Image via SPL Saudi Arabia's Roshn Saudi League will make its first appearance as a fully licensed competition in Football Manager 27, following a partnership between the Saudi Pro League (SPL) and developer Sports Interactive. The agreement will bring all 18 Saudi top-flight clubs into the football management simulation, complete with official club logos, player images and kits. Players will be able to manage Saudi clubs, build squads, compete for domestic honours and take c

Image via Savvy Games Group Savvy Academy, an initiative of Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group, will host a free masterclass on intellectual property in game development on October 28, 2026, at CODE headquarters in Riyadh. Titled Own Your Game: Intellectual Property for Game Creators, the session will run from 6pm to 8pm and feature Rafael Ferraz Vazquez from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The masterclass will explore how game developers, artists, designer

Image Via Abu Dhabi Gaming Abu Dhabi Gaming will host the second edition of SHIFT Game Jam from November 13 to 15, 2026, in partnership with Unity, offering AED 60,000 in prizes for games developed during the three-day competition. The event will take place at Nabdh MBZ in Al Manhal, Abu Dhabi, bringing together aspiring developers, students, professionals and hobbyists to create playable games using the Unity engine. Participants can enter individually or in teams of up to f

Image via SACC The Sharjah Animation and Comics Conference (SACC 2026) will host three esports tournaments offering cash prizes alongside a series of daily gaming challenges when the event opens at Aljada on October 22. The four-day conference, organised by Sharjah Book Authority, will feature competitions in EA Sports FC 27, Tekken 8 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, alongside arcade gaming, multiplayer experiences and daily leaderboard challenges. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate w

Image via Unity / Abu Dhabi Gaming Unity and Abu Dhabi Gaming will host Community Developer Day Abu Dhabi on November 12, 2026, bringing together game developers, studios and industry professionals for technical sessions, product updates and networking opportunities. The event will take place at Yas Conference Centre in Abu Dhabi, running from 10am to 5pm Gulf Standard Time, according to the official registration page. Organised in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Gaming, the dev

Image via UNDP / Al Ghurair Foundation Applications are open for the UNDP and Al Ghurair Game Development Bootcamp, inviting UAE nationals aged 18 to 35 to develop practical game creation skills, with a deadline of October 30, 2026. The programme, run by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation in collaboration with HP, offers Core and Advanced training tracks aimed at helping aspiring developers build playable games and prepare fo

Image via BrandWave Digital / GameForward Dubai's GameForward initiative is launching a global online game jam on October 15, challenging developers to create a playable game that brings together two or more mythologies within 72 hours. The event, titled Mythos Collide, will run until October 18 on itch.io, with winners announced on October 19. The game jam is part of GameForward, a gaming initiative anchored by Dubai SME, part of Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, an

Image via Abu Dhabi Gaming Abu Dhabi Gaming will host Finnish games industry executive Joni Lappalainen at its next AD Gaming Connect event on October 29, with a session focused on building and managing sustainable game development studios. The event, titled How to Build and Run a Gaming Studio in 2027, will take place at Sandstorm, Yas Creative Hub, Abu Dhabi, from 4pm to 8pm. Lappalainen is CEO of Finnish game developer Dreamloop Games and Chairperson of the Finnish Game De

Image via Euro University of Bahrain Euro University of Bahrain (EUB) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bahrain E-Sports Federation to strengthen links between higher education and Bahrain's gaming and esports industry. The agreement aims to provide EUB students with practical exposure to esports, opportunities to engage with industry professionals and skills development beyond traditional classroom learning. The partnership will also support greater collabora

Image via GameDevTober GameDevTober, a five-day online event featuring nine Saudi game studio CEOs, will take place from October 25 to 29, offering developers an opportunity to learn from the experiences of industry professionals. Organised by Saudi game developer ZOHAL and hosted by the Saudi Game Developers Community (SGDC), the event will feature nine sessions exploring the journeys behind games developed by Saudi studios, from their initial concepts through to launch. The

Image via Clover Moroccan game developers Zakarya Chioua and Hidaya Saf, from Marrakech-based indie developer Clover Studio, have been selected for Game Créalab Francophone 2026, where they will further develop their upcoming game Sky Drift. The two-week residency takes place in Chartres, France, from October 9 to 22, bringing together five creative teams from France, Luxembourg, Morocco, Switzerland and Belgium's Wallonia region. Chioua and Saf will represent Morocco with Sk

Image via Mastercard / Tamatem Mastercard and Jordan-founded games company Tamatem have partnered to expand payment options for players and game publishers across the Middle East and Africa. Under the agreement, Mastercard Gateway will become the payment gateway behind Tamatem Plus, the company’s digital commerce and payments platform, across more than 13 markets. The rollout will begin in Saudi Arabia and the UAE before expanding across the wider region. Tamatem Plus provide

Image Via Center of Digital Entrepreneurship (CODE) Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has launched the third edition of Saudi Game Champions, a six-month programme designed to support local talent in game development. The programme is being run through the ministry’s Center of Digital Entrepreneurship (CODE) in partnership with the National Technology Development Program (NTDP), and will take place in Riyadh. The six-month programme will com

Image via NAFES Jordanian gaming and esports companies are set to gain access to technical support and potential funding under a new programme targeting the country’s creative industries. The National Fund for Enterprise Support (NAFES) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) to establish a joint support pathway for Jordanian small and medium-sized enterprises. Around 20 SMEs will be selected across three areas: gami

Image via GEMS Education Dubai-headquartered GEMS Education has appointed British Esports Federation founder and president Chester King as its Esports Ambassador as it develops a network-wide approach to esports across its schools. King will work with GEMS to connect existing esports initiatives across the education group through a shared framework covering learning, teacher development, industry engagement, competition and career pathways. GEMS School of Research and Innovat

Image via Entertainment & Leisure MENA DMCC Gaming Centre has joined Entertainment & Leisure MENA 2027 as its official Gaming Ecosystem Partner, as the Dubai exhibition expands its focus on gaming and esports. The partnership will see DMCC Gaming Centre contribute to the event’s gaming and esports programme, including industry content and networking aimed at connecting gaming companies with operators, technology providers, investors and brands. E&L MENA 2027 will take place a

Image via Qatar Museums Qatar Museums has unveiled a new immersive racing game developed with Google Cloud that will allow players to explore the country's museums, heritage sites and public art. Called Qatar Museums Grand Rally, the game was previewed during the Google Cloud Summit Doha this week and is currently in development ahead of a wider launch. The project combines virtual racing with cultural experiences inspired by locations across Qatar, using gaming as a way for

Image via Exel by Merak Saudi gaming accelerator Exel by Merak and Saudi Gamer have signed a partnership aimed at supporting a more connected gaming ecosystem in Saudi Arabia. The agreement was announced by both organisations on LinkedIn, with Saudi Gamer describing it as an MOU signing and a “Diamond Partnership”. The partnership will bring together Exel by Merak’s work with gaming founders and Saudi Gamer’s reach across the Kingdom’s gaming community. Exel by Merak operates

Image via Tahaluf Savvy Games Group, Ubisoft and Roblox have joined the inaugural Kingdom of Gaming event, which will take place in Riyadh later this year. The three companies have been announced under the event’s “Global Gaming Leaders” category and will be among a growing group of gaming, technology and investment organisations participating in the event from December 1 to 3 at the Riyadh Exhibition & Convention Center in Malham. Tuwaiq Academy, NEOM and Amazon Web Services

Image via Olympic Council of Asia Kuwait will host the inaugural Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games in 2027, with around 4,000 athletes expected to take part in the new competition. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) confirmed Kuwait as host after signing the Host City Contract on the sidelines of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games in Japan. The event will bring esports together with mind sports in a standalone continental competition, although the full programme of games and