Abu Dhabi's Red Dunes Games Makes Major Waves at Tokyo Game Show 2026

A few years ago, Red Dunes Games arrived at the Tokyo Game Show looking for introductions. In 2023, the Abu Dhabi company did not have a stand of its own, and founders Sultan Al Darmaki and Mohamed Al Jneibi spent their time meeting developers and publishers to establish themselves in one of gaming’s most important markets. At Tokyo Game Show 2026, however, it is considerably harder to miss them.

The Red Dunes booth in Hall 7 at Makuhari Messe is among the largest in its section, featuring banks of screens, playable games, and developers from several countries gathered beneath the Emirati publisher’s banner. Shihab Al Faheem, the UAE ambassador to Japan, noted that he has watched the company’s presence at the event develop over several years.

“I’ve been coming to Tokyo Game Show for the last five years,” Al Faheem tells The National. “I’ve seen Red Dunes in their first participation when they came here and participated in a single booth, or a single space, and today they are hosting a lot of companies and they have the second biggest booth in this hall. It’s very impressive to see the growth that Red Dunes has had in the last five years, and the growth of UAE-based games and UAE-themed games.”

Red Dunes announced nine games for this year’s show, including Port of Jumanah, Zozo and the Lost Dreams, and Nightmare Circus. The booth is meticulously designed to make the company’s UAE roots clear, drawing inspiration from the souqs of Mina Zayed to project hospitality, friendliness, and a sense of wonder.

The diverse international line-up includes Blades of Mirage, developed with Indonesian studio Agate; LightSup! from Thailand’s BugBlio Studio; and Katuba’s Poacher, from South Korean solo developer Joe Yu. Additionally, Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast from the Past! was developed in collaboration with Dutch studio Blast Zero and published by Red Dunes, reviving the 1990 Tatsunoko Production anime.

The strong Japanese response to Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast from the Past! caught Red Dunes by surprise, quickly becoming one of their top anticipated titles. Looking ahead, Al Darmaki notes that the next stage will involve larger projects, alongside behind-the-scenes work with well-loved international intellectual properties.

Highlighting further ties between the UAE and Japan, Ambassador Al Faheem pointed to the addition of the Yas Marina Circuit to Gran Turismo 7 in December 2025, a project that took two and a half years of collaboration with Polyphony Digital. Walking the floor at this year's event, Al Darmaki observed a broader industry shift where major publishers are returning to manageable scopes and reviving classic properties, playing directly to Red Dunes' core strengths in game mechanics and playability.