Gaming
YAHAHA hosts Finland’s largest Global Game Jam Hybrid-Site with over 100 jammers creating on its platform
Over 80 games were created on the pioneering 3D creation platform
Community-focussed, user generated content platform YAHAHA can today present its wildly successful participation in 2023’s Global Game Jam (GGJ), which saw them host 110 people live at their site in game-development powerhouse Helsinki, making this the biggest hybrid-jam site in Finland over the course of 48 hours. A total of 80 games were created by talented jammers, collaborating both on-site and through their online community, with some games receiving as many as 34,000 plays till date. Always looking to service its community, the event was broadcast across YAHAHA’s Discord server, making this a truly collaborative and inclusive jam.
Jammer Filipe Borges, a graphic designer who joined in-person at the Helsinki site, said, ”This was amazing! I learned a lot at this event, and I connected and worked with some amazing people who I would never have met if not for events like this.”
Yahaha Studios, founded in 2020 by a pioneering group of Unity veterans, is on a mission to democratise 3D content creation. Committed to supporting its growing community of creators, YAHAHA offers them the tools they need to bring their visions to life in a 3D world. In line with this philosophy, the platform is proud to partner with GGJ to enable young game developers to take their first steps into the industry.
Pengfei Zhang, COO at Yahaha Studios, added, “It was a real pleasure to work with GGJ this year and to see so many game developers’ ideas blossom in YAHAHA. Being able to provide a physical, as well as online, space for jammers really created a sense of community amongst everyone, and we’re excited to continue our work with GGJ in the form of a long-term partnership to keep bringing YAHAHA to people around the world and pursue our mission to democratise 3D games content creation.”
GGJ is the world’s largest game-creation event, and this year’s event took place from January 30th – February 5th, with 40,000 jammers from around the globe creating a combined 7,600 games together. This year’s theme was revealed as ‘roots’, in a ceremony which included speakers from GGJ Ukraine and Code to Inspire, an organisation dedicated to bringing STEM education to women in Afghanistan.
GGJ Executive Director, Tim Cullings, said of the partnership with YAHAHA: “We were happy to work with YAHAHA on the 2023 Global Game Jam. GGJ is all about giving everyone the opportunity to make games and the YAHAHA platform enables anyone with an idea to get it working quickly with minimal training and experience. We saw over 100 games created with YAHAHA world-wide this year and I only expect that number to grow as the platform becomes more robust and people learn how it can be an extremely useful tool for game jams, prototyping, and building fully featured games. We look forward to a long-term partnership between GGJ and YAHAHA going forward and hope that our community will continue to use and support the platform after the jam.”
In the closing months of 2022, Yahaha Studios announced it had secured an investment of $40 million to further build upon the Early Alpha success of YAHAHA, a creator-focussed user-generated content social platform. Now with the added convenience of the new Asset Ovi platform, YAHAHA is currently open in Early Alpha, offering anyone the opportunity to be among the first to test the platform and share feedback as it continues to grow. This early community has an important role to play in how YAHAHA will evolve, influencing the shape the platform takes and building its digital world.
Powered by WPeMatico
Africa
South Africa’s Top Gamers Crowned at 2025 MTN SHIFT Gaming Grand Finals at Canal Walk
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Massive wins, standout talent and a showdown wrapped up five months of fierce competition across the country.
After months of qualifiers and regional heats at eight Hyprop malls across South Africa, the MTN SHIFT Gaming Experience reached its electrifying conclusion at Canal Walk Shopping Centre. With hundreds of spectators and players packing the gaming arena, the national finals brought the heat and crowned South Africa’s best in EAFC 25
, Beat Saber, Call of Duty and more.
In the EAFC National Final, Hamza Moosa (17) from Sandton, proved why he’s one of the country’s most exciting young talents. A professional esports player for Goliath Gaming, Moosa outplayed the competition to take top honours. A familiar name on the international stage, he recently represented South Africa at the Esports World Cup qualifier in Saudi Arabia. Hamza left the MTN SHIFT Gaming national finals with prize money of R25000.
Beat Saber fans saw a fast-paced, high-score battle won by Michael Prange (17) from Pretoria and Garsfontein High School. Ranked #2 nationally, Prange is also a two-time Beat Saber World Cup competitor and has helped shape South Africa’s competitive VR rhythm community through coaching, mentorship, and global participation. As the 2025 MTN SHIFT Gaming Beat Saber national champion, Michael won a Gaming PC valued at R50000.
In the schools division, Ridhaa April, 15, from Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs, took the EAFC title. A prodigious talent who’s been competing since the age of 12, Ridhaa plays professionally for Goliath Gaming and already holds multiple top finishes, including 1st place at the 2025 ASL.
In the Rocket League school tournament, Curro took top spot, followed by Edgemead High in second place.
Meanwhile, Call of Duty Mobile closed out the finals with serious intensity as returning champions Nixuh held onto their title. The dominant team of Magicz (Raees Ismail), Adnaan (Adnaan Bhamjee), Raz (Rahil Bux) and Enigma (Jameen Essa) walked away with a R30 000 cash prize.
“The atmosphere at this year’s finals was absolutely electric,” said Vanessa Herbst, Marketing Manager at Canal Walk Shopping Centre. “The level of skill on display was unreal, and the crowd brought their energy every day. The bar has been set very high for the 2026 edition.”
The MTN SHIFT Gaming Experience is South Africa’s biggest mall-based gaming tournament, played over five months across Gauteng and the Western Cape. Regional heats were hosted at Rosebank Mall, Clearwater Mall, The Glen, Woodlands, Table Bay Mall, Somerset Mall and Capegate Shopping Centre, with the final week of competition culminating at Canal Walk. The tournament drew thousands of players across all skill levels, offering more than R250 000 in prizes and a platform to compete in front of live audiences.
“The SHIFT Gaming Experience is about bringing high-level competition into public spaces and giving players of all ages the opportunity to compete, connect and grow,” said Christie Stanbridge, Brand and Campaigns Marketing Manager at Hyprop. “From pros representing South Africa on global stages to young players discovering their potential, far more than being entertaining, this year highlighted gaming as a space for learning, discipline and community.”
With the 2025 tournament wrapped, planning is already underway for an even bigger return in 2026.
The post South Africa’s Top Gamers Crowned at 2025 MTN SHIFT Gaming Grand Finals at Canal Walk appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Bonus Bag feature
TaDa Gaming Delivers Highway Thrills in Chicken Dash
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Award-winning TaDa has taken a favourite joke and transformed it into an immersive and humorous crash release. Simple mechanics, personalised risk management controls and a max win of 20,659.1x are enhanced with slick graphics and a fearless chicken.
And with an expanding bonus bag that fell off the back of a lorry, it’s easy to see why this chicken is so determined to get to the other side.
Players begin by setting their preferred gameplay parameters. Three levels of Easy, Normal and Hard will dictate the level length or number of tiles the bird has to cross and the level max multiplier value.
Strong clear colours and polished visuals set the scene for the determined chicken to make it across the motorway. Beginning on the grass verge, players click to send the bird across the lanes one multiplier tile at a time against the oncoming traffic.
Each safe step will see a safety barrier land to protect the chicken but one false move and it’s game over and back to the grass verge.
Keeping players on high alert, the Chicken Dash feature can randomly trigger multiple times in a game. The appearance and squawking of the rooster starts the bonus feature which protects the chicken from traffic throughout and allows it to pass over two or three tiles in one go.
A Bonus Bag feature can also randomly trigger. Players must land the chicken on the tile where the bag dropped to collect the prize. And the higher the risk level, the higher the prize.
A clear UI and straightforward gameplay mean players can focus on getting the chicken across the road in one piece – and hopefully with the bonus prize – while enjoying Chicken Dash’s crisp graphics and sly details in this high volatility and amusing game.
Sean Liu, Director of Product Management at TaDa Gaming, said: “Chicken Dash is a hugely entertaining crash game that will have players laughing out loud. The cartoon graphics add to the experiential play and we promise no chickens were hurt in making of this game.”
The post TaDa Gaming Delivers Highway Thrills in Chicken Dash appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Cash Rain Event
TaDa Gaming Releases Cash Stack
Reading Time: < 1 minute
TaDa Gaming, a leading provider of innovative casino content, is redefining fast-play entertainment with the release of Cash Stack, an adrenaline-pumping crash game that puts timing, control and strategy directly in the player’s hands. With a max multiplier of 100x, Cash Stack delivers rapid gameplay, instant decisions and nonstop engagement.
Built for players who love simplicity and control, Cash Stack starts at a 1.01x multiplier, with the tension rising as players manually tap DROP to increase their payout potential. Every decision carries risk — one mistimed move and the round ends instantly. For those who dare, the game can soar up to 100x before the stack collapses.
The twist comes with the Cash Rain Event, a random in-game boost that can multiply winnings by 0.1x to 10x. Players must hit CASH OUT before the round ends to claim the bonus value, adding a thrilling layer of timing and anticipation. The result is a fast, skill-driven experience that rewards quick reactions and nerve.
Cash Stack embodies TaDa Gaming’s next step in the evolution of crash games — sleek visuals, simple mechanics and an emphasis on player control over automatic outcomes.
Sean Liu, Director of Product Management at TaDa Gaming, said: “Cash Stack takes the essence of crash gameplay and turns it into a true test of timing and instinct. Every round is a balance between greed and precision — do you cash out early or chase the big win? We’ve designed it to be fast, flexible, and highly engaging for players who want to feel in control.”
The post TaDa Gaming Releases Cash Stack appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
-
Latest News6 days agoMarketing the Game: How iGaming Brands Win Players and Partners in 2025
-
Compliance Updates6 days agoEGBA Launches Pledge on Responsible Influencer Marketing
-
Latest News6 days agoDream Play Unleashes Fun`n Games — Where Innovation Meets the Wheel of Fortune
-
Compliance Updates6 days agoKansspelautoriteit Sees Increasing Risk Analyses of Sports Betting
-
Amusnet6 days agoAmusnet Releases Vampire Dice
-
ACMA6 days agoACMA Releases 2025–26 Work Program
-
Amusnet6 days agoWeek 43/2025 slot games releases
-
Finnish market6 days agoVeikkaus Renews its Betting and Online Casino Operations



