Video games conference in Pakistan
Pakistan to host first-ever video gaming conference in December. [Representational Image] In Picture: A stockbroker plays a computer game during a trading session inside the trading hall at the Karachi Stock Exchange, 8 October 2008.Reuters

In what is expected to be a boost to the nascent gaming industry in Pakistan, the country is said to host its first video gaming conference called Games Emerge Conference (GEC) in December.

The event is expected to be held in Islamabad, the capital city of the country. The conference is expected to promote not only the video game development industry, but also the creative industry in Pakistan.

"The biggest barrier to growth of Pakistan's video game development industry is the lack of relevant education and awareness regarding development of video games," said Sadia Bashir, founder and CEO of the PixelArt Games Academy (PGA), GameSpot reported.

PGA is an Islamabad-based training academy that imparts specialised education and training to games industry aspirants. This is first such institute in Pakistan. The institute is partly funded by Pakistan Centre, which is in turn funded by the US State Department. The aim is to provide support and training for entrepreneurial Pakistani women.

"PGA aims to overcome the educational deficit in the video games sector of Pakistan over the next decade but in order to attract sufficient pool of talent we believe events like GEC 2016 are necessary for creating awareness," Bashir added.

The three-day Games Emerge Conference will be inclusive of industry talks, workshops, networking opportunities and a two-day game jam, the report noted.

Further, the conference is likely to see the following people in attendance: Ken Levine and Jonathan Chey Irrational Games co-founders, Brie Code, Ubisoft Montreal AI programmer and Rami Ismail, Vlambeer Games co-founder

Levine said in a statement that he can't wait to meet the people involved in the PGA academy.