Dubai Brings Its Biggest Ever Pavilion to Gamescom 2026: 495 Gaming Companies, Up 34.5% in Two Years, and a Top-10 Target by 2033

Published: 2026-08-28

Dubai is exhibiting at Gamescom 2026 in Cologne (26-30 August 2026) with the largest pavilion in the emirate’s history: more than 10 showcases, a live stage for panels and fireside chats, and dedicated deal-making spaces where game studios meet investors. The Dubai Films and Games Commission (DFGC), part of the Dubai Media Council, leads a delegation that includes the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, DIFC, DMCC, Dubai Chambers, Dubai Culture, the Dubai Future Foundation and Dubai Police. The headline number behind the stand: the count of gaming companies operating in Dubai rose from more than 368 in 2024 to 495 in 2026, a 34.5% increase in two years. The target set by the Dubai Program for Gaming 2033 is a place in the world’s top 10 gaming hubs by the end of the decade, with around 30,000 jobs and close to USD 1 billion in annual sector revenue. The announcement came from the Dubai Media Office on the evening of 2026-08-27 (Asia/Dubai).

What Dubai brought to Cologne

Gamescom is the largest games trade fair in the world: the 2026 edition at Koelnmesse expects more than 350,000 visitors and over 1,500 exhibitors from more than 125 countries, with the first day (26 August) reserved for trade and media. Dubai’s pavilion this year is built around three functions:

• More than 10 showcases where Dubai-based studios, government platforms and private partners present their projects and services.
• A live stage for panel discussions and fireside chats on the emirate’s gaming ecosystem.
• Dedicated spaces for studios and investors to negotiate collaborations, deals and agreements across the sector, from development and publishing to esports and services.

The government line-up on the stand is broader than at any previous edition: Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), Dubai Chambers, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Dubai Police and Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), plus private-sector partners. In practice this means a studio walking the pavilion can talk to a mainland licensing authority, two free zones, a chamber network and the body that runs the city’s gaming strategy without leaving the hall.

From a first pavilion in 2025 to the biggest in 2026

Dubai’s Gamescom presence is only a year old. At Gamescom 2025 (20-24 August 2025) the Dubai Program for Gaming hosted the first dedicated government gaming pavilion from the Middle East, with a limited number of showcases and three entities represented: DFF, Dubai Culture and DMCC. Twelve months later the pavilion has more than 10 showcases and seven government bodies, and DFGC describes it as the emirate’s largest and most integrated presence at the fair to date.

Hesham Al Olama, CEO of the Media Development Sector at the Dubai Media Council, framed the ambition in his statement: Dubai has a record of entering an industry and, a decade later, becoming impossible to leave out of the conversation, as happened in aviation and tourism, and gaming is next. Faisal Kazim, Games Commissioner at DFGC, added that the commission treats gaming as a creative industry that supports education, social engagement and job creation, not only as entertainment.

The numbers behind the pavilion

Two observations on the table. The jump from 368 to 495 companies is measured by the Media Office over 2024-2026; the DFF figure of 350+ from June 2025 is a different count taken at a different point, so the three numbers describe a curve rather than contradict each other. And the 165 companies inside the DMCC Gaming Centre, covered in our article on the DMCC and Serbian Games Association partnership, are a subset of the 495: the rest sit in Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, mainland licences under DET and other free zones.

Dubai Program for Gaming 2033: what the plan actually contains

The Dubai Program for Gaming 2033 (DPG33) was launched in November 2023 under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai. The Media Office release lists its working priorities in a fixed order: enabling policies first, then connection, then talent. Concretely:

• Incentives and policies drawn up by DFGC to make Dubai one of the most accessible places to build a game.
• Attracting international companies and studios to register in Dubai, which is the function the Gamescom pavilion serves directly.
• Connecting talent and companies with funding. The named vehicle is the GameForward accelerator, run by Dubai SME (part of DET) with Dubai Culture: announced on 2026-01-29, it ran from March 2026 with 16 Emirati-led studios and 25 founders, closed with a Demo Day at the Dubai Esports and Games Festival in May 2026, awarded grants to three studios and produced three PlayStation publishing partnerships, including the title Cosmic Galaxy. Developer grants are also being used to bring international teams to Dubai.
• Building local capability among designers, developers and other professionals so that the talent base is still in Dubai in ten years.

The release also notes that the Good Games Club podcast is relocating to Dubai, which brings a set of industry voices and their audience to the city. Together with Dubai’s first place in the world for creative-industry FDI (754 projects in 2025, covered in our piece on creative-industry investment in Dubai), it shows the gaming push is part of a wider creative-economy strategy rather than a standalone campaign.

Why each entity on the stand matters to a studio

The composition of the delegation is a map of the routes into the market:

• DET issues mainland licences and, through Dubai SME, runs GameForward and the entrepreneurship support for local founders.
• DMCC hosts the Gaming Centre, a free-zone cluster of 165 companies in Jumeirah Lakes Towers with its own events and partner network.
• DIFC is the financial free zone: relevant to publishers and platforms that need a regulated payments, fintech or investment-fund wrapper rather than a plain development licence.
• Dubai Chambers operates the business councils and international offices that connect a Dubai company with export markets.
• DFF hosts the Dubai Gaming Committee (chaired by DFF CEO Khalfan Belhoul) and tracks the sector numbers.
• Dubai Culture co-runs GameForward and holds the creative-industry programmes and talent visas.
• Dubai Police is on the stand for the sector’s cybersecurity and esports-safety side, an unusual but deliberate signal to publishers about the regulatory environment.

What this means for a studio or publisher considering Dubai

The pavilion changes nothing in the law this week, but it clarifies what Dubai is offering and to whom. For a game developer, publisher, esports operator or gaming-services company weighing a UAE entity, the practical points are:

• Choice of jurisdiction is now explicit. A studio can pick a specialised free-zone cluster (DMCC Gaming Centre), a technology free zone (Dubai Internet City, in5), a mainland licence under DET, or DIFC for regulated financial activities. Each has different office, visa and cost profiles.
• Funding routes exist but are targeted. GameForward grants went to Emirati-led studios; international teams are addressed through developer grants and investor matchmaking on platforms such as the Gamescom pavilion. No public tariff of grant amounts has been published.
• The peer base is real. 495 companies is a large enough community for hiring, outsourcing and co-publishing to happen inside the city rather than remotely.
• Timing. With the 2033 target and a pavilion that doubled in scope in one year, the policy incentives DFGC is drafting are likely to land in the coming cycles. Companies already licensed in Dubai will be first in line.

A short checklist before registering a gaming company in Dubai:

• Define the activity set: development, publishing, esports events, gaming services or a mix, and match it to a licence that lists those activities.
• Choose the free zone or mainland route based on where your team will sit, how many visas you need and whether you sell to UAE consumers directly.
• Prepare shareholder documents: passports, proof of address, a short business plan and, for corporate shareholders, legalised constitutional documents.
• Plan the corporate bank account early: banks ask for revenue-model detail, and in-app purchases, token mechanics or gambling-adjacent features trigger extra compliance questions.
• Budget residence visas for founders and key staff, and check whether individual developers fit the UAE’s freelance and talent visa routes.

How Atlant Capital can help

We register and support companies in Dubai free zones and on the mainland for founders from Europe and the CIS, including technology and creative businesses. Our team handles company formation in the UAE from choosing between DMCC, Dubai Internet City, mainland and DIFC to licence activities, registration and lease, arranges corporate bank account opening with a compliance file that explains gaming revenue models to the bank, and processes residence and work visas for founders and staff. If your studio met Dubai at Gamescom and wants to compare the actual routes and costs, we can map them before you commit.

Conclusion

A pavilion with more than 10 showcases, seven government bodies and a dedicated deal space is a different proposition from the three-entity debut of 2025. The number that matters is 495 gaming companies in Dubai, up 34.5% in two years, against a 2033 target of a top-10 global ranking, around 30,000 jobs and close to USD 1 billion in annual revenue. The instruments are already running: GameForward, developer grants, the DMCC Gaming Centre and the Dubai Gaming Committee. For studios, the offer is now specific enough to price: a licence, a visa plan and a community, chosen from a menu that was laid out in Cologne this week.

FAQ

How many gaming companies are there in Dubai in 2026?

According to the Dubai Media Office release of 2026-08-27, 495 gaming companies operate in Dubai in 2026, up from more than 368 in 2024, an increase of 34.5% over two years. Of these, 165 are members of the DMCC Gaming Centre as of August 2026. The Dubai Future Foundation counted more than 350 gaming companies, including 260 developers, in June 2025.

What is in the Dubai pavilion at Gamescom 2026?

The pavilion, led by the Dubai Films and Games Commission, has more than 10 showcases, a live stage for panels and fireside chats, and dedicated spaces where studios and investors negotiate deals. The delegation includes DET, Dubai Culture, Dubai Future Foundation, Dubai Chambers, DIFC, Dubai Police and DMCC, plus private-sector partners. Gamescom 2026 runs 26-30 August 2026 at Koelnmesse in Cologne.

What does the Dubai Program for Gaming 2033 aim to achieve?

Launched in November 2023 under Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, the programme aims to place Dubai among the world’s top 10 gaming hubs by 2033, with around 30,000 jobs and close to USD 1 billion in annual sector revenue. It works through incentives and policies drafted by DFGC, attraction of international studios, funding links such as the GameForward accelerator and developer grants, and training of local designers and developers.

Where can a foreign game studio register a company in Dubai?

The main routes are the DMCC Gaming Centre (a free-zone cluster with 165 companies), technology free zones such as Dubai Internet City and in5, a mainland licence issued by the Department of Economy and Tourism, and DIFC for regulated financial activities. The choice depends on team location, visa needs, whether you sell to UAE consumers directly and the revenue model the bank will need to approve.