External Discovery
18 indie games in this list, released 2023–2026, from developers such as Danar Dev, Istikan Studio, Fast X Play. Pick one to read our editorial note and jump to its store page.
These are editorial pages. The developers and publishers are not affiliated with The Gaming Nest unless explicitly stated.
By Danar Dev · Iraq
Anonymous Messages is a short atmospheric adventure set in an eerie forest. You wake with no memory, carrying only a flashlight and a cassette player, and search for six tapes whose anonymous messages calm your rising heart rate while slowly restoring your past. The forest becomes more hostile with each tape. It is a game by Danar Dev, the label of Kurdish Iraqi solo developer Danar Kayfi, and it also appears on his itch.io page.
By Istikan Studio · Iraq
Bathroom Please! is an absurd comedy puzzle adventure about desperately needing a toilet. With no timer but a shrinking step counter, you cross a park, an office and a public pool, talk your way past strangers and learn each map by heart to reach relief in time. Failure means public humiliation and another attempt. It is listed among the projects of Istikan Studio, a game studio based in Kurdistan, Iraq.
By Danar Dev · Iraq
Cat's Vote is a pastel-coloured resource management game in which you run a cat household on a tight budget. You pay for electricity, water, food and fun, while prices shift based on a cat government that you help elect by voting, so campaign promises can help or hurt you. It grew from a Game Zanga jam entry. It was made by Danar Kayfi (Danar Dev), a Kurdish Iraqi solo developer who also manages the Game Zanga jam.
By Fast X Play · Iraq
CRETCELL is an upcoming first-person action-adventure mystery set in an engineered city of synthetic citizens whose memories can be edited. An officer enters to stop an event that should not exist, and choices ripple through the city's control systems, drones and residents. It supports Kurdish among its languages. It is in development at Fast X Play, a studio of more than 30 people based in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
By Fast X Play · Iraq
Deep in the Dread is a first-person horror mystery set in the old Hoverfield Mansion, now a library. When her colleagues leave for a pub, librarian Stella stays behind and starts to notice paranormal activity. Players read notes and a diary to learn the lore, with a guidebook to help. It released in January 2025 as the second game from Fast X Play, a studio based in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
By Northend Games · Iraq
Deepstone Rift is a tower defense game set in underground mines, where you dig for gold and minerals while defending your base from looting goblins. Towers range from miniguns and cannons to sawblades, and treasure chests grant power-ups for you, your dwarves and your defences. It entered early access in late 2025. It is the second game from Northend Games, an independent studio based in Baghdad, Iraq.
By Fast X Play · Iraq
End Up Alone is a first-person horror thriller set after a deadly virus has spread. A young survivor tries to escape the depths of a company building, using a small bow to kill parasites and following messages left along the way. It supports a Kurdish interface and subtitles. It is the first game from Fast X Play, a studio based in Erbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, which later released Deep in the Dread.
By ASD Games Studio · Iraq
Entity: The Black Day is a third-person survival horror game. Former special forces operative Adam is sent into an abandoned underground bio-research lab to find proof of a government-funded viral programme that went wrong, and ends up hunting for its last survivors. It mixes psychological horror, resource management and combat. It was built by Iraqi solo developer Ali Al-Abboodi and released by his studio ASD Games in January 2026.
By OthmanOmega · Iraq
Fake Legends is a third-person role-playing game shared as a test build for Android. Its hero is trapped behind a star gate leading to several worlds; the demo covers one of them, alternating between an exploration mode and a combat mode against the soldiers of four giants who guard the gates. The itch.io page says it was produced by an Iraqi team of just two people. It comes from OmegaSoft, led by developer OthmanOmega.
By Istikan Studio · Iraq
General Idler is an idle conquest strategy game played on a parallel Earth with 195 stylised nations. You start with one country and a farm, build industries for cash, turn cash into army power and take neighbouring countries, each of which adds permanent multipliers; three rival generals play the same map. It began as a GMTK Game Jam entry. It is developed by Istikan Studio, a team based in Kurdistan, Iraq.
By Istikan Studio · Iraq
Istikan Chai is a fast time-management game in which you run a tea cart in a busy Middle Eastern bazaar. Players take orders, prepare chai quickly and accurately, master recipes and upgrade the stall into a larger business while keeping customers from losing patience. It is available on PC and mobile. It is developed by Istikan Studio, based in Kurdistan, Iraq, and grew out of a GameJamPlus MENA 2023 entry.
By LUNAR GAMES LTD · Iraq
My Father Lied is a story-driven mystery with Lovecraftian influences. Huda follows the trail of her father, missing for 20 years, into an abandoned Mesopotamian museum whose former residents left puzzles to hold on to their fading memories. The studio says Huda is the first Iraqi female lead in a video game, named after the ancient writer Enheduanna. It is developed by Lunar Games, a studio from Iraq.
By Northend Games · Iraq
Northend Tower Defense is a real-time tower defense game with a World War II flavour in which you deploy soldiers and vehicles rather than only static towers. It has more than 20 units, 77 upgrades, passive powers and special abilities across several battlefields, plus a zombie mode with traps. It spent two years in early access before its full release in 2024. It is made by Northend Games, an independent studio in Baghdad, Iraq.
By Kevir Entertainment · Iraq
Operation Stutter is a first-person psychological horror game set in a top-secret Cold War research bunker. You wake with no name or memory and explore a nuclear facility, using a film camera that shifts reality to solve puzzles while facing creatures tied to paranoia and a fractured identity. It was shown at Gamescom. It is the flagship project of Kevir Entertainment, a studio founded in 2023 in Duhok, in Iraq's Kurdistan Region.
By Mahfouz Games · Iraq
Reflecto Ray is a VR puzzle game in which players guide a beam of light to its target by turning mirrors in the right directions. The story frames it as keeping city power stations running so magic tools can keep demons turned to stone. It supports headsets such as HTC Vive, Oculus Quest and Windows Mixed Reality. It is developed by Mahfouz Games, a studio founded in Erbil, Iraq in 2018 by Omar Mahfouz.
By ASD Games Studio · Iraq
Silent Realm is an upcoming free single-player action-horror game set in a non-human realm where life has ended and skeletal forms assemble and decay. Searching for a missing brother, the player explores a hostile world with scarce resources, where the environment itself is the main threat. It is the second project of ASD Games Studio, the Iraqi studio founded by developer Ali Al-Abboodi, and is scheduled for 2027.
By Istikan Studio · Iraq
Tiny Jar Farm is a cosy idle farming game played on a small seasonal grid. Seeds grow on their own, identical crops merge into stronger plants, and the harvest is cooked into recipes in a kitchen that feeds a gentle production economy. It is designed to reward both short sessions and long breaks. It is available on PC and mobile and is developed by Istikan Studio, a game studio rooted in Kurdistan, Iraq.
By Mahfouz Games · Iraq
Weapons Master is a PC VR fighting game in which players control and throw weapons to defeat enemies. Swords, knives and axes can be hurled, and bodies can be thrown with bare hands, with support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Sessions are short and arcade-like. It is one of the VR titles from Mahfouz Games, an independent studio based in Erbil, Iraq, that self-publishes games and also provides VR and AR development services.