Gamers to converge in Amman to develop regional e-gaming ecosystem

AMMAN — The Jordan Gaming Lab, one of the initiatives of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD), is scheduled to host the 2019 Pocket Gamer Connects on November 2 and 3. 

The conference, in cooperation with the Global Mobile Games Industry Conference, provides an opportunity for more than 650 game developers to become acquainted with new trends in the e-gaming industry through “the best international experts”, according to a statement from the organisers. 

The list of speakers includes representatives from companies like Zynga, iDreamSky, Epic Games and Wargaming, who will share their expertise, ideas and analysis, in addition to holding other activities such as demonstrations of independent games, and a “global connects ceremony”, among others. 

The conference is the “first of its kind” in the Middle East, with KAFD supporting independent Jordanian developers, effective members of the lab and Jordanian companies, said the statement.

The Jordan Gaming Lab was founded in 2011 in cooperation with key players in the digital gaming industry on the regional and international levels including Unity, Penguin, Microsoft and Sony, according to the KAFD website.

The lab aims to help young Jordanians by turning their ideas into success stories, creating a community that embraces game developers in Jordan and the region and developing an ecosystem that stimulates innovation and facilitates networking between young Jordanians interested in the digital gaming industry and international companies.

The lab seeks to raise awareness on the importance of the digital gaming industry in Jordan and to turn the Kingdom into a pioneering regional hub in this regard through supporting youth ideas and training them on how to design and develop digital games, the website added.