Games for Change unveils second summit in Abu Dhabi

Games for Change and AD Gaming introduced that the second Games for Change Middle East Summit will happen in Abu Dhabi from December 14 to December 17.

The Games for Change summit will deliver world and native leaders in gaming and esports to Abu Dhabi to assist the expansion of the gaming business within the United Arab Emirates and neighboring international locations.

The occasion has assist from the U.S. Mission to the UAE. And it’s anticipated to draw a whole lot of worldwide and UAE-based sport builders to Abu Dhabi, a capital of the Middle East’s fast-growing gaming business and an rising world gaming hub, with over 70 gaming corporations now creating content material within the emirate.

Given the UAE’s group of avid gamers, the summit goals to assist the business’s progress within the area by creating native expertise, deepening worldwide enterprise relationships, and selling sustainable and socially accountable enterprise progress. I’m truly going to be a speaker on the occasion in my first journey there.

Nine out of ten adults within the UAE play video video games, and 23% are frequent avid gamers enjoying at the very least 11 hours per week. The per capita business spend on gaming within the UAE is amongst the very best on this planet.

In its second 12 months, the summit options an expanded concentrate on esports to domesticate the comparatively new regional esports group. As native universities start so as to add esports as a program monitor to sport improvement packages, and educators more and more present curiosity in creating esports golf equipment and devoted esports areas for college kids, there’s a big alternative to make use of esports in training and group engagement, particularly amongst youth who comprise 34% of the Emirati inhabitants.

Across two days of talks, workshops, and masterclasses, Summit attendees will discover traits shaping the business and be taught from case research of revolutionary gaming and esports initiatives which have made a constructive affect in communities.

Frequent networking periods will present ample alternatives to attach with world and regional business leaders, and an interactive arcade will spotlight video games created by native sport builders and college students. Keynote audio system embody Allison Matthews (Head of Minecraft Education, Microsoft), Nanea Reeves (CEO, Tripp), Jason Della Rocca (Co-Founder, Execution Labs), Samir El Agili (Chairman/CEO, Tilting Point), Paul Dawalibi (CEO, Holodeck Ventures), Dean Takahashi (yep, me, lead author for GamesBeat, VentureBeat), Dr. Constance Steinkhuler (Professor, University of California, Irvine), Seth Gerson (CEO, Survios), Sultan Alriyami (Section Head of Gaming & Esports, AD Gaming) and plenty of extra.

“After the success of the first Games for Change Summit in Abu Dhabi last year, G4C is thrilled to return to the UAE to support the growing gaming industry in the Middle East,” mentioned Susanna Pollack, president of Games for Change, in a press release. “For 20 years, the Games for Change community has proved that the games industry is not just an engine for economic development, it’s a vehicle for social impact. Our partnership with AD Gaming and the U.S. Mission to the UAE presents an unprecedented opportunity to reimagine the gaming sector’s role in global development and international collaboration, and cultivate an ecosystem focused on innovation, education and real-world impact.”

The Blast Premier is a Counter-Strike skilled esports league, and the World Final is the league’s largest occasion of the 12 months. Eight of the world’s finest Counter-Strike groups will compete for the distinguished World Final trophy and a $1 million prize pool within the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on December 16 and December 17.

“The pipeline of games set to be launched from Abu Dhabi over the next 12 months is the strongest it has ever been. Genre-defining titles are being developed right in the heart of the emirate by AD Gaming members, and as we bring this content to the world, Games for Change will play a crucial role in ensuring the Abu Dhabi’s developers target positive impact through their work,” mentioned James Hartt, director of gaming and digital improvement at AD Gaming, in a press release. “Alongside supporting the UAE’s shift towards a knowledge-based economy, the positive impact that gaming can have is monumental. The inaugural Games for Change Middle East Summit last year was an outstanding success, and the line-up of gaming industry experts participating this year is even stronger.”

Robin Solomon, counselor for public affairs on the U.S. Mission to the UAE, mentioned in a press release, “The U.S. Mission to the UAE is proud to sponsor the second edition of Games for Change Middle East Summit here in Abu Dhabi. This investment reflects our commitment to the partnership with Abu Dhabi Gaming and twofour54 to strengthen U.S.-UAE collaboration in the growing gaming sector. The U.S. Mission stands ready to connect stakeholders in the UAE media sector with prominent U.S. experts, such Games for Change, to support the creative economy in the UAE. This is a wonderful opportunity to add yet another milestone to the thriving U.S.-UAE partnership.”

The inaugural Games for Change Middle East Summit in October 2022 was a two-day occasion that drew over 400 members from the UAE video games business, authorities, and training. The Summit is a part of an ongoing partnership between Games for Change, the United States, and the UAE centered on selling cross-cultural collaboration by connecting expertise within the UAE’s rising online game business with U.S. experience and the worldwide G4C motion.

In 2021, G4C and AD Gaming launched Game Exchange, a digital sport design and worldwide alternate program for youth within the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa the place college students work collectively to design video games that deal with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.