US$15,000 to top three gaming apps in Apps UP 2022 contest

Huawei, the global tech giant, is awarding US$15,000 to each of the top three gaming apps in the recently launched Huawei Global App Innovation Contest (Apps UP) 2022 – Middle East and Africa (MEA) edition to celebrate the mobile gaming industry boom. Through this competition and other initiatives, Huawei encourages mobile game developers. Khurram Samad, a tech entrepreneur, founded GenITeam, which has received ongoing support from Huawei.

Almost one billion people have downloaded Khurram’s games, which have topped the charts on all mobile platforms. Scary Teacher 3D, created by GenITeam, won the Apps UP “Best Game” award last year, alongside “Real Car Race Game 3D: Fun New Car Games 2020” and “Little Astro.” The game’s massive success has been attributed to its simple and intuitive controls, as well as an intriguing spooky plot and amusing pranks.

Apps UP 2021 participation for GenITeam was described as a valuable experience. The competition against other top developers gave them an idea of where they stood in the global market, and the team also praised Huawei’s support and guidance throughout the development process. Huawei users have also provided GenITeam with a new perspective on gameplay, which has assisted the company in improving the game across all platforms.

To grow its user base, GenITeam used HMS Core Integration with Ads and in-app capabilities, as well as Huawei Analytics. Following their successful Apps UP 2021 journey, the award-winning game development company intends to continue working with Huawei and publish more titles on the platform in the near future.

“With the introduction of HMS core, Huawei has proven to be a great partner in terms of the services provided,” said Andleeb Nusrat, Senior Game Designer of Scary Teacher 3D. “The kits are extremely easy to integrate, user-friendly and has enabled us to deliver our players a great user experience. Partnering with Huawei has helped us expand into a new, diversified market, and their continuous support has allowed us to publish one of our most popular games, Scary Teacher 3D, on their platform with great success.”

According to the most recent “Middle East North Africa Games Market” report, gaming revenue in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt was US$1.71 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow to US$3.14 billion in 2025 at a 5.8% CAGR. Furthermore, in 2021, the total number of gamers in these three countries was 65.32 million, with a projected increase to 85.76 million by 2025. In this context, Huawei has dedicated an entire section of Apps UP 2022 to empowering regional mobile game developers.

Apps UP 2022 provides developers with a unique opportunity to interact with industry leaders and have their apps evaluated by the Apps UP judging panel, which is comprised of gaming, technology, and financial sector experts. Apps UP 2022 registration is now open, and developers can submit their entries until October 9th, 2022. This year’s top three mobile games will receive a total of $45,000, with the overall prize pool for the MEA region totaling $230,000. The official website contains more information about Huawei’s Global App Innovation Contest Apps UP 2022, as well as the registration form.

Huawei provides unrivaled support to all developers through various HMS training workshops, certification programs, and webinars on the most recent technologies, while the Huawei Developer Group MEAI can assist them in connecting with fellow developers and community members.

Simultaneously, Huawei’s AppGallery, the world’s third largest app store with over 730 million monthly active users, has a sizable gaming community eager for new and exciting gaming experiences.