MJ Studios' Mohammed Mohammed: "We’ve always preferred to let our games speak for us"

• The studio says most of its revenue comes from Roblox and in-game purchases, allowing it to grow without outside funding.
• Kingdom World was built around everyday life in Riyadh while aiming to make Saudi culture accessible to international players.
• MJ Studios sees room to bring more game genres to Arab Roblox players, who it says are heavily focused on roleplaying.
• The studio is open to expanding into PC, mobile and console, but says success does not require leaving Roblox.

What started as a hobby for a Saudi teenager has grown into one of the biggest Arabic games on Roblox, with MJ Studios' Kingdom World now surpassing 100 million visits.

The studio has built its business mostly through Roblox, using revenue from in-game purchases to fund development and grow its team without relying on outside investment.

We caught up with MJ Studios' founder Mohammed Mohammed and lead developer Idiris Mustaf to discuss Kingdom World's success, building an authentic Saudi experience for a global audience, as well as the opportunities and challenges of developing on Roblox from MENA.

PocketGamer.biz: MJ Studios started in 2020. What did those early years look like, and when did you realise it could become more than a hobby? 

Mohammed Mohammed: To me, those early years felt almost like watching your own child grow up. I started making games simply because I enjoyed it, without really thinking about money or whether it could become a business. Seeing something I created slowly grow, improve, and succeed was something I was truly proud of.

Over time, Mj Studios went from being a studio where I made games for fun to owning one of the biggest Arabic games on Roblox. That was when I started realising that what began as a hobby could actually become something much bigger. For me, though, it was never mainly about the money.

What motivated me was seeing the studio grow and seeing more and more people playing something we created. My goal has always been to make Mj Studios one of the biggest Arabic studios on Roblox, and seeing how far we've come from those early days makes me proud of what we built. 

So what has Roblox made possible for the team that would have been much harder if you had started a traditional game studio outside the platform? 

Idiris Mustaf: Roblox has made it possible for us to build, launch, and grow games much faster than we could have with a traditional game studio. The platform already provides important infrastructure such as multiplayer systems, servers, publishing, monetisation tools, and access to a large existing player community.

This allowed us to focus more of our time and resources on creating engaging experiences rather than building everything from scratch. 

You're 19 and are now starting an engineering degree. You've said that your experience building on Roblox influenced that decision. What did game development teach you that you think prepared you for engineering? 

Mohammed: Designing games and showcases on Roblox has helped me develop many skills that I believe will be useful in engineering. Through Roblox development, I learned the basics of 3D modelling and design, and I became comfortable turning ideas in my head into actual designs. 

I used to create random showcases just for myself, such as hotels, gas stations, buildings, and individual rooms. I would start with an empty space and design everything from scratch, even if I was the only person who would ever play or see it.

Doing that taught me to think creatively, pay attention to details, and understand how different parts of a design come together. I also gained experience with 3D design tools, which has given me a strong foundation for programs like Blender and 3ds Max that I may use during university. Roblox made me realise that 

Talk to us about Kingdom World. You built it around Riyadh and everyday life in Saudi Arabia. How did you make the game feel authentically Saudi while ensuring that players from completely different cultures can relate to and enjoy this world you've created? 

Mohammed: With Kingdom World, I wanted to create a world that actually feels like Saudi Arabia, especially Riyadh, rather than just a game that happens to have Saudi buildings in it. A lot of the inspiration came from things we see in our everyday lives - the streets, architecture, shops, cars, clothing, and the small details that make Riyadh feel like Riyadh.

At the same time, I didn't want the game to only be enjoyable if you're Saudi. The experiences themselves are things almost anyone can understand: driving around with friends, exploring the city, roleplaying, visiting different places, and just living your own life inside the world.

You don't really need to understand Saudi culture beforehand to enjoy those things. I think that's actually one of my favourite parts about Kingdom World.

Saudi players can enter the game and recognise things from their real lives, while international players can enjoy the same game and, at the same time, experience a little bit of Saudi culture naturally. I wanted it to feel authentically Saudi without needing to explain to players that it's Saudi - it should be something they can see and feel just by playing. 

Your Roblox page describes Kingdom World as still being in beta, while the studio website now presents it as live and ready to play. What is the current stage of the game, and what still needs to be built? 

Mustaf: Kingdom World is officially live and fully playable. Our Roblox page still says beta because of a Roblox bug that currently prevents us from changing the description. That said, the game is always evolving.

We still have many new places, features, and improvements we want to add. Riyadh itself is constantly growing, and we want Kingdom World to keep growing alongside it. 

The game has now passed 100m visits. How has it been received internationally outside the MENA region? And at this stage, what does success look like for the game beyond simply reaching more players? 

Mustaf: Reaching 100 million visits is something we're extremely proud of, especially seeing players from outside the MENA region enjoying Kingdom World and experiencing a Saudi- inspired world. At this stage, success isn't just about getting more visits.

We want to keep improving the quality of the game, build a strong community, and introduce more international players to Saudi culture in a fun and natural way. If someone from the other side of the world can play Kingdom World, enjoy it, and learn something about Saudi Arabia along the way, that's a success for us. 

You've said Roblox allowed you to start building without significant upfront capital. At what point did MJ Studios begin generating meaningful income? And how much of that comes from in-game purchases and Roblox' developer economy versus other sources like funding, for instance? 

Mustaf: We started generating meaningful income after our games began building a consistent player base. Today, the majority of our revenue comes directly through Roblox and in-game purchases. Even on slower days with no updates, we generate around 150,000 Robux [~$525] per day.

We haven't really depended on outside funding to grow the studio. Most of what we've built has been supported by the games themselves, and we reinvest a lot of that back into development, updates, and the team.

For me, that's one of the biggest advantages Roblox gave us - we were able to turn something that started as a hobby into a self-sustaining studio. 

The team has a deliberately low public profile, with the founder remaining anonymous and little information about the wider team available online. Why have you chosen to keep the studio and its people private, and how does that shape the way you operate? 

Mustaf: We've always preferred to let our games speak for us. I never really wanted to make myself the face of MJ Studios or build a personal following around it. For me, the focus has always been on what we create and the community around our games.

Keeping the team relatively private also allows us to work comfortably without too much attention on our personal lives. We're still very connected to our players, but we want people to know MJ Studios because of the experiences we build, not necessarily because of the people behind them. 

Interesting. And what would you say are some of the biggest opportunities and challenges of building on Roblox from Saudi Arabia and targeting players across MENA? 

Mustaf: One of the biggest opportunities is that the MENA Roblox community is huge, and being from Saudi Arabia helps us understand the culture, trends, and what Arab players actually enjoy. One challenge we've noticed is that a large part of the Arab Roblox community is heavily focused on one type of game: roleplaying.

That can make it harder to introduce completely different genres and convince players to try something new. At the same time, we see that as an opportunity to experiment and eventually bring more variety to the Arabic Roblox community, and also there haven't always been enough high-quality experiences made specifically for Arab players 

What's next for the team? And do you see MJ Studios remaining primarily a Roblox studio, or do you eventually want to take what you've built into PC, mobile or console? 

Mustaf: We definitely agree with expanding into PC, mobile, or console in the future, and it's something we would support and be open to. At the same time, I don't see staying primarily on Roblox as a problem. For us, Roblox is comfortable - we understand the platform, the community, and how to build successful experiences there.

I also don't think being a successful game company has to mean leaving Roblox. If we're building games that millions of people enjoy, growing a strong team, and creating experiences we're proud of, then I already see that as success. If the right opportunity comes to expand beyond Roblox, we'd be happy to take it.