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The Dubai Recreation Expo Summit powered by Pocket Gamer Connects returns on Could seventh to eighth 2025, providing an opportunity to achieve insights into the world’s fastest-growing video games market, MENA.
Try extra tales from PocketGamer.biz’s MENA Month particular, the place we interview the highest firms and delve into the funding panorama, proper right here.
The MENA video games business is experiencing accelerated progress, the place large investments are altering how video games are made.
Prematurely of the Dubai GameExpo Summit powered by Pocket Gamer Connects on Could seventh and eighth, we had the chance to speak with a few of the high video games traders within the area.
We spoke with GEM Capital managing director Roman Gurskiy and Jetapult CEO and co-founder Sharan Tulsiani about selecting startups to spend money on, the frequent errors founders make when pitching to traders, and the way sport studios can entice extra funding.
Choosing the proper startup
Talking to us on what they search for when investing in a startup, Gurskiy says GEM Capital prioritises robust founding groups with deep business expertise, a confirmed monitor document, and a compelling product imaginative and prescient.
“The startup should reveal a scalable product with vital market potential and a sturdy enterprise mannequin able to reaching 10x progress in 5 years,” he explains.
Gurskiy additional states that GEM Capital, notably its UAE-based GEM II fund, has invested in MENA video games firms equivalent to Atomic Coronary heart creator Mundfish and cellular developer Hypemasters.
Whereas Jetapult additionally has a requirement of skilled founders, Tulsiani shares that the agency is targeted on mobile-first groups within the ‘informal+’ area, starting from hybridcasual to midcore, with robust scaling capabilities.
“Genuine, scalable content material is turning into a serious draw for worldwide traders. On the similar time, studios that present business readability stand out.”
Sharan Tulsiani
“We’re notably enthusiastic about studios that deeply perceive participant behaviour and style dynamics and are open to adopting lean, AI-augmented workflows to speed up their ambitions,” he says.
Thus far, Jetapult’s sole MENA funding is UMX Studio, however it’s actively scouting the area, particularly Saudi Arabia, for studios able to reaching high-ARPU markets.
Discovering funding
To draw extra funding, Gurskiy says MENA studios ought to construct video games with each regional and world enchantment, reveal monetary self-discipline with clear monetisation and person acquisition methods, and have interaction actively with native accelerators and occasions.
“Governments and personal traders ought to proceed fostering expertise improvement applications and early-stage funding alternatives to maintain long-term progress,” he provides.
Jetapult, then again, urges MENA studios to mix genuine cultural storytelling with common enchantment and reveal business readability via stable monetisation and retention methods.
“Genuine, scalable content material is turning into a serious draw for worldwide traders,” says Tulsiani. “On the similar time, studios that present business readability stand out.”
Frequent errors
Gurskiy says one frequent mistake founders make is overemphasising artistic concepts with out displaying a viable enterprise path, as he urged founders to stability innovation with execution.
“Founders usually current bold gameplay concepts however lack a transparent path to profitability or scalability,” states Gurskiy. “Creativity is essential to success, however studios should even be business-oriented.”
Equally, Jetapult CEO believes that one other frequent mistake founders make is focusing an excessive amount of on imaginative and prescient with out detailing a grounded, executable plan. Conversely, Tulsiani urges extra world traders to grasp that MENA isn’t a one-size-fits-all market.
“We want extra traders recognised that MENA isn’t a copy-paste market,” he states. “There are a number of excessive ARPU areas with deep cultural richness and an rising era of creators constructing for each native and world audiences.”
Worldwide competitors
So, what wants to vary for MENA to be on par with areas like China or the US.?
Along with its continued authorities assist, Gurskiy says not like saturated Western markets, MENA affords untapped potential in hypercasual, midcore, and culturally tailor-made video games.
“Whereas the groundwork is in place, outcomes will take time – gifted builders from all over the world want to ascertain roots within the area to develop and mentor native expertise,” he explains.
“Creativity is essential to success, however studios should even be business-oriented.”
Roman Gurskiy
Gurskiy provides that traders ought to recognise that with the correct backing, MENA studios can compete on a worldwide scale with the potential to rival main gaming hubs.
Then again, Jetapult CEO believes that as a way to compete globally, the area should strengthen its expertise pipelines and ecosystem infrastructure.
“What’s wanted now could be focused progress on two fronts: expertise improvement and ecosystem maturity,” says Tulsiani. “We have to make investments extra in nurturing artistic and technical expertise via mentorship, schooling, and publicity to world finest practices.”
He provides that encouraging indicators are already seen via initiatives like NEOM’s accelerator and Unity-led coaching, however extra constant assist in manufacturing, publishing, and monetisation is essential.
Throughout the Dubai GameExpo Summit powered by PGC 2025 we’ll be internet hosting The Funding Summit, welcoming a bunch of knowledgeable audio system to debate the funding panorama in MENA, in addition to connecting builders, publishers and traders collectively for potential deal-making.