What happened: The Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry announced a government programme for video game and animation enthusiasts, via a tweet, on the 25th of November. In his tweet Fawad Chaudhry stated, “If you are not interested in reading, instead you are interested in video games on your phone, then get ready, because our ministry is launching a special programme for video games programming. So, that we can join this $90 billion gaming industry. Animation and video game certification programmes will not be a game but a game changer for the youth.”.
اگر آپ کو پڑھنے سےدلچسپی نہیں اور فون پر ویڈیو گیمز سےرغبت ہے تو تیاری رکھیں @MinistryofST ویڈیو گیمز پروگرامنگ کا خصوصی پروگرام لارہی ہے تا کہ ہم 90 ارب ڈالر کی اس انڈسٹری کاحصہ بن سکیں، Animation اور ویڈیو گیمز سرٹیفیکیشن پروگرام نوجوانوں کیلئے Game ہی نہیں Game Changer ہوں گے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 24, 2020
The background: The gaming industry is an extremely lucrative sector of the tech industry, according to Statista it is expected to be worth over $200 billion by 2023. It is a great time for Pakistan to enter the gaming industry as money spent on digital video games hit a record high of $10 billion in March, because people stuck inside their homes in the pandemic turned to games to alleviate their boredom. However there is a dark side to the gaming industry as well. Although gaming is an officially recognised sport in Pakistan, it is also one that can lead to addiction. Watch our documentary below to understand how gaming addiction works.