DaFluffs Games founder on leveraging early funding to scale global mobile games
- The studio’s debut title, Dungeon Blast, is preparing for soft launch after a successful tech phase.
- DaFluffs operates as a lean, remote-first team across the MENA region.
- The studio is also developing DaFluffs Publishing & Consulting to support early-stage MENA developers.
- DaFluffs completed the Exel by Merak accelerator and secured a $300k pre-seed to scale.
Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan returns on November 8th and 9th, 2025, offering a chance to gain insights into the world’s fastest-growing games market, MENA.
As part of our MENA coverage and run-up to the event, we spoke to DaFluffs Games founder Suhaib Al-Hamadany about the team’s debut title Dungeon Blast!, raising $300,000 in pre-seed and building a remote-first mobile studio.
PocketGamer.biz: Could you tell us a bit about DaFluffs Games and what you’re up to right now?
Suhaib Al-Hamadany: DaFluffs Games is a gameplay-first mobile studio that was founded to do something quite different: actually deliver on the wild, creative concepts people see in viral “fake game ads.” Our motto is simple: What you see is what you play!
Right now, we’re gearing up for the soft launch of our debut title, Dungeon Blast!, a fast-paced action roguelike and survival game where players move, shoot, and upgrade their weapons and skills to master every run while they traverse treacherous dungeons and large-scale battlefield encounters.
We’ve just come out of our Tech Launch phase with over 20,000 players and strong engagement metrics, and we’re iterating quickly based on feedback as we prepare to scale. Beyond Dungeon Blast!, we’re also prototyping several hyper and hybrid-casual titles, aiming for a steady pipeline of innovative games in our first year.
How many staff do you currently employ and where are they based?
We’re currently a lean core team of around three people, spread across the MENA region and planning to stay remote-first. Our structure is deliberately lightweight, with a focus on experienced developers, artists, and marketers who can move fast.
We also partner with freelancers and contractors when needed, giving us flexibility to scale production quickly without losing focus.
How do you balance being trend-inspired with delivering originality in games?
We take inspiration from trends, what players are clicking on, what’s going viral, but we don’t just replicate. Instead, we ask: how do we turn this into a real, playable experience that feels satisfying? For example, many fake ads show mechanics that look exciting but don’t exist in the actual game.
“A game today needs to be ad-friendly, something that captures attention instantly and communicates its fun factor in just a few seconds.”Suhaib Al-Hamadany
Our originality comes from taking those mechanics seriously and designing around them properly. We blend familiar, proven systems (roguelike loops, survival waves, progression) with new twists that capture the energy of those ads, creating games that are both trendy and truly fun.
Many developers in MENA focus on creating games for local audiences. What markets are you focusing on first, and how are you tailoring games for those audiences?
Our focus is global first, with a strong emphasis on the MENA region as a growth opportunity. The MENA market has some of the lowest CPIs worldwide, making it a great testing ground for rapid iteration. At the same time, we see a huge appetite for games that feel global but carry subtle local touches.
So our approach is 70% global, 30% MENA: games designed for worldwide audiences, while also being smart about tailoring marketing and content for regional players, whether that’s language, cultural references, or distribution partnerships.
What changes have you observed in the local games industry and consumer behaviour towards games?
The MENA games industry has gone through a major transformation in the last decade, and especially in the last five years. Players here are spending more, gaming is mainstream, and there’s far more support from governments and VCs who see video games as part of digital economies and national visions like Saudi Vision 2030.
A great example of this is the Exel By Merak Accelerator, which we recently finished in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where they brought us top-tier industry experts and mentors to help us expand our knowledge and empower us at DaFluffs Games alongside 16 other amazing studios.
On the consumer side, we’ve seen a shift from being primarily “players of global games” to demanding local studios that produce quality titles. Players are more sophisticated, and they expect the same level of polish as global hits, which is part of why we are here answering this call for excellence.
In terms of funding and support for game studios in MENA, what has been your experience navigating the funding landscape?
Funding is improving but still challenging. Traditional investors are cautious, but specialised gaming funds and accelerators like Merak Capital and Impact46 are emerging and moving with confident and strong steps that are sure to greatly expand the industry in the MENA region and Saudi Arabia specifically.
For us, the turning point was joining Exel, the gaming accelerator by Merak Capital in Saudi Arabia. We secured our pre-seed round of $300,000, which has allowed us to go full-time and start scaling. That kind of support being financial, strategic, and network-driven, is exactly what the region’s studios need.
In your view, what are the key ingredients for a successful mobile game in today’s market?
I don’t believe there’s a single “secret sauce” to making successful games; that idea almost defies the creative process itself. What really matters is a combination of listening to your audience and staying true to your gameplay vision. From there, it’s all about iterating relentlessly to shape a strong and engaging core loop, supported by smart retention hooks that keep players enjoying their time and engaged in the experience.
And while creativity drives the experience, you can’t ignore the marketability side. A game today needs to be ad-friendly, something that captures attention instantly and communicates its fun factor in just a few seconds.
What are your thoughts on emerging technologies such as AI and VR in games? And do you have plans to incorporate AI into your game development process?
Being a huge supporter of VR and having almost every iteration of Oculus (Meta) VR Glasses, I can tell you that it's very exciting, but sadly still a niche for our current focus, AI; however, it is already changing the game when it comes to development.
At DaFluffs Games, we’re experimenting with AI for rapid prototyping and programming as it's truly speeding up our development pipeline. It’s not replacing creativity; it’s amplifying speed and iteration. The real innovation is combining AI with strong game design sensibilities and our deep technical expertise.
What are your plans for the rest of 2025 and the coming year? Will you be exploring new platforms? And are there any partnerships or projects on the horizon that we should look forward to?
For 2025 it’s all about scaling Dungeon Blast! from Tech Launch to Soft Launch and then into a global rollout. At the same time, we’re building a pipeline of 2-3 additional titles, with one more release planned before the end of the year and multiple games slated for 2026.
We’re also laying the groundwork for DaFluffs Publishing & Consulting, a low-barrier support arm to help early-stage MENA developers bring their games to market with the right scope, strategy, and technical guidance.
We’re already working with a number of studios, but through accelerators and industry events, we’ve seen that the demand for these services is even greater than expected. While mobile remains our primary focus, we’re also exploring cross-platform opportunities. And yes, there are several exciting partnerships on the horizon, which we’ll be sharing soon.
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