Games of the Future Abu Dhabi 2025 receives two major international awards

The event received Gold Awards for both Hybrid Event and Esports Event, recognizing its pioneering fusion of physical sport and immersive digital competition, as well as the scale and quality of its world-class gaming tournaments featuring titles including Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Fortnite.

The awards recognize the successful delivery and global impact of the Games of the Future Abu Dhabi 2025, which introduced phygital sport to the Middle East on an unprecedented scale. Hosted across multiple venues in Abu Dhabi, the event featured eleven exciting disciplines spanning esports, traditional sport, robotics, drone racing and virtual reality, while delivering a future-ready broadcast model designed for both live and digital audiences.

Organized in partnership with ASPIRE and Ethara, with support from Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the UAE Ministry of Sports, GOTF Abu Dhabi 2025 brought together more than 850 athletes from over 60 countries. The event generated significant international engagement, attracting more than 41,000 spectators, over 60.3 million live streaming views and 461M broadcast views with 105M cumulative hours watched across 90 countries worldwide.

The recognition further highlights Abu Dhabi’s ability to host complex international events at scale, combining sport, technology and entertainment while supporting the UAE’s wider ambitions around innovation, youth engagement and digital advancement.

“Winning these awards is a proud moment for everyone involved in the Games of the Future Abu Dhabi 2025 and an important recognition of the growing global momentum behind phygital sport,” said John Hewitt, International Marketing & Communications Director at Phygital International. “Abu Dhabi delivered a landmark edition of the Games, demonstrating how sport, gaming and technology can come together at international scale. The response from audiences, athletes and partners highlighted the growing demand for next-generation sporting experiences and reinforced phygital sport as an increasingly important part of the future of global competition.”

The next edition of the Games of the Future 2026 will take place in Astana from 29 July to 9 August 2026, bringing together more than 900 athletes from over 50 countries across a series of phygital and technology-driven disciplines.

Building on the momentum of the Abu Dhabi edition, host city bidding is also now open for the 2028, 2029 and 2030 editions, as Phygital International continues to expand the Games globally and invite forward-looking cities to help shape the future of sport and entertainment.

For more information on the Games of the Future, upcoming events and host city opportunities, visit Games of the Future and Phygital International