External Discovery
926 indie games in this list, released 2016–2026, from developers such as Istikan Studio, Zainab Al-Ansari, Dannana Gaming. 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 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 Zainab Al-Ansari · Bahrain
Jason Drake and the Winding Tower is a short comedy adventure prototype. Players control Jason Drake, a novice treasure hunter following in his older brother's footsteps, who must climb the Winding Tower using only a grappling hook, aiming with the mouse or controller and firing to swing upward. It is available free on itch.io for Windows. It was made by Zainab Al-Ansari, an independent game developer and software engineer based in Bahrain.
By Dannana Gaming · Saudi Arabia
Kashtah, named after a slang word for a desert trip, is a first-person survival horror game set in an abandoned Saudi village around a cursed castle. After your car breaks down you look for help, then must explore, collect clues, solve puzzles and avoid enemies to escape. It is being developed by Dannana, a Riyadh-based studio that makes games celebrating Saudi culture.
By Hassan Sherif · Egypt
Keyboard Curse is a 2D rage platformer where every key you press drops a matching physical keycap into the level. Those keycaps can form a helpful step or block your own path, so the goal is to reach the exit with good timing and as few inputs as possible. Panicked button-mashing makes each stage harder. It is developed by Hassan Sherif and published by Halal Games Studio, an Egypt-based studio he founded.
By Nabokov · Saudi Arabia
Keytamine is a keyboard-themed action game in which you battle waves of enemies shaped like keycaps through rhythmic clicking, combos and ASMR-style sound design. Its Chaos System offers 11 levels of difficulty, from a deathless relaxed mode at level 0 to a demanding mode at level 10 that adds new mechanics. It was made by Nabokov, a developer featured in Steam's Games Made in KSA bundle of Saudi indie games.
By Limeless · Saudi Arabia
Killer Issues is a short first-person comedy horror game in which you are a serial killer spending Halloween in a cabin with other serial killers. Between decorations and trick-or-treaters at the door, another killer starts hunting the household, and the hunters become the hunted. It is an upcoming title from Limeless Studio, a horror studio based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
By TACSOU · Morocco
Kitiplant is a grid-based puzzle game about a group of cats that bring dormant forests back to life. Players guide the cats through handcrafted levels where they must share resources and ration their energy, so every move has to be planned. It was made by Moroccan solo developer Soufiane Tacherifine under the TACSOU name and is available on Steam and, as Kitiplant Mobile, on Google Play.
By Rumbling Games Studio · Egypt
Knights of Light: The Prologue is an early-access action role-playing game set in the 7th-century Middle East, built around the lead-up to the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah. Players switch between two soldier brothers, one of whom is handed command of the army when its general falls ill. The studio cites The Witcher and Mount & Blade as influences. It is the first release from Rumbling Games Studio, an independent developer based in Giza, Egypt.
By Urar Studio · Tunisia
Kopno: Blightfall is an open-world survival RPG set on a cursed continent split into a Surface layer and an Underground layer, each with four biomes. Players choose one of six races, gather resources, hunt, make moral choices and build a settlement with recruited villagers, alone with AI companions or in co-op. The Tunisian developer Urar Studio is making it and showed it at the first Afro Game Showcase in June 2026.
By Nomadroid · Saudi Arabia
KoroNeko is a relaxed puzzle game where you roll Koro the cat, trapped inside a jelly jar, through colourful worlds to free her siblings from the witch Strawberry. There is no timer and no move counter, so each puzzle can be worked out at your own pace as new mechanics appear world by world. It was developed and published by Nomadroid, a studio from Saudi Arabia.
By ALAA HAMASH · Jordan
Last Hammashan: Awakening of a Hero is a free-to-play, story-driven action game in Early Access. The player enters Hammashan castle to save his village and wakes a war over the power of a civilisation believed to be extinct. Defeating bosses grants their powers and fighting styles, which can be switched mid-combat. It is the work of Alaa Hamash, a solo developer based in Jordan.
By The Bad Nomads · Egypt
Last Loremaster is an action RPG with roguelike elements in which the hero Jahir fights a spreading force called the Unravelling. Combat is built on switching between six elemental lores (fire, water, earth, wind, lightning and nature) and chaining them into combos, in the vein of Hades and Darksiders. Its fantasy world draws on Middle Eastern mythology. The game is the original project of The Bad Nomads, a development and co-development studio based in Cairo, Egypt.
By Light Studio | نقش الضوء · Saudi Arabia
Lefty is a cozy 3D puzzle game about a left-handed character who can only move to the right. To reach home you rotate each whimsical maze level so that right-only steps lead somewhere useful, with puzzles growing more complex as you go. The idea is drawn from the Arabic cultural habit of favouring the right hand, and the game was developed by Saudi team Light Studio (Naqsh Al-Daw).
By Evolite Studio · Saudi Arabia
Legacy Lens is a small photography game designed to introduce players to well-known heritage sites in Saudi Arabia. You are shown real photos of a landmark and must move and zoom the camera to capture matching shots, after which a QR code points you toward visiting the actual place. It was developed by Evolite Studio, a Saudi-based game studio from Jeddah.
By Dergham Games · Egypt
Light Dude is a skill-based action game built on a single rule: the level is visible while you stand still and goes dark once you move. Players scan each stage, memorise the hazards, then commit to running blind, with a limited supply of lights and several boss fights along the way. Difficulty and vision range can be adjusted. The concept started at Global Game Jam 2022 and is developed by Egyptian studio Dergham Games, led by Ramy Dergham.
By Rasheed Abueideh · Palestine
Liyla and the Shadows of War is a short narrative platformer based on events of the 2014 Gaza War. The player helps a Palestinian family in Gaza escape their home to a safer place, making fast, hard choices under shooting and bombardment. Released as freeware on Android, iOS and Windows, it was made alone over two years by Rasheed Abueideh, a Palestinian software engineer from Nablus.
By Kolide Studio · Jordan
Lucid Cats is an online co-op horror extraction game in which players fall asleep into a shared nightmare, search it for loot and then have to find the way out to keep what they collected. The mix of cooperative scavenging and a risky escape follows the extraction-game formula with a dream-world setting. It is developed and self-published on Steam by Kolide Studio, an indie game and music studio based in Amman, Jordan.
By Evlnu GameWorks · Saudi Arabia
Mall Heist is a stealth game in which you play a security tester breaking into a shopping mall. You sneak past and confront guards, hack systems and use whatever each store offers, from bananas in the supermarket to boots in a clothing shop, as tools for the job. It was released by Evlnu GameWorks, an independent studio founded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2023.
By AJB GAMES STUDIO · Morocco
Martha's Dolls is a first-person horror game set in an abandoned village said to be cursed by the dolls of an old woman named Martha. Players investigate the maze-like village, avoid traps, and deal with dolls that behave differently, some wandering and some hunting the player. It was made by the Moroccan studio AJB Games Studio and won Best Moroccan Game at the LGaming Awards 2025.
By AJB GAMES STUDIO · Morocco
Martha's Dolls 2 is a short horror sequel, about 45 minutes long, set in an expanded version of Martha's House. The player is an urban explorer who finds notes and gear left by earlier visitors while the porcelain dolls from the first game stalk the rooms and crawlspaces. The Moroccan studio AJB Games Studio released it on Steam in September 2026, and it was the studio's first game to reach a Very Positive user rating.
By Knight Owl Games · Egypt
Mini Settlers is a minimalist city builder about settling islands and running supply chains. Players place houses and factories, then link them with roads, trains and ports so each building gets the resources it needs, growing the population to unlock new lands. The challenge comes from keeping logistics flowing without overloading the network. It is developed by Knight Owl Games, an indie studio in Alexandria, Egypt, and published by Goblinz Publishing and IndieArk.
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 Limeless · Saudi Arabia
My Peephole: Hotel Harborview is a psychological horror game in which a demon forces you to work as the receptionist of a strange hotel. From a cramped office you watch guests through a peephole, check their documents and make phone calls to decide who is normal and who is not, and mistakes are punished. It was made by Limeless Studio, a horror-focused studio based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
By Mezan Studios · Qatar
Nightscape is a 2.5D atmospheric adventure inspired by Arabian astronomy. Players follow Layla, a young girl travelling with a goat companion through an ancient Arabian land where the stars have fallen to earth, using stellar powers to explore and to fight dark creatures while searching for her missing father. A demo is available on Steam and the full game has not yet been released. It is developed by Mezan Studios, a team that has worked on the game in Doha, Qatar since 2021.