Gaza Sky Geeks scales game development training past 1,000 registrations
"There is a clear hunger among young Palestinians for practical, future-facing digital skills"
Gaza Sky Geeks has grown its game development programme from 150 participants last year to over 1,000 registrations this year, with around 600 currently in training.
The Palestinian tech hub, a programme of NGO Mercy Corps, built the track as its own dedicated pathway in 2025 rather than folding it into existing software training, betting that game development demands more than programming skill alone.
"There is a clear hunger among young Palestinians for practical, future-facing digital skills," said Leyan Zahdeh, programme tech unit officer at Gaza Sky Geeks. "They want to build visible work, publish something, and prove their abilities through a portfolio."
Training around blackouts
Running the programme in Gaza means designing around conditions most training providers never have to consider. Students deal with unstable power, weak internet, damaged or unavailable laptops, and constant displacement.
Gaza Sky Geeks responded by rebuilding its curriculum around low spec workflows, small deliberate scope, and asynchronous assignments that can survive a dropped connection.
"For Gazan students, scope control is not only an industry skill, it is also a survival skill," Zahdeh said.
Gaza Sky Geeks is also onboarding 26 volunteer mentors this year to close the gap between student prototypes and industry standards, and is exploring a small Palestinian games studio for 2026 focused first on co-development and service work before original IP.
Read the full interview with Leyan Zahdeh on PocketGamer.biz.
