ABU DHABI, 4th November, 2026 (WAM) -- Abu Dhabi Gaming, the government-led initiative driving the emirate’s transformation into a global gaming hub, has opened registration for the next edition of the SHIFT Game Jam, taking place from 13 to 15 November at DCD NABDH MBZ – Al Manhal.
Organised in partnership with Unity, one of the world’s leading game development platforms, the three-day event will welcome up to 200 participants, from a range of creative and technical disciplines, to collaborate, develop and present playable games.
Beginners are also welcome, giving aspiring developers, artists, designers, writers and audio creators an opportunity to gain practical experience in collaborative game development.
Teams will be supported throughout the event by Unity experts and industry mentors, giving participants the opportunity to work with professional tools, receive hands-on feedback and experience the collaborative, time-sensitive nature of game development.
At the close of the event, teams will present their games to a judging panel which will assess each project based on gameplay, creativity, theme alignment, visual and audio presentation, technical execution and overall player experience.
The announcement follows the October edition of the SHIFT Game Jam, which brought together 50 university students and recent graduates at Abu Dhabi University from 17th to 18th October. Working in teams of up to five, participants developed 16 playable game prototypes in 48 hours in response to the theme “Festival of Passports”.
The November edition will offer a total prize pool of AED60,000 in vouchers, with AED30,000 awarded to the winning team, AED20,000 to the second-place team and AED10,000 to the third-place team. In addition, the winning team will receive access to premium Unity services, including expert sessions designed to help participants improve their games through project reviews and optimisation accelerators.