Today’s news brought the first programme highlights from FROG, as well as the return of age verification on Discord. In our interviews, we not only hear from Thomas Reisenegger but, thanks to two managers from Red Dune Games, also gain an interesting insight into the UAE as a gaming hub.
The MENA region is, without a doubt, dear readers,
one of the industry’s growth regions. And here, alongside Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates are also emerging as an important and up-and-coming player. Dubai has impressively underlined its ambitions with its stand at gamescom. But we learn that Abu Dhabi also has big plans in our interview with Sultan Darmaki and Mohamed ‘MJ’ Jneibi from Red Dunes Games. Like the United Arab Emirates as a nation, these two emirates are pursuing a more ecosystem-focused approach, which primarily builds up the local gaming industry’s infrastructure, thereby making it attractive to players from both East and West. It is a sustainable approach that will firmly establish the UAE as a business hub in the gaming sector.
Here are the news of the day!
Your Stephan Steininger
The MENA region is one of the emerging markets in the global games industry, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is part of this. To find out more about the region, we spoke to Sultan Darmaki (CEO & Creative Director) and Mohamed 'MJ' Jneibi (CDO) from Red Dunes Games.
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by Marcel Kleffmann
Professor Stephan Schwingeler will be the keynote speaker of the Future and Reality of Gaming conference 2026 with a talk on Game Art. FROG takes place 20-22 November in Vienna.
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by Pascal Wagner
How do gaming executives rate Europe's position in the global market? And what key challenges and trends are currently affecting the industry? We spoke to Thomas Reisenegger, Founder Future Friends Games (UK), to find out.
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by Marcel Kleffmann
With two million copies sold, Wardogs has secured its place at the top of the weekly Steam charts. The free-to-play creature collection game Aniimo also made a strong entry, whilst The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410 is performing particularly well in German-speaking regions.
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After Discord succumbed to a public outcry over privacy concerns regarding age verification and a subcontractor they wanted to use, the age verification process on Discord now returns.
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After spending around a year and a half in Early Access, Titan Quest II, developed by Grimlore Games and published by THQ Nordic, will be released on PC and consoles in January 2027. The game will be expanded further after that, too.
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At the Serious Game Summit in Lucerne, 45 analogue game makers, risk managers at public organisations and researchers came together to discuss the possibilities of games for adult teaching and crisis management education.
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Red Dunes Games is an upcoming publisher and creative development partner from the emerging gaming market in the United Arab Emirates. In this interview, we spoke to Sultan Darmaki (CEO & Creative Director) and Mohamed Jneibi (CDO) about their business.
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Marcel Kleffmann
22.09. - 25.09.2026: Game Devs of Color Expo (online)
23.09.2026: Open Stage Games BW (Suttgart)
23.09. - 25.09.2026: Northern Games Summit (Kajaani)
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29.09. - 30.09.2026: DevGamm x FTW! (Belgrade)
02.10. - 04.10.2026: Hero Fest (Bern)
03.10.2026: IAM Gaming Expo (Moray)
04.10. - 11.10.2026: New York Games Week (New York)
07.10. - 08.10.2026: Mobidictum (Istanbul)
08.10. - 09.10.2026: Gamespace Conference (Zürich)
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09.10. - 11.10.2026: SAGA Barcelona Game Fest (Barcelona)
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