Fund would not disclose how much money has been spent over the years, but it represents a significant investment by the Hashemite kingdom in its young people.
More than 10,000 youngsters have benefited from the training, as Jordan seeks to tap into a global video game industry worth around $300 billion, according to industry specialists Accenture.
Expectations are the market will only grow with the development of cloud gaming, still in its early stages, and even virtual reality.
- Challenging stereotypes -
Half of the population of Jordan is estimated to be under the age of 25 and according to the World Bank unemployment runs at about 23 percent.
"This lab has completely changed society's idea about electronic games. Twenty years ago, I found it difficult to convince young people or their parents of the importance of making these games, today it is totally different," said entrepreneur and the lab's technical partner, Nour Khrais.
But Arab game-makers face a huge challenge.
"International games introduce Arabs in evil roles or as bad persons. Our youth today are developing games to change this image," Khrais told AFP.
Mobile gaming is the fastest-growing gaming sector in the world -- and of all the digital games produced in the region, Jordan produces more than half, Khrais said.
In a sign of the growing importance of the Middle East gaming market, the latest edition of the hugely-popular "Assassin's Creed" franchise released last month was set in 9th-century Baghdad and for the first time had Arabic subtitles.
"Jordan has today become the most experienced country in electronic games in the Middle East," said Hussein Bino, the Fund's gaming lab coordinator.
- 'Great future' -
There are now more than 12 game publishing and developing companies in Jordan, including the first mobile games development studio Maysalward -- founded 20 years ago by Khrais -- which now has more than 100 games on Apple Store and Google Play.
Most companies have international tie-ups with some of the biggest names in the industry, and Jordan's success has drawn other Arab countries to "invest tens of millions of dollars in our very active market", said Khrais.
There is even a Jordanian union with 10,000 members and a bus service that travels to "reach young people in remote areas", said Khrais, who was awarded the title of "Mobile Legend" at the 2023 Mobile Games Award in London.
He dismissed the idea that electronic games were only for entertainment.
"It is true that it increases happiness hormones, but we are talking about ... a technology with huge revenues that exceeded $220 billion globally and about $8 billion in the Arab world."
A fan of action games such as "Call of Duty", Yousef Alrayyan, 18, has just finished high school and hopes to study computer technology and artificial intelligence.
"My parents used to tell me that games are a waste of time, but today things are different. They encourage me and tell me: This is an important industry like artificial intelligence, and it has a great future," he said.
Global revenues from gaming are now higher than the film industry, said Bino. "We want to benefit from this growth."
C.Garcia--AMWN