Marvellous Mena
Tag: MENA
Funding News
Copa Fantasy raises $300k to scale football gaming platform in MENA
New Partnerships
Merak Capital signs MoU with HP to boost Saudi Arabia’s games and esports economy
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New Partnerships
Saudi Esports Federation and Merak Capital sign MoU to accelerate Saudi Arabia’s games and esports sector
Partnership expands training, certification, and global collaboration while attracting international studios
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17 MENA game studios graduate from the first Exel by Merak accelerator cohort
Each startup secured $300,000 in funding plus access to global mentorship
Funding News
FitNot Games secures $300k to expand development on culturally-inspired titles
Funding will accelerate work on ALI, a story-driven 2D isometric stealth game set in Egyptian folklore
Funding News
Superbullet Studios secures $300k to scale Roblox game development
Funding will fuel marketing for flagship title SuperbulletAI, production scaling, and team expansion
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Yalla Group joins the $1bn Arab companies club with a $1.23bn valuation
The Dubai-based firm is the only gaming and social platform on the billion-dollar list
Funding News
DaFluffs Games raises $300k to accelerate work on debut title Dungeon Blast
The Saudi startup will use the funding to expand its team and scale development
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group signs MoU with Al Jouf’s strategic office to develop games and esports
Savvy and JSDO will co-organise events to attract gamers and esports fans to the region
Funding News
Sheba Joy raises $293,000 in pre-seed funding to scale operations from Saudi Arabia
Funding will expand production, attract top talent, and drive development of new titles
New Offerings
New platform 962.Games launches as a directory for Jordan’s games ecosystem
It serves as a gateway for players, partners, and investors while inviting local developers to join
Investment News
Impact46 invests over $53m in Saudi games studio Kammelna
The studio is best known for bringing the Kingdom’s iconic card game Baloot to mobile
Funding News
Spoilz raises fresh funding to expand its development and live ops capabilities
Investment will fuel globally competitive mobile games and attract top Saudi talent.
Funding News
Starvania Studios raises $1.1m to accelerate growth and fuel its gaming ambitions
Investment enables Starvania to expand its team with Saudi talent and boost global competitiveness
Esports Tournament
Esports World Cup Foundation launches Esports Nations Cup
EA, Krafton, Tencent, and Ubisoft will co-develop the first edition in November 2026
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group partners with AWS to boost Saudi Arabia’s games technology infrastructure
Savvy CEO Brian Ward says the deal will empower the Kingdom’s developer ecosystem
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group signs MoU with Unity to boost opportunities for Saudi games developers
Qualifying projects gain free access to Unity’s backend, analytics, ads, and multiplayer tools
Expanding Partnerships
DMCC and Xsolla announce Accelerator and Incubator Programme at Gamescom 2025
The new programme aims to connect MENA talent with global publishers and investors
Funding News
Fahy Studios secures $1.75m to scale its mobile game production
Funds will go towards expanding its capabilities and attracting talent to the kingdom
Investment News
Exel by Merak invests $300,000 each in 17 gaming startups at its first Demo Day
Over 300 applicants competed for a place in the accelerator
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Kucheza Gaming CEO Bukola Akingbade on building Africa’s future through play and education
"African studios must build business models that can sustain themselves right from day one"
Winners Revealed
Savvy Games Group and HP conclude GameOn GameJam with winning teams revealed
Winners to join Savvy Academy’s three-month Incubator Program in collaboration with Xsolla
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Dubai to host first Middle East government pavilion at Gamescom 2025
Pavilion to spotlight Dubai’s goal of becoming a top 10 global games hub by 2033
Training Camp
Maliyo Games opens applications for 2025 GameUp Africa Bootcamp
12-week remote program covers game art, design, and audio
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Rababa Games' Mohammad Al-Qawasmeh on how to build a career as a programmer
In this series, we highlight the talented team members working in the games industry and how they got their break
Investment News
Impact46 invests $6.7m in five Saudi game studios
Investments align with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and National Gaming Strategy
Expansions
Territory Studio partner with Savvy Games Group to expand into the Middle East
Territory will open its first Middle East location in Riyadh later this year
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"I was pleasantly surprised that singers actually want to be in video games"
Masseka Games founder Teddy Kossoko on building a mobile game that monetises celebrity feuds
New Partnerships
Clear Angle Studios expands into South Africa via Robot Air partnership
The move eliminates the need to import scanning personnel and gear for South African shoots
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Mekan Games founder Evans Kiragu on targeting global markets, prototyping strategy and embracing web-first development
"While funding is good and welcomed, it is a full-time job as well to get it."
Pgc Aqaba
Why you can’t afford to overlook the MENA market
Save $445 with Super Early Bird rates to Pocket Gamer Connects Aqaba
Studio Closure
Sandsoft shuts down Riyadh and Barcelona studios
The Saudi mobile company moves to double down on publishing
Studio Closure
Stillfront shuts down Super Free Games as part of strategic portfolio review
Closures to mark first part of restructure, the company said
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group and King Abdulaziz University partner to launch diplomas in games and esports
The new academic programmes aim to blend classroom learning with hands-on industry experience
Earnings Report
Stillfront Q2 revenue falls as Europe and North America underperform
Swedish firm aims to capitalise on the slow release of new mobile titles
Expansions
Apple launches online store and app in Saudi Arabia with Arabic support
Flagship Apple Stores also coming to Saudi Arabia in 2026
Pgc Aqaba
Don’t sleep on the MENA games market - Why Aqaba should be your next stop
Explore the MENA games industry at Pocket Gamer Connects Aqaba on November 8th to 9th
Hot Five
Hot Five: Rollic’s 1,000 ideations per month, Coin Master - Board Adventure soft launch, and Uma Musume: Pretty Derby’s post-expansion performance
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 61
Zynga's successes and failures, and Moon Active takes the fight to Scopely | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode 61...
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MENA-3 games market set to reach $2.8bn by 2029
A Niko Partners report found that the region had 72 million gamers at the end of 2024
Expansions
Side signs deal with Savvy Games Group to open Riyadh office
Firm plans to not only support Savvy’s initiatives but also launch its own training programmes in Saudi Arabia
Game Update
Steer Studios pulls Grunt Rush from app stores for planned updates
The studio’s debut title is currently unavailable to new players
Esports World Cup
Esports World Cup 2025 begins in Riyadh with record $70m prize pool
Of the prize pool, $27m will be spread across the top 16 clubs while this year’s winner will earn $7m
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How African game studios can compete globally
“We need to attract our diaspora back or collaborate with international partners to upskill and polish local talents"
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Gimzat Studios co-founders Khaled Mansour and Ahmed Khalaf talk hybridcasual strategy, platform priorities and MENA opportunities
"To reach Africa’s growing mobile audience, localisation and device optimisation are critical."
New Offerings
Savvy Games Group and PNU’s Applied College sign MoU to equip women for careers in games development
Training will cover areas like concept design, 3D modelling, animation and interactive storytelling
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Gamezop commits $4m to expand in the Middle East with a new office in Bahrain
The company plans to onboard 1,000 new apps and hit $6m revenue within 18 months
Studio Closure
Hypercasual game studio Yayy closes
Following Yayy's closure, CEO Ziad Talge co-founded MyLuigi with AI and cloud expert Sukhdeep Johar, securing $125,000 in funding
Developer Learning
Carry1st’s Dominion Ero partners with Udemy to launch game development programme for African youth
The Initiative aims to provide a structured learning path covering industry fundamentals