Interview

Hussam Hammo from Tamatem on publishing for the Arabic and emerging markets

"The data behind it is fascinating"

Hussam Hammo from Tamatem on publishing for the Arabic and emerging markets

Hussam Hammo is a serial entrepreneur who founded the first Arabic social network back in 2006, it was later acquired by Maktoob.com then by Yahoo in 2009.

Hussam then founded Wizards Productions, a gaming company focused on browser based games before launching Tamatem Games in 2013.

Today, Tamatem is the leading mobile games publisher in the Arabic speaking market with over 70 million downloads and 150% YoY growth.

We caught up with Hammo to talk about the growth of Tamatem and the corrective course the games industry is currently on.

PocketGamer.biz: Can you tell us a bit about Tamatem?

Hussam Hammo: Tamatem is a mobile games publisher for the Arabic and emerging markets around the world.

Tamatem works with International game developers to localize and make their games culturally relevant before releasing them on iOS and Android with a revenue share model. Tamatem has over 70m downloads with 3.5m MAU across its games

What does your role entail?

Setting the strategy of the company and leading the team.

Why did you want to work in the games industry?

Gaming and content have been my passion for the past 10 years. The industry is growing and the data behind it is fascinating.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to get into it?

Start with smaller projects and move up in complexity. Don't start with a game that requires two years to finish

What are your thoughts on the industry in the last 12 months?

It is growing and taking a corrective course.

What major trends do you predict in the next 12 months?

More online real-time action games will come to the market.

How has the games industry changed since you first started?

A lot! Many genres like battle Royale and FPS became possible

Which part of the Connects event are you most looking forward to and why?

Matchmaking with developers, good sessions to attend.

At Pocket Gamer Connects London 2020, Hussam Hammo will be part of a session discussing why the Arabic market is so special. For more information, and to book your tickets for the event, click here.