Earlier this month, WN Media Group hosted a conference in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. It was attended by representatives of Apple, Google, Ubisoft, Unity, TikTok, Tilting Point, Stillfront Group, Riot Games, Huawei, and other companies.

Overall, 302 companies participated in WN Conference Abu Dhabi’24. Game developers accounted for 60% of the total, followed by service providers (39%). Other groups included publishers and investors.

WN Conference Abu Dhabi’24 attendees by company type (each could choose several options)

According to WN Media Group, the event was attended by 519 games industry professionals. 72% of them were C-level executives, followed by business development managers (15%) and game developers (8%).

WN Conference Abu Dhabi’24 attendees by job type

The general sponsor of WN Conference Abu Dhabi’24 was Abu Dhabi Gaming, which is focused on driving the growth of the UAE video game and esports industry.

Among other sponsors were Yandex Games, Moloco, Google, GEM Capital, Xsolla, Appier, TikTok for Business, Malpa, Appier, Liftoff, Audiomob, Airbridge, SunStrike, Strategy Park, HyperFactory, Futura, RoasUp, Brightika, Subscible, and JustMoby.

WN Game Finder Contest was also held during a special developer showcase, which brought together over 80 game developers. Of the 56 games, four projects won the main prizes:

  • Best Art — WorldShards, a puzzle title from Lowkick Studio;
  • Best Storytellting — Midline ’85, an interactive thriller from NADSAT;
  • Best Game Design — The Burst, a VR shooter from GoRapid Studio;
  • Grand Prix — Peppered, a 2D platformer from Mostly Games.

Peppered

WN Conference Abu Dhabi’24 became WN Media Group’s first conference in the United Arab Emirates. The next big event will be held in Istanbul on June 11-12.

Below you can see some photos from the latest conference.


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