The big deals that have shaped the Middle East’s games industry over the past year
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The Middle East’s games industry has seen significant investment over the past few years as countries look to fuel the growth of their respective games and wider tech industries.
Saudi Arabia has its Vision 2030 initiative, aimed at diversifying its economy, including significant investment in games and esports. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates has its own Dubgai Program for Gaming 2033 plan, with ambitions of making the city a top 10 global games hub.
Saudi Arabia’s own Savvy Games Group has been particularly active in games industry investment. In 2023 it acquired Monopoly Go developer Scopely. Just this year, Scopely, backed by Savvy funds, picked up Niantic’s games business, including Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom, for $3.5 billon.
At the Dubai GameExpo Summit powered by Pocket Gamer Connects, which takes place on May 7th to 8th, we’ll be hosting a special Investment Summit. We’ll be hosting panels with key investors from the region and around the world on how to get investments, what investors are looking for, and what the emerging trends are.
Speakers set to join us include Games Ventures’ Mohamed El Sheakh, MGVC’s Nikita Matsokin, Bitkraft Ventures’ Anuj Tandon, GEM Capital’s Roman Gurskiy, Impact46’s Eric Husny and Alfa Games’ Ozgur Aksoy. We’ll be announcing more speakers soon.
In the build up to the event, and as part of MENA Month, we’re taking a look at the big M&A, investment and partnership deals over the past year involving companies the Middle East.
M&A
Scopely acquires Pokémon Go developer Niantic’s games business in $3.5bn deal
Investments
Saudi Arabia’s Lobah Game Studio secures $12 million investment
Spoilz secures strategic investment to launch new IPs
Jordan eyes significant investment to grow local games and tech sectors
Exel by Merak gaming accelerator is now accepting applications for first cohort
Bahrain’s Riyada Business Accelerator Program is now accepting applications for tech start-ups
YaLLa Esports invests $12.5 million to accelerate growth in the MENA region over the next two years
UMX Studio secures $4.5 million investment from Jetapult to expand portfolio
UAE-based Web3 gaming startup PiP World lands $10 million in seed funding
Saudi Arabia’s PIF to transfer gaming Stocks to Savvy Games Group
Sony launches MENA Hero Project incubator program for game developers
Interview: How Savvy aims to grow its games empire after $3.5bn Niantic deal
PocketGamer.biz speaks to CEO Brian Ward about buying the Pokémon Go developer Niantic, how it works with Scopely, and its plans outside of mobile.
Financing
Saudi Social Development Bank backs esports and game development with $122m
Merak Capital launches $80 million fund to support MENA games start-ups
Beam Ventures launches in Abu Dhabi with $150m fund to support game studios
Partnerships
Savvy Games Group and Saudi Esports Federation Sign MoU to boost Saudi Arabia esports sector
Sandsoft plots hybridcasual expansion with three new game deals
Merak Capital partners with Huawei Cloud to boost Saudi Arabia’s games industry
Merak Capital and Microsoft team up to support gaming startups in Saudi Arabia
Savvy Games Group and HP sign MoU to help Saudi Arabia learners get careers in gaming and esports
Savvy Games Group and Merak Capital partner to boost Saudi Arabia’s games ecosystem
Carry1st partners with Stellar Gate Games to boost Blood Strike MENA with new payment solutions
NEOM Media partners with Kwalee, Sandsoft, Tamatem and others to launch games publishing network
British International School Riyadh partners with NES to propel esports education in Saudi Arabia
Emirates Esports Federation and ITW Universe to launch new esports league
Hyperfusion partners with The Game Company to power cloud gaming in MENA and GCC
Xsolla partners with Savvy Games Group to grow the MENA games industry
Savvy Games Group signs Memorandum of Understanding with Niantic for MENA expansion
ESL FACEIT signs multi-year deal as official partner of the Esports World Cup
Saudi Arabia partners with Japan to create original anime and gaming content
Interview: Sandsoft’s CEO on the publisher’s hybridcasual evolution and global expansion
David Fernandez Remesal discusses the publisher’s journey throughout the past year and its plans for 2025.
New studios / expansions
KGeN opens MENA HQ in Bahrain
Audiomob opens MENA headquarters in Abu Dhabi
EsportsXO partners with Abu Dhabi Gaming to open regional headquarters in the MENA region
Monopoly Go developer Scopely opens new studio in Saudi Arabia
Mobile games company Digital Dunes launches in Media City Qatar
Ampverse Group launches new marketing agency to connect brands with gamers
Gosu Academy expands into the UAE to fuel esports growth
Industry Veteran Mohamed El Sheakh launches new MENA mobile company, Games Ventures
Chinese publisher iDreamSky opens office in Riyadh for first international expansion
Interview: Rababa Games CEO talks being self-funded, exploring new platforms and expansion opportunities
Rababa Games CEO and founder Hussam Alnatour discusses prioritising mobile in MENA, integrating AI in games and Saudi Arabia expansion plans.
Other
Emirates Esports Federation opens bidding for E Gaming League franchises
Games Majlis unites experts to transform Middle East mobile games industry
Savvy Games Group plots 600 new games industry jobs in Saudi Arabia
