The Winners of 2025

DUBAI GAMES STAR

WINNER: DMCC Gaming Centre

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.

FINALISTS:

• Foxrito Studios [Honourable Mention]
• Yalla Group [Honourable Mention]
• BoomLand
  
• Elevatix
  
• Oneness Labs
  
• Sawa Group
  
• TapTap Games DMCC
  

BEST GAMES STARTUP

WINNER: Majestic Mind Games

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.

FINALISTS:

• Hajem Sports [Honourable Mention]
• Raheebeen Studio [Honourable Mention]
• Steer Studios [Honourable Mention]
• Aya Games
  
• Classy Games Studios
• Digital Dunes
  
• Holodot Studio
• iBLOXX Studios
• Light Studio
  
• Sphereka Studios
  

BEST GAME INNOVATION HUB/DISTRICT

WINNER: DMCC Gaming Centre

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.

FINALISTS:

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

MOST INNOVATIVE MENA GAME

WINNER: AFRSHO (Naphora)

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.

FINALISTS:

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

BEST SERVICE PROVIDER

WINNER: Xsolla & Niko Partners

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.

FINALISTS:

• Futura Digital [Honourable Mention]
• Tamatem Plus (Tamatem) [Honourable Mention]
• Elevatix
  
• Endless Studios
• Lobah Play (Lobah)
  
• Pay1st (Carry1st)
  
• Playgama.com
  
• Polygonflow
  
• SocialPeta
  
• The Game Company

BEST ARABIC LOCALISATION

WINNER: Tamatem Games

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.

FINALISTS:

• Raheebeen Studio [Honourable Mention]
• Stellar Gate Games [Honourable Mention]
• Babil Games
• Tiny Minies Preschool Learning

BEST IN ESPORTS

WINNER: True Gamers

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

FINALISTS:

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

BEST WEB3 GAMING

WINNER: The Game Company

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.

FINALISTS:

• BoomLand [Honourable Mention]
• Kiraverse (Param Labs) [Honourable Mention]
• WEMIX PLAY Center (Wemade) [Honourable Mention]
• Everdome
  
• Farcana Studio
• iBLOXX Studios
• PiP World
  
• PlanetQuest (Galactic Entertainment)

INVESTOR OF THE YEAR

WINNER: Exel by Merak (Merak Capital)

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.

FINALISTS:

• Savvy Games Group [Honourable Mention]
• Shorooq Partners [Honourable Mention]
• Beam Ventures
  
• BITKRAFT
• GEM Capital
  
• Jetapult
  
• Level Up (NEOM)
  
• Saudi Social Development Bank
  
• The Games Fund

BEST DEVELOPER

WINNER: Jawaker

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.

FINALISTS:

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

BEST PUBLISHER

WINNER: Tamatem Games

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.

FINALISTS:

• Babil Games [Honourable Mention]
• Sandsoft [Honourable Mention]
• Maysalward
  
• MBC Group
  
• Naphora Games Group
  
• Sawa Group
  
• Yalla Group
  
• Yayy

MENA GAME OF THE YEAR

WINNER: (Tamatem) أرض الشجعان

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.

FINALISTS:

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

MENA MARKET LEGEND

WINNER: MJ Fahmi

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.