23 – 24 November 2026

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Get the Complete Abu Dhabi Gaming Expo Schedule

Enter your email to download the full agenda and explore the key sessions, speakers, and networking opportunities at the Global Games Show Abu Dhabi.

09:00

Registration & Coffee

THE NEXT FRONTIER OF GAMING ECONOMY

10:00

Welcome to the Future: Global Games Show

10:10

KEYNOTE

Abu Dhabi’s Bet: Funding the Region’s Next Generation of Studios

Abu Dhabi is putting real capital behind the studios it wants to exist. This keynote unpacks the funding vehicles, sovereign backing and public-private partnerships behind the region’s push to become a serious home for game development and what that bet actually buys.

How government-backed funding is accelerating the growth of local studios
What it takes to attract global talent, publishers and investors to Abu Dhabi

#GamingInvestment #GameDevelopment #AbuDhabiGaming

10:30

FIRESIDE

The Launch Playbook: What Makes Games Succeed in 2027

Game launches are becoming harder to predict with crowded marketplaces, changing player expectations and new monetization models reshaping what success looks like. This explores the strategies, technologies and player insights that can turn a game launch into a long-term success.

Building anticipation and momentum before launch
Using data and AI to understand players and optimize launch strategies
Turning launch-day engagement into long-term retention and communities
Reserved for sponsor

#GameLaunch #GamingStrategy #PlayerEngagement

11:00

Fireside Chat

Games Are the New Cultural Language: The New Rules of Marketing

Gaming communities now move culture faster than traditional media ever did. This conversation looks at what it actually takes for brands to show up inside gaming spaces without breaking the trust that makes them work.

Gaming communities as the new drivers of cultural influence
Authentic brand engagement inside virtual and social spaces
How IP, storytelling and interactivity redefine marketing

#GamingCulture #BrandStorytelling #NextGenMarketing

11:40

HEADLINER KEYNOTE

AI for Good: Human Values in the Age of Digital Consciousness

As AI reshapes humanity’s future, the greatest challenge is not just building smarter machines but preserving human wisdom, compassion, and purpose. A reflection on creating a future where technology and humanity evolve together.

Speakers

Pujya Brahmavihari Swami, Spiritual Leader, Head of BAPS Hindu Mandir, Abu Dhabi

12:00

PANEL

AI-Powered Operations: How Automation Is Redesigning Financial Processes and Unlocking Human Potential

Discover how AI-powered automation is transforming financial operations by streamlining complex processes, improving accuracy, and freeing teams to focus on higher-value strategic priorities.

How financial institutions are moving beyond traditional automation to deploy AI-driven workflows across operations, compliance, and customer service.
How intelligent automation is improving efficiency, reducing manual processes and enabling faster, more accurate decision-making.
How organizations are balancing automation with human expertise to enhance productivity and empower teams for strategic work.

CLOUD-AI

12:50

SPOTLIGHT SESSION

From Connectivity to Intelligence: Operationalizing AI in Telecom & Critical Infrastructure

What happens when AI systems operating critical networks make decisions no human can explain? As telecom moves AI deeper into live operations, the industry must address a new challenge: ensuring autonomous systems remain secure, transparent and trustworthy.

13:10

KEYNOTE

Designing the AI-Native Cloud: Beyond Multi-Cloud to Autonomous Cloud

Cloud is evolving from a platform for applications to the foundation for autonomous AI. Explore how AI-native cloud architectures are enabling intelligent, self-optimizing and scalable digital ecosystems.

Reserved for Sponsor

09:00

Registration & Coffee

10:00

Welcome to the Future: Global Games Show

10:10

KEYNOTE

How AI is Redefining what it means to be a Developer

Being a developer isn’t what it used to be. But making games still lives or dies from iteration: does it feel fun, readable, surprising in your hands? Insights on how we built an AI‑native studio and redefined “developer” around shipping joy.

#AINativeDev #GameDevelopers #FutureofDev

10:30

PANEL DISCUSSION:

AI, Creativity & Creator Rights: Building Responsible Game Development in the AI Era

Generative tools are already inside the pipeline: art, dialogue, even level layouts. This panel gets into who owns AI-assisted work, how studios stay honest with players and what “creator rights” means when a model did half the drawing.

Who owns AI-assisted art, dialogue and level design
Staying honest with players about AI’s role in the pipeline
Defining “creator rights” in a co-created workflow

#AICreatorRights #ResponsibleAI #GameDevEthics

11:20

WORKSHOP

Hitting 60 FPS in UE5 and Keeping It There

A hands-on look at profiling and optimizing Unreal Engine 5 projects, where the frame-time actually goes and the fixes that hold up once you ship, not just in the editor.

(Reserved for sponsor)

Profiling techniques that reveal where frame-time really goes
Optimization fixes that hold up post-launch, not just in the editor
Practical, hands-on performance tuning for UE5 projects

#UE5 #GamePerformance #DevWorkshop

CYBER-AI

12:35

HEADLINER

When AI Agents Go Rogue: The Security Risks Nobody Is Talking About

Speakers

AI agents can reason, act and make decisions but what happens when they make the wrong ones? This keynote explores the emerging risks, safeguards and security strategies shaping the future of autonomous AI.

12:55

KEYNOTE

From Shadow to Spotlight: Building an AI Governance Strategy

Building trusted AI requires more than technology, it demands governance by design. Learn how organizations are creating secure frameworks that reduce risk, strengthen accountability and enable responsible AI adoption.

Reserved for Sponsor

13:15

PANEL

AI vs AI: Cybersecurity in the Age of Generative Threats

The race between attackers and defenders is becoming increasingly autonomous. This discussion explores how AI is redefining cyber warfare, enabling faster defense and reshaping the future of digital security.

Governing Agentic AI in cyber defense: human oversight, permission boundaries and accountability for AI-driven security actions.
How are cybercriminals using generative AI to accelerate attacks, automate exploitation and create new threat vectors?
How can organizations deploy AI-driven security systems to detect threats faster and strengthen cyber resilience?
As AI battles AI, what new strategies, skills and technologies will define the future of digital defense?

09:00

Registration & Coffee

10:00

Welcome to the Future: Global Games Show

GAMING FRONTIER: AI INNOVATION

10:10

OPENING KEYNOTE

Breaking into Untapped Gaming Markets

The next big player base isn’t always where studios expect it. Learn how developers identify untapped gaming markets early, what it takes to localize and build infrastructure for them and the lessons from studios that got there first.

#EmergingMarkets #GamingGrowth #GlobalExpansion

10:30

PANEL DISCUSSION

AI & Future of Game Production: Navigating Emerging Trends & Technologies

Studio pipelines are being rebuilt around AI faster than most teams can adapt to. This panel looks at which tools are genuinely changing production, and how the workforce behind game creation is evolving alongside them.

AI-driven pipelines and studio automation
New tools shaping next-gen development
Workforce evolution in game creation

#AIProduction #GameStudios #FutureOfWork

11:20

KEYNOTE

The State of the Games Industry 2027: Where Growth Really Is

Reserved for sponsor

#GlobalGaming #AIDesign

11:40

HEADLINER KEYNOTE

AI for Good: Human Values in the Age of Digital Consciousness

As AI reshapes humanity’s future, the greatest challenge is not just building smarter machines but preserving human wisdom, compassion, and purpose. A reflection on creating a future where technology and humanity evolve together.

Speakers

Pujya Brahmavihari Swami, Spiritual Leader, Head of BAPS Hindu Mandir, Abu Dhabi

12:00

PANEL

AI-Powered Operations: How Automation Is Redesigning Financial Processes and Unlocking Human Potential

Discover how AI-powered automation is transforming financial operations by streamlining complex processes, improving accuracy, and freeing teams to focus on higher-value strategic priorities.

How financial institutions are moving beyond traditional automation to deploy AI-driven workflows across operations, compliance, and customer service.
How intelligent automation is improving efficiency, reducing manual processes and enabling faster, more accurate decision-making.
How organizations are balancing automation with human expertise to enhance productivity and empower teams for strategic work.

CLOUD-AI

12:50

SPOTLIGHT SESSION

From Connectivity to Intelligence: Operationalizing AI in Telecom & Critical Infrastructure

What happens when AI systems operating critical networks make decisions no human can explain? As telecom moves AI deeper into live operations, the industry must address a new challenge: ensuring autonomous systems remain secure, transparent and trustworthy.

13:10

KEYNOTE

Designing the AI-Native Cloud: Beyond Multi-Cloud to Autonomous Cloud

Cloud is evolving from a platform for applications to the foundation for autonomous AI. Explore how AI-native cloud architectures are enabling intelligent, self-optimizing and scalable digital ecosystems.

Reserved for Sponsor

09:00

Registration & Coffee

10:00

Welcome to the Future: Global Games Show

10:10

KEYNOTE

The Next Decade of Game Development: Built by Humans, Powered by AI

A year into widespread AI adoption, what’s actually changed for developers and what hasn’t? A look at where automation genuinely speeds up production, where human craft still wins and what the next decade of game development looks like when both work together.

#FutureOfDev #AIinGames #GameStudios

10:30

PANEL DISCUSSION

Beyond the Build: Turning Your Studio into a Supercomputer

Compute has quietly become a studio’s biggest competitive lever. This panel gets into how teams are scaling infrastructure, rebuilding pipelines around AI, and turning what used to be a cost center into a genuine edge.

Scaling compute and infrastructure inside a game studio
Turning internal tooling into a competitive advantage
Lessons from studios that rebuilt their pipeline around AI

#StudioInfrastructure #ComputeAtScale #GameDevTools

11:20

WORKSHOP

Tuning Your Unreal Engine 5 Game for Mobile Deployment

Porting a UE5 project to mobile means fighting a different set of constraints than console or PC. A hands-on walkthrough of the performance and battery trade-offs that decide whether your mobile port actually ships smoothly.

Adapting UE5 projects for mobile hardware constraints
Performance and battery trade-offs that matter at launch
Practical steps for a smooth mobile port

#UE5 #MobileGameDev #DevWorkshop

(Reserved for sponsor)

11:40

PANEL

Beyond the Forecast: AI, Cloud Seeding & the Future of Weather Intelligence

Weather intelligence beyond prediction: Explore how AI, advanced climate models and cloud seeding technologies are reshaping forecasting, water management and the way nations prepare for environmental challenges.

How is AI improving weather forecasting, climate modelling, and the ability to predict extreme environmental events with greater accuracy?
How are cloud seeding and emerging atmospheric technologies contributing to water security and climate resilience strategies?
What role will real-time data, satellites, and intelligent systems play in shaping the future of weather management and environmental decision-making?

CYBER-AI

12:30

HEADLINER

Preparing for Q-Day: Rethinking Cybersecurity for the Quantum Age

Q-Day could redefine the rules of cybersecurity. Discover how public-private sectors are rethinking encryption, strengthening digital resilience and preparing for the future quantum capabilities challenge existing security models.

12:50

KEYNOTE

Accelerating AI Adoption: The CISO’s Blueprint from Strategy to Delivery

Moving AI from experimentation to enterprise scale requires security by design. Examine how CISOs are addressing governance, data protection, threat management, and operational readiness to accelerate responsible AI adoption.

Reserved for Sponsor

13:10

PANEL

Zero Trust, Full Autonomy: Securing Critical Infrastructure in an Agentic Worl

Critical infrastructure is entering an era of autonomy and complexity. Explore how governments and industry leaders are strengthening cyber defenses through Zero Trust principles, intelligent security models and next-generation protection strategies.

How does the rise of AI agents and autonomous systems change the way critical infrastructure must be protected?
How are Zero Trust architectures, identity management and continuous verification strengthening security across essential networks?
What cybersecurity strategies and technologies are needed to build resilient infrastructure in an increasingly autonomous world?

Download the full agenda

Get the complete three-day programme — speakers, sessions, side-rooms and the Palace afterparty bill — sent to your inbox.

Download Full Agenda