Wamda

Palestine

Gaza game maker Baskalet eyes Saudi success

Facing tough economic conditions and unsatisfying day jobs in Gaza, Baskalet founders Mohammed Madhoun and Osayd Madi took the leap to do...

Baskalet Gaza palestine

U.A.E

Has Falafel Games raised the largest round for a gaming startup in MENA?

Falafel Games, one of the first gaming studios to emerge in the Middle East, just closed a round of $2.6 million. The funding round was...

falafel games MEVP Investment

Regional

The top 10 games of Game Zanga 6

For the sixth year in a row, game developers across the MENA region got a chance to flex their creative muscles and engage in a bit of...

game zanga game tako developers itcho.io

Regional

Wadi's PR pitch to disappointed gamers

Ecommerce platform Wadi is using the worldwide fallout from a much-anticipated game as a way to boost customer loyalty in their UAE and...

Gaming Wadi.com No Man's Sky

Regional

Making the best of a child’s addiction

In the 90s, parents hid Gameboys from their children on high shelves and under heavy mattresses. This year, with face-to-screen time at...

Play My Way children Education

Regional

Tamatem: Gaming for 18 million users

As global gaming publishers overlook the Arab region’s hunger for localized mobile games, regional publishers are...

tamatem Gaming localization

Jordan

Zain Jordan wants you to ditch your console and grab your phone

There isn’t a better example than Pokémon Go to highlight the crucial role of mobile in the gaming industry. Several of the...

tamatem Gaming Telcos

Iraq

Home or away? The best market may not be under your nose

Starting in your home market is not necessarily the best way to success, a lesson Iraqi-founded Apps Lab learned the hard way. Apps Lab...

Apps Lab Ali Al-Hilli Hajwilha ya Saudi

Maghreb

Ubisoft Casablanca closes: is this good news for Morocco game devs?

After 18 years of activity French gaming giant Ubisoft has announced it will close its Casablanca studio, leaving 48 developers looking for...

Rym games Moroccan Game Developers The Wall Games

Regional

What I know about game publishing: Joseph Shomali

The profits to be made in gaming are not to be sniffed at. But that's generally for countries outside of the Middle East. In 2014...

games xp babil games Joseph Shomali

Iran

Iran's gaming market, an overview part II

Such a large market, with a few hurdles still. (Images via Sourena Game Studio) Yesterday I shared some statistics on who is using the...

Free2Play Sanctions Sourena Game Studio

Egypt

Zombies in Egypt: Epic VR brings the undead to malls

This was the reaction when students first tested Epic VR in an event at the American University in Cairo. (Images via Epic VR) Virtual...

Zombies EpicVr MEMakersGE

Iran

Iran's internet users, an overview

With nearly 80 million people in Iran you can imagine there is a huge internet audience waiting to be pounced upon. Unfortunately,...

Sourena Game Studio iran Gaming

Lebanon

8 things we learnt at MENA Games in Beirut

The gaming industry in the Middle East and North Africa is growing. More than 40 gaming startups from Europe, MENA and Turkey...

Turkish Game Developers Association Netmarble Nuked Cockroach

Regional

MENA game makers show off skills at Global Game Jam

Disclosure: the author was present at the Lebanon jam site as a participant with team Groovy Antoid, who produced the game Ugnug...

game development ggj16 global game jam

Jordan

Will e-sports be the next industry to level up in MENA?

The next generation of star athletes from the Middle East and North Africa recently gave spectators a glimpse of the future of...

AFKG Viva Algeria esports

U.A.E

Makersbuilders joins the innovators of the Arab region

Makersbuilders with parents and children filling up In5 in 2014. (Images via Makersbuilders) Gaps in the market, children...

robotics MEMakers the cribb

Regional

London calling

A Lebanese, a Briton, a Dutchman and an Italian walk into a London investment firm. They bond over hip hop. One year later they launch a...

Braci Hoxton Ventures Slidr

Saudi Arabia

App Annie’s big blind spot: Saudi Arabia

Ask around for the latest stats on mobile app markets and most professionals will point to research group App Annie as the...

gaming data App Annie Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

How this Saudi app developer is nurturing talent

[Update]: Ibtikar released a new trivia game called HEXA, with tens of thousands of questions in more than 15 different fields...

Palestine

72-hour gamer comp tests Ramallah talent

Palestine has joined Game Zanga’s 72-hour design competition as game developers converged on Ramallah over the weekend to try and beat the c...

game competition game jam game zanga

Saudi Arabia

Saudi game developers, failure before success

As game developer Sami Khanfor stood in front of a large crowd and pitched his startup, he was very aware of the tough journey he had taken...

Team Reem jeddah gaming industry

Egypt

When being a game developer just isn’t enough

Kareem Abdullatif andHani El-Akel have a passion for gaming and in 2010 the Egyptian entrepreneurs decided to take a risk and found their...

Appsinnovate gaming industry Egypt

Lebanon

Lebanese game developers Wixel Studios targets cancer with new project

Still from the Aurora game. (Image via Wixel Studios) Despite a growing tech-healthcare sector - which by now has hundreds of...

Cancer Aurora Wixel Studios

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