“ASAN Service” Hosts the “DIGIAGE BAKU 2025” Digital Game Camp

From December 5–7, 2025, the “DIGIAGE Baku 2025” digital game camp was organized as part of the collaboration between the Innovation Center of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and DIGIAGE.

The camp aimed to enable talented youth to create games and present their projects with the guidance of professional mentors. It also sought to help participants gain experience for entering the global market and foster new startup initiatives. Throughout the process, participants developed teamwork, project presentation, and marketing skills, strengthened their creative approaches, and prepared new game concepts. They also received valuable advice from industry experts on networking and career development.

In total, 238 applicants participated in the camp, including 28 teams and 134 individual applications. From these, 100 selected participants received two separate trainings over two weeks on data-driven game marketing and publishing processes.

During the three-day camp, participants who passed the selection stages took part individually or in teams. They learned about modern tools used in game development, different stages of game creation, and career opportunities in the sector. Representatives from well-known companies and game designers shared motivational experiences and insights.

Throughout the camp, Vüsal Rüstəmov, Director of the Innovation Center, and Erkam Tüzgen, CEO of Bilişim Vadisi, monitored team activities and met with participants.

At the conclusion, 19 teams presented their games to the jury. The teams “Untitle Game Studio,” “Neecro Projects,” and “Voyagers” ranked in the top three, while “Rital Interactive” received a special encouragement award from the jury. Investment meetings and mentorship support will continue for the winning teams, and all teams will continue to receive mentorship support from DIGIAGE.

Since 2023, over 500 applications have been received for the camps, with more than 300 participants qualifying to compete. More than 60 teams have participated in total, with many attracting investment and mentorship opportunities.

The camp has been implemented since 2023 within the framework of a cooperation protocol between the Innovation Center and Bilişim Vadisi Baku, aiming to develop technological skills, organize trainings, and support the implementation of innovative solutions in the country. Joint projects based on hackathon and bootcamp models are also a priority.

Sponsors: PASHA Holding
Partner: Code Academy
Media Partner: ASAN Radio & TV

The national stage of the "GameJamPlus 2026" international game hackathon was held

On October 16–18, the Azerbaijan stage of the "GameJamPlus 2026" international game hackathon was held at the "INNOLAND" Incubation and Acceleration Center, organized by "Gamepons" and "IGDA Azerbaijan" with the support of "INNOLAND".

During the hackathon, more than 90 participants across 23 teams developed game prototypes over the course of 48 hours. Teams selected one of the themes—“Better Together”, “One More Time”, or “Something’s Off”—to develop their game concepts. At the end of the event, 19 teams presented their games to the jury.

The games developed by the participants were tested by the jury and evaluated on the "HackathonHost" platform. Based on the results, the "Clockwork" team emerged as the winner of the Azerbaijan stage with their game "Keep Locking". All 19 teams that presented their games qualified for the next stage of the "GameJamPlus" program.

"GameJamPlus" is an international program that brings together game developers from 35 countries around the world. The program begins with a 48-hour hackathon and continues through incubation, continental semi-finals, acceleration, and global final stages. Throughout these stages, teams gain the opportunity to refine their game projects and showcase them on an international level.

Registration for the hackathon was carried out via the "HackathonHost" platform.

The "INNOLAND" Incubation and Acceleration Center provided participants with conditions to turn their game ideas into prototypes, work on their projects, and demonstrate their creative potential.

The “Demo Day” event of the IV “TUSI” incubation program, implemented by the “Innovation Center” of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, within the framework of the “Skills for the Future” project, has been held.

The objective is to strengthen human capital in the field of innovation and promote innovative activities in education. At the same time, creating conditions for the development of students’ innovative ideas and directing them toward invention and startup activities are among the key priorities.

The event was attended by Ulvi Mehdiyev, Chairman of the State Agency; Firudin Gurbanov, Deputy Minister of Science and Education; Orkhan Mammadov, Chairman of the Board of the Small and Medium Business Development Agency; Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, Vice President for Communications and External Affairs for the Caspian Region at bp; as well as rectors of higher education institutions in the country.

Within the framework of the event, a Memorandum of Understanding on “Cooperation in the Formation and Development of an Innovation Environment in Universities” was signed between the State Agency and newly joined institutions — Azerbaijan Medical University, Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, and the Academy of the State Customs Committee.

Afterwards, the guests ознакомились with the projects of the startup teams.

During the event, speeches by officials were delivered, and a video highlighting the work carried out within the project was presented.

Sixteen startup teams that successfully completed the IV “TUSI” incubation program presented their projects. Based on the jury’s evaluation, the top three projects were granted the opportunity to become residents of the INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center. The first-place winner also earned the right to participate in the “Take Off Istanbul” startup summit.

Detailed information was provided about the upcoming V “TUSI” incubation program. Through intensive training covering 10 main topics and 34 sub-modules, the program offers participants extensive opportunities for building startups, systematically developing ideas, and integrating into the innovation ecosystem.

Since 2021, cooperation has been established with 15 higher education institutions within the framework of the project; more than 300 startup ideas have been submitted by over 3,000 students. With the support of more than 130 trained university mentors, 29 startup teams have been formed and have presented their projects at “Demo Day” events.

To date, four startups formed within the “Skills for the Future” project have attracted a total of 310,000 AZN in investment.