Dubai Showcasing Remarkable Two-Year Growth of Its Domestic Gaming Industry.

Dubai has arrived at Gamescom 2026 in Cologne with its largestever national pavilion, showcasing remarkable twoyear growth of its domestic gaming industry.

Led by the Dubai Films and Games Commission (DFGC) under Dubai Media Council, together with the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and other governmental and privatesector partners, the participation marks Dubai’s accelerated ambition to become a core global gaming hub.

Rapid Expansion of Local Gaming Industry

Official statistics show the number of gaming companies registered in Dubai rose from 368 in 2024 to 495 in 2026, representing a 34.5% increase within two years. As a key industrial cluster, the DMCC Gaming Centre added nearly 40 gaming enterprises over the past 12 months, reaching 165 member firms and delivering 30% yearonyear growth中国新闻网. The centre forms part of DMCC’s broader technology community, hosting more than 4,000 companies spanning gaming, artificial intelligence, Web3 and cybersecurity to enable crosssector digitaleconomy collaboration.

Dubai’s gaming ecosystem features distinctive product segmentation. Around 50 % of local studios focus on mobilegame development. Unlike the global market where PC and console projects are roughly evenly split, the other half of Dubai’s developers predominantly build PCfocused titles. Local authorities are cooperating with console platform holders to supply developer kits, supporting creators to bring authentic Arab cultural narratives onto mainstream consoles.

Notable local works include scifi shooter Fragmentary Order and multiplayer naval combat title World of Sea Battle, covering tripleAaspirant, doubleA and independent productions. Ten games at various development stages were displayed inside Dubai’s Gamescom pavilion this year, a major upgrade versus only three showcased in the prior edition.

Dubai Program for Gaming 2033: Holistic Framework for Sector Advancement

Dubai’s flagship strategy, the Dubai Program for Gaming 2033, sets clear targets: to rank among the world’s topten gaming destinations by 2033, create 30,000 gamingrelated jobs, and generate USD 1 billion in economic contribution from the gaming sectorGovernment….

A suite of supporting initiatives has been rolled out to deliver these objectives:

1. GameForward Accelerator: Launched by Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, the programme supports emerging local studios. It hosts Demo Day events and provides development grants to highpotential teams, helping projects move toward completion or commercial publishing. Several titles exhibited at Gamescom were incubated through GameForward. Dubai has also partnered with Xsolla to launch a new accelerator, bridging the gap between earlystage creators and global publishers and investorsWAM – Emir….
2. Talent Development: Academic pathways include bachelorlevel gamedevelopment degrees at institutions such as the American University of Dubai. In parallel, DFGC runs youthfocused programmes in partnership with UNDP and HP for creators aged 1318. Research shows 75 % of participants in this youth cohort are women, and Dubai aims to preserve this diversity advantage across the mature industry workforce.
3. Business Matchmaking & Cultural Storytelling: Regular industry mixers connect local developers, international publishers and investors. These networking efforts have already secured PlayStation backing for at least two Dubaioriginated projects. For creative content, Dubai encourages subtle, organic integration of Emirati and Arab cultural elements, citing The Witcher 3as a benchmark for natural cultural storytelling rather than superficial symbolic decoration. GameForward requires at least one Emirati teammember within each incubated project to embed local cultural perspectives into game design.
4. Advocacy for “Good Gaming”: The Good Games Clubpodcast has relocated to Dubai. The production highlights the positive social impact of video games, emphasizing their capacity for social connection, knowledge sharing and communitybuilding, counterbalancing onesided public narratives about gaming. It serves as Dubai’s global communication platform for positivegaming values.
5. Upcoming Incentive Regime: Dubai is assembling expert consultants to design tailormade local incentives, avoiding simple copies of overseas taxbreak frameworks. Policy instruments including cash rebates are under evaluation, with full details scheduled for release within 12 months. Benefiting from Dubai’s inherently lowtax business environment, policymakers intend to deliver competitiveness comparable with leading global gaming clusters.

Deeprooted International Partnerships to Build an EastWest Business Gateway

During Gamescom 2026, DMCC signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Serbian Games Association (SGA), establishing a bridge connecting MiddleEastern and European gaming ecosystems. The partnership will deliver softlanding support for crossborder studios, share market intelligence, cohost online and offline industry events, and grant reciprocal access to coworking facilities, empowering companies from both territories to scale across Europe, the Middle East and global markets中国新闻网.

“Many people view games purely as entertainment. For us, gaming represents one of society’s most powerful creative endeavours. Wellcrafted games can impart knowledge, connect people who might never otherwise meet, and generate meaningful careers. Beyond commercial gains, Dubai seeks to unlock the positive social potential of interactive entertainment,” commented Faisal Kazim, Games Commissioner at DFGC.

Leveraging its geographically strategic location bridging East and West, worldclass infrastructure and multicultural talent pool, Dubai seeks to attract global gamedevelopment teams. Local authorities acknowledge the prevalence of remotework models, and encourage companies to establish partial local presences first, with the longterm goal of bringing core teams onsite to deliver genuine localjob creation rather than purely nominal registered entities.

About Dubai Films and Games Commission (DFGC)

Operating under Dubai Media Council, DFGC governs the integrated development of Dubai’s gaming and film sectors. It steers delivery of the Dubai Program for Gaming 2033, advancing policy frameworks, talent pipelines, international collaboration and homegrown gamecontent creation.

About Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC)

DMCC is Dubai’s flagship freezone authority. Its DMCC Gaming Centre delivers endtoend setup support, investor matchmaking and industrynetwork access for game developers, publishers and esports organisations, nurturing a globallyoriented gaming startup ecosystem.