Saudi game developers showcase their products

Following signing a strategic partnership with Huawei, the leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, GCON2015, in its fourth edition, was held in Riyadh City, and for the first time, GCON2015 was held in Al-Khobar City. During the event, Playstation showcased over 20 games on PS4 platform, most of which newly offers full Arabic language support, and independent developers were able to showcase their locally developed android games on “Huawei Mate S” and a setup fully supported by Huawei. Despite being a relatively new industry in the region, previous statistics suggest that 60% of Internet users are interested in games, and that gaming is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the kingdom. Independent games showcased at GCON2015 included a drawing game title “Pen” by developer Sarah Al Zahrani, a multiplayer version of the game “Reunion” developed by Hako Games studio in Saudi, a Cat’s Manor, a 2D horro platformer developed by Tariq Mokhtar, a narrative puzzle game titled “Wijdan” developed by LightStudios, a 2D platformer titled “Cups” developed by Nimah Al Malki & Aishah Al Maghlouth, and two news games on PS4 platforms developed by Semaphore studios, titled “Badiya” and “Abnormal”. GCON2015 is the world’s first and only Gaming Convention for women gamers & developers, over 300 volunteers participated in Riyadh and Al-Khobar, and attendance acceded 5000 attendees across both cities. — SG