Games for Change unveils second summit in Abu Dhabi

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

The Video games for Change summit will convey international 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 tons of of worldwide and UAE-based sport builders to Abu Dhabi, a capital of the Center East’s fast-growing gaming business and an rising international gaming hub, with over 70 gaming firms now creating content material within the emirate.

Given the UAE’s neighborhood of players, 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.

9 out of ten adults within the UAE play video video games, and 23% are frequent players taking part in no less than 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 deal with esports to domesticate the comparatively new regional esports neighborhood. 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 students, there’s a enormous alternative to make use of esports in training and neighborhood engagement, particularly amongst youth who comprise 34% of the Emirati inhabitants.

Throughout two days of talks, workshops, and masterclasses, Summit attendees will discover developments shaping the business and be taught from case research of modern gaming and esports initiatives which have made a optimistic impression in communities.

Frequent networking periods will present ample alternatives to attach with international 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 Schooling, Microsoft), Nanea Reeves (CEO, Tripp), Jason Della Rocca (Co-Founder, Execution Labs), Samir El Agili (Chairman/CEO, Tilting Level), Paul Dawalibi (CEO, Holodeck Ventures), Dean Takahashi (yep, me, lead author for GamesBeat, VentureBeat), Dr. Constance Steinkhuler (Professor, College of California, Irvine), Seth Gerson (CEO, Survios), Sultan Alriyami (Part Head of Gaming & Esports, AD Gaming) and lots of extra.

“After the success of the primary Video games for Change Summit in Abu Dhabi final 12 months, G4C is thrilled to return to the UAE to assist the rising gaming business within the Center East,” stated Susanna Pollack, president of Video games for Change, in a press release. “For 20 years, the Video games for Change neighborhood has proved that the video games business isn’t just an engine for financial improvement, it’s a car for social impression. Our partnership with AD Gaming and the U.S. Mission to the UAE presents an unprecedented alternative to reimagine the gaming sector’s position in international improvement and worldwide collaboration, and domesticate an ecosystem centered on innovation, training and real-world impression.”

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

“The pipeline of video games set to be launched from Abu Dhabi over the following 12 months is the strongest it has ever been. Style-defining titles are being developed proper within the coronary heart of the emirate by AD Gaming members, and as we convey this content material to the world, Video games for Change will play an important position in guaranteeing the Abu Dhabi’s builders goal optimistic impression by way of their work,” stated James Hartt, director of gaming and digital improvement at AD Gaming, in a press release. “Alongside supporting the UAE’s shift in the direction of a knowledge-based economic system, the optimistic impression that gaming can have is monumental. The inaugural Video games for Change Center East Summit final 12 months was an excellent success, and the line-up of gaming business consultants collaborating this 12 months is even stronger.”

Robin Solomon, counselor for public affairs on the U.S. Mission to the UAE, stated in a press release, “The U.S. Mission to the UAE is proud to sponsor the second version of Video games for Change Center East Summit right here in Abu Dhabi. This funding displays our dedication to the partnership with Abu Dhabi Gaming and twofour54 to strengthen U.S.-UAE collaboration within the rising gaming sector. The U.S. Mission stands prepared to attach stakeholders within the UAE media sector with distinguished U.S. consultants, such Video games for Change, to assist the inventive economic system within the UAE. This can be a fantastic alternative so as to add yet one more milestone to the thriving U.S.-UAE partnership.”

The inaugural Video games for Change Center East Summit in October 2022 was a two-day occasion that drew over 400 individuals from the UAE video games business, authorities, and training. The Summit is a part of an ongoing partnership between Video games for Change, america, 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 Sport Trade, a digital sport design and worldwide trade program for youth in america, the Center East, and North Africa the place college students work collectively to design video games that tackle the UN’s Sustainable Growth Objectives.