British game company Kwalee has ventured into a new territory after announcing a new partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Fahy Studios to help create the KSA’s first global hit game. The partnership signifies Kwalee's first foray into collaboration with a Saudi studio, marking a milestone for the British company.

We spoke to John Wright, VP of mobile publishing at Kwalee to learn more about the driving forces behind the partnership and unravel their shared plans for the future. Wright discussed Fahy Studio's unique qualities that led to the partnership, potential expansion into MENA, and their ambitious plans ahead.

PocketGamer.Biz: What made you pick Fahy?

John Wright: There was a mutual appreciation and respect from the beginning, we really liked their leadership's vision and passion for games in general, but especially what they're planning in their region. They are visionaries, championing gaming in a market which traditionally didn’t believe it was a priority, but now, with help from people like them the country is seeing the true potential of what it can provide them whether that’s economically or culturally.

We all know that the country is investing huge amounts of money recently, predominantly through the Savvy Games Group but they’re showing that there is equally top talent in the market, as well as the country acquiring outside of it. If you look at their personal achievements, winning numerous awards locally and securing investment from the NEOM fund it's a no brainer as to why we wanted to partner with them.

What can they bring to the Kwalee business?

They have a very different thought process to a lot of other developers we work with, especially those in the West. They bring new ideas and ways of working that might seem unusual to us, but it's exactly this distinctiveness that makes them stand out. Their unique approach is their USP, which is what we found most compelling about them. I can't wait to see the next game they build with us because I know it's going to be unique in nature and something that truly encapsulates the blue ocean thinking we're looking for. Local MENA thinking with global applications and potential.

Is this a region based partnership that will expand into MENA? Or is there something specific that attracted you to Fahy?

We are definitely open to expanding in the market, as we all know Savvy Games Group acquired Scopely for over $4bn so we know how important gaming is there right now. We wanted to ensure that we were at the forefront of this by partnering with a high quality studio like Fahy, someone who can equally teach us about the market whilst learning from our wider global experience. In time if this partnership allows us to establish more connections and invest in great studios I would be very happy about that, but for now they are our sole priority.

What do your shared plans look like? What's ahead for both companies?

It's simple, we want to make successful games together, Kwalee's mission statement is Making The Most Fun Games For The World’s Players and that includes the MENA region. Fahy already have some great ideas and prototypes that we will continue to evaluate and provide feedback on, our joint production process and expertise will allow us to produce successful games for a much wider audience.

Can we expect further expansions or partnerships from Kwalee within the MENA region in the future?

Kwalee is very fortunate that we're not limited in where we work or who we work with, MENA is a high growth market and I am happy and willing to continue our expansion further into the market with the right partnerships, providing value wherever we can to the right studios. Equally important that the games that are developed support the market trends we’re seeing there and be inclusive to our players and friends in the Middle East.