Morocco Gaming Expo Wraps Up Third Edition in Rabat

Marrakech – The third edition of the Morocco Gaming Expo (MGE 2026) concluded Sunday at the Sofitel Jardin des Roses after a five-day run that drew hardware manufacturers, telecom operators, training institutions, cloud gaming providers, and around 100 exhibitors from 24 countries.

Organized by the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication under the theme “Moroccan Talent,” the expo ran from May 20 to 24. Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan presided over the opening ceremony earlier in the week.

The closing ceremony featured the distribution of trophies, medals, and financial prizes to top-performing teams and individual players across several competitive categories. A separate award recognized the best project showcased during the expo. Special distinction awards went to standout talents, while additional prizes were offered by partner institutions backing Morocco’s gaming sector.

Expo Commissioner Nissrine Souissi told reporters the event saw strong attendance, particularly among visitors aged 18 to 25, reflecting growing interest in the electronic gaming industry among young Moroccans. Souissi noted a significant presence of Moroccan startups, which shared their work with foreign investors and international experts who led training sessions and workshops throughout the week.

Several of those startups managed to attract concrete investor interest. Some foreign backers agreed on the spot to fund their projects, Souissi said. She described the expo’s core objective as building cooperation bridges between Moroccan and international firms, stimulating investment, and opening new employment and training pathways for young people in the sector.

The event’s programming spanned multiple thematic tracks. The Government Forum addressed public policy and international partnerships. The Business Forum focused on innovation and commercial opportunities. A Game Safe Forum tackled security and ethics in gaming.

The Game Engine Forum explored development technologies, while the Game Dev Forum catered to creators, coders, and digital artists. Panels, conferences, and workshops featured both Moroccan and international speakers and targeted professionals, students, entrepreneurs, and gaming enthusiasts.

France fielded a delegation of roughly 20 professionals, including studios, training operators, professional associations, and investors, backed by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Institut Français as part of a broader strategy for exporting cultural and creative industries.

On the sidelines, several strategic agreements were signed. Four partnership conventions involved the Ministry of Higher Education, the Deposit and Management Fund (CDG), the Moroccan Society of Tourism Engineering (SMIT), UNICEF, HP, and eSTEM Morocco.

The agreements targeted the development of certified gaming training programs, with a goal of producing 4,000 video game specialists by 2029, along with gamification initiatives in tourism and cultural spaces.

A separate letter of intent was signed with GameEarly, which plans to establish a Moroccan subsidiary in Rabat by Q4 2026. Additional discussions took place with delegations from Scandinavian countries, Poland, France, and the United States.

A strategic support agreement for Morocco’s 2030 gaming industry development strategy was also signed during the event between Minister Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid and EU Ambassador to Morocco Dimiter Tzantchev.

The expo’s hosting in Rabat dovetails with the capital’s designation by UNESCO as World Book Capital 2026, a recognition running from April 2026 through April 2027. Officials have framed both events as part of a broader push to position Rabat as a hub for culture and creative industries.

The global gaming market, now valued at an estimated $300 billion, has become a space of economic and technological competition worldwide, and Morocco is betting that events like the MGE can carve out a foothold for the North African country in that race.