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Pocket Gamer Connects Aqaba returns on November eighth and ninth, 2025, providing an opportunity to achieve insights into the world’s fastest-growing video games market, MENA.
As a part of our MENA protection and run-up to the occasion, we caught up with Gimzat Studios co-founder Khaled Mansour to debate the studio’s publishing shift, the worth of regional storytelling and tapping into the African cellular video games market.
PocketGamer.biz: Might you inform us a bit about Gimzat Studios and what you’re as much as proper now?
Khaled Mansour: Gimzat Studios started in 2015, based by a passionate staff pushed by a shared love for video games. Our debut title, Velocity Maze, marked a serious breakthrough, attaining over a million natural downloads. That early success helped us set up a powerful basis for development and innovation.
Following that, we launched a number of titles tailor-made to the Arabic-speaking market, corresponding to Drift Legend – Arabic Automotive Sport, Spot It – What is the Distinction, Velocity Race – Xtreme Gear and Platform 6 – On-line Arabic Racing Sport.
Our mission has all the time been to create high-quality video games which might be culturally localised for the Center East in each language and theme. Extra just lately, we’ve partnered with Unico Studio, one of many world’s prime cellular publishers.
“We imagine that culturally conscious content material, light-weight builds and ad-based income fashions can unlock important success throughout the continent.”
Khaled Mansour
What number of employees do you at the moment make use of, and the place are they primarily based?
We function remotely, with a small and agile staff based in Egypt. Along with our personal titles, we additionally provide full sport growth providers by means of outsourcing initiatives, from Ludo, chess and domino video games to a full-featured 8 Pool title that features a number of play modes.
We have additionally labored on a bowling sport with dynamic physics and multiplayer help.
One other key spotlight is our work with MTC Advertising and marketing within the UAE. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed a VR simulation venture for the launch occasion of Tremphya, a pharmaceutical product.
The VR expertise allowed docs to discover the treatment in an immersive surroundings and talk with one another just about, offering a singular digital various to bodily conferences.
Your staff contains veterans who’ve labored on triple-A video games on console, iOS and Android. How do you resolve which platform to focus on for a brand new sport?
Certainly one of our founders has skilled expertise at Ubisoft and Microsoft, significantly in gameplay design. Mixed with the broader staff’s cellular experience, we usually analyse market developments and regional demand earlier than deciding on platforms.
For the MENA market, the place cellular utilization is dominant, we prioritise Android and iOS first. Nonetheless, we stay platform-flexible relying on the sport’s style and audience.
Has there been a shift in how the studio operates over time. If there have been adjustments, why?
Sure, we’ve developed our technique to accomplice with established publishers like Unico Studio. Collectively, we’ve launched Color Sorting, which amassed over 4 million downloads on Google Play and Water Type, our newest Google Play hit.
This collaboration permits us to give attention to sport design and growth whereas benefiting from the writer’s strong advertising and marketing infrastructure. Since we’re a self-funded studio, this mannequin permits for sustainable development with out the necessity for big promoting budgets.
With over 10 titles localised for the Arabic market, how have your video games been obtained internationally outdoors the MENA area?
Whereas MENA stays our core focus, we’ve localised a lot of our video games into a number of languages and examined them throughout numerous international areas. In some circumstances, we have seen robust engagement, which has inspired us to broaden advertising and marketing and person acquisition efforts in these territories.
Africa has an enormous variety of cellular customers. What do you assume is the important thing to tapping into this viewers? And why do you assume some nonetheless overlook the market regardless of its development potential?
To achieve Africa’s rising cellular viewers, localisation and machine optimisation are vital. Many builders nonetheless overlook this market on account of infrastructure considerations and misconceptions about monetisation potential.
“To draw extra funding into the African video games market, success tales have to be amplified.”
Khaled Mansour
Nonetheless, we imagine that culturally conscious content material, light-weight builds and ad-based income fashions can unlock important success throughout the continent.
In your view, what are the important thing substances for a profitable cellular sport in at present’s market?
A contemporary cellular sport wants:
- Accessible but addictive gameplay.
- A robust visible id.
- Environment friendly monetisation by means of rewarded adverts and good IAPs.
- Localisation and cultural adaptation.
- Steady updates and user-driven enhancements.
What has been your expertise navigating the funding panorama in MENA? And the way do you assume the African video games market may entice extra funding?
The funding panorama in MENA remains to be growing. As a self-funded staff, we’ve taken a lean strategy and centered on partnerships to develop. To draw extra funding into the African video games market, success tales have to be amplified. Buyers must see the untapped potential in person development, content material variety and comparatively low manufacturing prices.
What are your ideas on rising applied sciences corresponding to AI, AR and VR in video games? And do you have got plans to include AI into your sport growth course of?
We’re enthusiastic concerning the potentialities AI gives, significantly in sport balancing, procedural content material and QA. Whereas AR/VR remains to be a distinct segment in our area, we’re open to exploring new know-how when it aligns with our gameplay imaginative and prescient.
We’ve already delivered a profitable VR venture with MTC Advertising and marketing within the UAE through the pandemic. That have strengthened our perception within the energy of immersive know-how to bridge real-world constraints and improve engagement.
AI will doubtless play a much bigger function in streamlining our future growth processes.
What are your plans for the remainder of 2025 and the approaching 12 months? Will you be exploring new platforms? And are there any particular initiatives or initiatives on the horizon that we should always sit up for?
We’ll proceed to develop our catalogue of hybridcasual video games and deepen our partnership with Unico Studio. Moreover, we plan to reinforce our present titles and doubtlessly discover new platforms relying on the chance.
Our growth roadmap additionally contains increasing our shopper service choices and experimenting with new interactive gameplay mechanics.
Pocket Gamer Connects is returning to Jordan at its new Aqaba location on November eighth and ninth, 2025.
With most of the world’s main authorities speaking throughout a 9-track, 30-hour programme, and representatives from 400 firms anticipated to attend, the occasion will present ample alternative to be taught, community, uncover and pitch.
Tickets can be found now.