In mid-February, the WN Conference for game developers and publishers was held in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Among its participants were representatives of companies such as Apple, Google, Ubisoft, Unity, TikTok, Tilting Point, Stillfront Group, Riot Games and Huawei.
In total, according to the statistics collected by the organizers, 302 companies related to the gaming business were represented at the event. 60% of the companies present at the event are directly involved in game development. 39% noted that they consider themselves service providers.
Distribution of participating companies by specialization (one company may have several specializations) and by number
Also, according to the WN Media Group, which hosted the event, 519 people attended the February session of the WN Conference. 72% of them were top managers and owners of companies, and another 15% identified themselves as business development and sales managers.
Distribution of guests by specialties and by regions from which they arrived
Sponsors and participants of the WN Conference exhibition area this time 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.
At the same time, the government organization Abu Dhabi Gaming became the general partner of the conference. The latter is engaged in the development of the gaming and esports industries in the UAE, including bringing developers together with investors.
Traditionally, the WN Game Finder Contest was held within the framework of the WN Conference. 56 applications were submitted from teams from Europe, the CIS and Asia. Some of them could be played at the developers' exhibition, which was attended by more than 80 teams.
Three games became the winners of the competition. The WorldShards puzzle from Lowkick Studio received the award for the best art. NADSAT's Midline ’85 was recognized as the best in storytelling. The Burst from GoRapid Studio won the nomination for the best game design. As for the Peppered platformer from Mostly Games, it received the grand Prix.
Below are a few photos from the event:
This is the first conference held by WN Media Group in the UAE. The company's next big conference will be held on June 11-12 in Istanbul.