The Finalists for 2025

DUBAI GAMES STAR

This special award recognises a Dubai-based games company who has demonstrated a considerable amount of success, influence, and impact despite their relatively recent arrival within the industry.

• BoomLand
  
• DMCC Gaming Centre
  
• Elevatix
  
• Foxrito Studios
  
• Oneness Labs
  
• Sawa Group
  
• TapTap Games DMCC
  
• Yalla Group

BEST GAMES STARTUP

Any MENA games company that has been established for 24 months or less, has significantly evolved their business, and made an impact on the industry through innovation, creativity and other initiatives – but has not necessarily brought a game to market yet.

• Aya Games
  
• Classy Games
• Digital Dunes
  
• Hajem Sports
  
• Holodot Studio
• iBLOXX Studios
• Light Studio
  
• Majestic Mind Games
  
• Raheebeen Studio
  
• Sphereka Studios
  
• Steer Studios

BEST GAME INNOVATION HUB/DISTRICT

Showcasing the innovation hubs and game-related activity that support developers with centres or initiatives that cultivate creativity, enable locally produced content, and accelerate the MENA gaming space.

• AD Gaming
  
• Create Apps Championship 2025 (Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy)
  
• DIFC Innovation Hub
  
• DMCC Gaming Center
  
• in5 Tech
  
• MENA Hero Project (Sony)
  
• NAPHORA GAMES GROUP
  
• NEOM
  
• Sharjah Media City
  
• Tamkeen

MOST INNOVATIVE MENA GAME

Any MENA-based game, released in the past 18 months, that pushes the boundaries of the game dynamics – whether through play mechanics, technical achievements (or use of technology itself), and more – to deliver a unique experience for players.

• AFRSHO (Naphora)
  
• Cat’s Vote (Danar Dev)
  
• Lefty (Light Studio)
  
• Lobah Play (Lobah)
  
• SHOTBALL (Naphora)
  
• Veil of Sanity (Sphereka Studios)
  
• Grunt Rush (Steer Studios)

BEST SERVICE PROVIDER

This accolade is for companies that support the MENA ecosystem through either dedicated development tools – game engine, AI, middleware, etc – or the enabling of monetisation via advertising (or other means), thereby helping developers create their games and grow their audience.

• Elevatix
  
• Endless Studios
• Futura Digital
  
• Lobah Play (Lobah)
  
• Pay1st (Carry1st)
  
• Playgama.com
  
• Polygonflow
  
• SocialPeta
  
• Tamatem Plus (Tamatem)
  
• The Game Company
  
• Xsolla & Niko Partners

BEST ARABIC LOCALISATION

This accolade awards studios that have supported games last year in the areas of localisation, ensuring that both new releases and updates go live with as few hiccups as possible, and are localised appropriately for target MENA markets.

• Babil Games
  
• Raheebeen Studio
  
• Stellar Gate Games [Blood Strike MENA]
  
• Tamatem Games
  
• Tiny Minies Preschool Learning

BEST IN ESPORTS

This award recognises and celebrates the most impressively implemented and strategically sustained MENA esport-related support service of the past 18 months.

• Arabhardware
• Emirates Esports Federation (EEF)
  
• The Esports & Gaming Agency (EGA)
• Esports World Cup
  
• FATE Esports
  
• Gamers Hub
• GBarena
• Power League Gaming (2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship)
  
• True Gamers
• YaLLa Esports
  
• Zain Esports
  
• Zawaya Gaming

BEST WEB3 GAMING

Showcasing the company that is bringing the most impactful use of, or support for, Web3 technology to the MENA game development scene.

This category is sponsored by BlockchainGamer.biz.

• BoomLand
  
• Everdome
  
• Farcana Studio
• iBLOXX Studios
• Kiraverse (Param Labs)
  
• PiP World
  
• PlanetQuest (Galactic Entertainment)
  
• The Game Company
  
• WEMIX PLAY Center (Wemade)

INVESTOR OF THE YEAR

This award showcases an investment within the MENA games industry that has played a vital role in the success and growth of a company in the region during the past 18 months.

• Beam Ventures
  
• BITKRAFT
• GEM Capital
  
• Jetapult
  
• Level Up (NEOM)
  
• Merak Capital (Exel by Merak)
  
• Saudi Social Development Bank
  
• Savvy Games Group
  
• Shorooq Partners
  
• The Games Fund

BEST DEVELOPER

Any MENA games company that has released a game, or successfully grown an existing game, during the past year, as well as expanded their business and made an impact on the industry through innovation, creativity and other initiatives.

This category is sponsored by ID@Xbox.

• 2024 Studios
  
• Chickmania
  
• Evolite Studio
  
• Game Cooks
  
• Hypemasters
  
• Jawaker
  
• Mad Hook
  
• Rababa Games
  
• Remal Ventures – Kammelna
  
• Shanab Games
  
• Spoilz
  
• Tarboosh Games
  
• UMX
  
• YallaPlay

BEST PUBLISHER

Celebrating a MENA company that has assisted developers in releasing a game during the past 18 months, whether through publishing support, marketing, co-development, or investment.

This category is sponsored by Xsolla.

• Babil Games
  
• Maysalward
  
• MBC Group
  
• Naphora Games Group
  
• Sandsoft
  
• Sawa Group
  
• Tamatem Games
  
• Yalla Group
  
• Yayy

MENA GAME OF THE YEAR

This award recognises the finest games experience released in the past 18 months based on creativity, play mechanics, technological, artistic and aural achievement, innovation, audience engagement, and both critical and commercial success. To be eligible for this award, games must have been given a full release, received a significant update, or maintained substantial live ops activity, during the January 2024–April 2025 period.

• AVO Escape Space (Game Cooks)
• AFRSHO (Naphora)
  
• Amer: Fighting (Mad Hook)
  
• Blood Strike MENA (Stellar Gate Games)
  
• DriftX هجوله ملك (UMX)
  
• Grunt Rush (Steer Studios)
  
• Jackaro (Chickmania)
  
• Jawaker: Games & Friends (Jawaker)
  
• Kammelna (Remal)
  
• Nida Harb III (Babil)
  
• Pro Car Driving Simulator (Mad Hook)
  
• Rage of the Brave (Tamatem)
  
• SHOTBALL (Naphora)
• (Tamatem) أرض الشجعان

MENA MARKET LEGEND

This illustrious lifetime achievement award recognises a person from the MENA region who has achieved a considerable amount of success in their career and has acted as a pioneer in, and made an outstanding contribution to, the regional games space.

The MENA Market Legend is a special award, selected directly by the organisation committee of the MENA Games Industry Awards.

This category is sponsored by PocketGamer.biz.