Saudi Arabia announces Dragon Ball theme park

Dragon Ball Theme Park

Saudi Arabia has announced that a Dragon Ball theme park is coming to the city of Qiddiya.

The theme park appears to include roller coasters and sets based on the hit series from Akira Toriyama, including the wish-granting dragon Shenron, the Kame House, and more.

You can check out the trailer announcing the theme park below.

The announcement comes only a few weeks after the passing of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama. The series has been ongoing for decades and has fans all over the globe.

The series originally began in 1984 and will likely still continue after Toriyama’s passing depending on how the publisher chooses to handle it. Artist Toyotaro was expected to take over the series, due to his ability to emulate Toriyama’s style.

Meanwhile, Qiddiya is Saudi Arabia’s planned city for entertainment and tourism and is one of the many projects funded by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund. The fund is also used to expand the country’s growing interests in foreign businesses.

Saudi Arabia is quickly becoming one of the largest investors in entertainment, especially when it comes to video games. The country was among the first to approve Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard and was one of the company’s largest shareholders following a massive purchase in 2021. The country also acquired a $1 billion USD stake in Embracer Group, a gaming publisher that’s been hit by industry layoffs this year.

Despite a growing interest in entertainment and heavy investments in video games, games are regularly banned or censored ahead of release in order to comply with the country’s religious laws.

An opening date for the Dragon Ball theme park has yet to be announced, though the city of Qiddiya is itself a project in development, and expected to be completed by 2030.

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A basement-dwelling ogre, Brandon's a fan of indie games and slice of life anime. Has too many games and not enough time.


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