The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has shown spectacular growth in the gaming industry. The space is getting competitive, with the MENA gaming market projected to increase to over $5 billion by 2025. There’s demand for localization of global gaming content, such as Arabic speech, subtitles, and a localized user interface tailored to the region. Gaming, after all, is about accessibility and inclusivity.

Now Abu Dhabi Gaming, which is building a self-sustaining gaming and esports ecosystem in the emirate, has partnered with Sawa Group, a publisher of video games, to help with the localization of popular video games.

“Demand for high-quality gaming content across the Arabic-speaking world has never been higher. The opportunity to tap into this market from Abu Dhabi is substantial, and Sawa’s expertise in the localization of gaming e-sports content addresses this head-on,” said Sultan Al Riyami, head of gaming and e-sports at Abu Dhabi Gaming.

“Bringing Sawa into the fold both diversifies and expands our community as we continue to advance Abu Dhabi’s gaming industry,” he added.

In 2021, twofour54, a media-free zone in Abu Dhabi, introduced AD Gaming. Companies like Unity Technologies, Flash Entertainment, UAE Pro League, Emirates E-sports Association, and the Media Zone Authority promote it, benefiting game developers, players, consumers, and businesses.

To support next-generation gaming, it collaborated last month with AA Meta, a regional metaverse and Web3 development company.

According to the statement, the collaboration with Sawa would assist Chinese gaming and e-sports companies in expanding internationally through Abu Dhabi and give the local industry access to new audiences.

“Aligned with AD Gaming, Sawa Group is dedicated to enhancing the gaming and esports ecosystem in the UAE, creating more opportunities for the country’s passionate gamers to experience global content in their native language,” said Jing Wang, chief executive of Sawa Group.