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Dubai’s roads and local dialects are making their way into the gaming world, thanks to a new wave of Emirati game developers who are fusing culture and creativity to build immersive, homegrown video games.
At the forefront is Ismail Ahli, a 39-year-old Emirati and founder of game studio Foxrito, who co-created “Darkness Road”, a suspenseful horror game rooted in Gulf traditions. Developed in collaboration with co-founder Hussain Darwish, the game uses actual Dubai landscapes, Emirati dialects, and folklore-inspired storytelling to create a uniquely local gaming experience.
Set in 1996 Dubai, “Darkness Road” follows the story of Hamdan, a 34-year-old man abducted and trapped in a cursed area. The game’s eerie environment — based on a real road between Al Tayy and Al Khawaneej — combines combat, puzzles, and psychological horror, all drawn from Emirati culture. Characters speak in authentic Gulf Arabic, and many are modeled after the developers themselves and their friends.
“The characters feel familiar because they are. We even turned ourselves into game avatars,” Ahli shared. Since its release, the game has gathered momentum, with over 3,000 downloads in just three months and reaching players across more than 10,000 countries.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Salem Al Hamed, a civil engineer-turned-game developer, is exploring deeper narratives. He founded his own game company and recently released “Enci’s Solution”, a dystopian tale of a child navigating an abandoned world. Inspired by stories Al Hamed wrote in his youth, the game blends Emirati storytelling with global appeal, developed entirely in the UAE by a multicultural team.
Al Hamed’s path to gaming began through education — using games to teach teenagers about nuclear energy. This passion eventually evolved into full-time game creation.
As these Emirati developers continue to break new ground, they’re proving that local stories, dialects, and identity have a powerful place on the global gaming stage.
