The Middle East Asia Video gaming See all topics Follow
Lahore, Pakistan —
On a wet monsoon evening in Pakistan’s bustling city of Lahore, the generators sputter and the lights flicker in Maniax, a grimy but legendary gaming arcade powering the country’s unlikely dominance of a lucrative corner of the Esports world.
Three out of the world’s top 10 players of the classic Japanese fighting game Tekken are from Pakistan. They’re cracking (virtual) skulls on the international circuit, filling the rosters of lucrative Saudi-backed teams and taking home tens of thousands of dollars in prize money.
That’s a punchy statistic for a country better known for its recurring political turmoil and where a PlayStation or a PC costs more than the monthly average income. The electricity needed to power it isn’t always guaranteed, either.
The first Tekken came out in 1994 and the franchise is now in its eighth installment, with millions of copies sold every time a new version is launched. Players choose from a stable of fighters including kung-fu experts, a space ninja and a giant panda, to punc
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