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SHEBA JOY Raises SAR 1.1M to Power Saudi Arabia’s Gaming Ambitions

Saudi-based mobile gaming studio SHEBA JOY has secured a SAR 1.1 million ($300K) pre-seed round led by Merak Capital, marking a key milestone in its push to create global hit games from the Kingdom. Founded in 2021, the studio recently shifted its HQ to Riyadh while keeping a Dubai office, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to become a worldwide gaming hub. SHEBA JOY already has two games published and plans to release four more in 2025, positioning itself as one of the MENA region’s fastest-rising developers. “The MENA gaming market is expanding rapidly, but there’s still a lack of content that reflects our culture while resonating globally,” said Ebrahim Al Hussam, CEO of SHEBA JOY. “With Merak Capital’s backing, we’re scaling operations in Riyadh to deliver world-class titles that can compete internationally and support Saudi Arabia’s vision of becoming […]

Gamigion August 20

Journal

Gaming’s greatest strength is its ability to adapt itself to any platform.

Every time I'm in the mall, I wander into a toy shop hoping that video game imperialism will have finally conquered a domain that should be a layup. Yet, despite nearly 80% of U.S. kids playing games, and almost 50% on Roblox, games occupy 5-10% of the kids' toy shelves. It's worse, too, as we look at the Roblox shelf, perhaps the weakest of any game IP, holding almost no original value (they're trying to fix this with their first live ops event), and it's instead filled with Stumble Guy toys on deep discount. Instead, games have become a vessel for other IPs, with nearly all of the IPs on the shelf having integrations back in the games, including a notable one between NERF and Stumble Guys. In the same way that Netflix rewrote the rules for Hollywood by aggregating […]

Phillip Black August 19

Highlights

Why most Soft Launches FAIL & how to avoid the trap

If you think a quick one-month soft launch is enough, think again. Most mobile games that rush or skip a proper soft launch end up face-planting at global release. In my own blunt words: “If you have a one-month soft launch, you can't really test shit. [You] can't really assess anything, and you will get… really partial data.” A soft launch needs 3–6 months of hard data gathering to validate your game’s product-market fit, retention, monetization, and UA strategies. Consider it your last chance to minimize risk – or else your global launch might just be a global flop. In this BS guide (inspired by my Soft Launch Bible), we’ll break down the 3-stage soft launch framework – Tech Test, Retention, Monetization – along with the geo rollout, KPIs, creative testing cadence, and ultimate kill-or-scale decisions at each step. Strap […]

Matej Lancaric August 19

Journal

A while ago, I watched a founder walk away from a $5M term sheet.

A while ago, I watched a founder walk away from a $5M term sheet. Not because the valuation was wrong. Not because of board control. But because the investor kept saying "trust me" instead of answering direct questions.The founder asked about follow-on strategy. "Trust me, we'll be there."Asked about portfolio support examples. "Trust me, we're very hands-on."Asked why their last 3 investments failed. "Trust me, we've moved on from those."Trust isn't given. It's earned through transparency.The best investor relationships I've seen start with brutal honesty:- "Here's where we can help, here's where we can't"- "These are the 3 founders who hated working with us. Call them"- "We've made these mistakes before, here's what we learned"That founder ended up raising from someone who opened their books, shared their failures, and connected them with portfolio founders, both happy and unhappy ones.12 months […]

Joakim Achren August 19

Highlights

Clash Royale’s resurgence has saved the dream of a Supercell IPO.

Clash Royale's resurgence has saved the dream of a Supercell IPO. Especially with Brawl Stars returning to KPI Earth, Squad Busters in hospice, Mo.co confused, and everything else chugging along. There's a whole lot more to write about how they've done this from a mechanics perspective, and the roadmap to get here has certainly bucked my expectations: doubling down on RPG and vertical progression vectors. When the game launched back in 2016, I expected them to incorporate more traditional CCG elements, such as card rotation. Instead, they've carved their own path, and while that looked shaky for a while, the game's identity is more apparent. There's still no one that's competing in the 1v1 real-time PvP category despite armies upon armies of clones. When the game launched, it was a technical breakthrough, given the period's cellular strength and speed. But […]

Phillip Black August 19

Journal

Combat Balance Breakdown

One tweak can break the entire player experience, or make it unforgettable.Here’s what we look at when balancing combat:𝟭) 🧍 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀• Speed, acceleration, and stamina/mana• HP and regeneration• Dodge chance, jump height, parry windows• Class or race attributes𝟮) ⚔️ 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀• Damage, range, and rate of fire• AoE radius, bullet speed, spread• Projectile arc, reload speed, recoil• Crit chance and cost𝟯) ✨ 𝗔𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 & 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀• Damage/heal values and cooldowns• Buff/debuff durations• Energy costs, AoE radius, skill synergy𝟰) 🛡️ 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗿• Damage reduction and weight• Upgrade slots and repair costs• Elemental resistances• Mobility trade-offs and stat requirements𝟱) 💀 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝘀• Spawn density and enemy types• Stats, size, and aggression radius• Hitboxes, weak spots, and reward drops𝟲) 🎁 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 & 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘀a) 🎯 Types & Effects• Speed boost, XP boost, damage boost• Resource gain, defense buffb) 🛒 Acquisition• Crafting, store purchase, loot drop• Event rewardsc) ⏳ […]

Anton Slashcev August 19

Journal

Using AEM & ADC for your iOS campaigns on Meta and TikTok

WELCOME TO CHAOS 😂 This is a case I wanted to share, as it’s a situation I’m facing more and more lately: SKAN is reporting higher than probabilistic attribution methodologies, as you can see in the charts.I think this can really help people to understand how to deal with different data scenarios when using AEM & ADC for your iOS campaigns on Meta and TikTok Ads respectively.Context of the setup:✅ One campaign in facebook optimized for an upper funnel event, using AEM✅ One campaign in TikTok optimized for the same upper funnel event, using ADC✅ One campaign in facebook optimized for a lower funnel event, using AEM👉 Appsflyer as the MMP👉 3 scenarios: Appsflyer classic attribution, ADC/AEM & SKAN (I have not modeled ASC data to make it simpler)❌ Important note: when you enable ADC for TikTok, your classic attribution […]

David Vargas August 19

Journal

Gaming VC funding in Europe is $114m YTD

🌍 Europe (YTD 2025): gaming VC funding in Europe is ~$114m YTD and 79% ($90m) is in content vs 21% ($24m) in tech/platforms. - Seed and Series A make up $102m (90%) of all funding - Content is the main focus, especially in mobileBiggest raises in 2025 in Europe YTD have been Slingshot DAO ($16m), Amplitude Studios ($13.6m), Pixion Games ($12.4m), OpusMajor ($10m), and Midnite ($10m).

Josh Chapman August 18

Journal

Ad network margins hit 40% average in 2025. Up from 30% two years ago.

Some bitter facts that nobody talks about, but every marketer need to understand. Episode 3. Ad network margins hit 40% average in 2025. Up from 30% two years ago. It's not a secret - you can read about it in Meta, Google, Applovin earnings reports.But "average" hides the real story:1) New advertisers: 0% margins (you get nice results quickly, I call it "I see the money" behavior)2) Established players: 40-50% margins (At this step usually you hit "the ceiling" - every change in scale results in losses)3) Some extreme cases: up to 80% margins (works with either very good converting products at scale or just a random distribution to get to 40% avg where you weren't a lucky one)Your customer's real cost could be HALF what you're paying for itThe same user, same conversion, but you pay 2x because you're […]

Nikita Zatsepin August 18

Journal

Puzzle Game Features Tier List

Puzzle Game Features Tier List What actually works in puzzle games? 𝗦-𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 = Features that boost retention and monetization 𝗔-𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 = Strong value, but depends on execution 𝗙-𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 = Players hate them, and they don’t pay off Here’s the full breakdown:🔥 𝗦-𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁)• Win Streak 🥇• Tournaments 🏆💚 𝗔-𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁)• Season Pass 🎫• Task-Based Rewards 🎁• Mini-Games 🎮• Co-Op Events 🤝🟩 𝗕-𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀)• Daily Tasks 📅• Decoration Meta 🏡• Daily Bonus ☀️• PvP Events ⚔️• Collections / Albums 📚🟨 𝗖-𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀)• Narrative Meta 📖• Global Map 🌍• Clans 👑• Bonus Levels ✨🟫 𝗗-𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 / 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱)• Social Gifting 🎁• Facebook Connect 🔗• Rate Us 👍🟥 𝗘-𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀)• Gacha 🎰• Lucky Wheel 🎡• Chat 💬• Profile Customization 🧑‍🎨🚫 𝗙-𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁... 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁)• Pay-to-Win Events 💸• Overpriced Offers ⚠️

Anton Slashcev August 18

Journal

Game Radar – August

This short report is a continuation of a previous report of the same type, which was published 4 weeks ago and focuses on games that have generated notable revenue for the first time (or after a significant gap of several years) and based on an AppMagic data. A more detailed explanation of how this report is compiled can be found in the "Methodology" section. This issue features as many as eight games, plus one that should have made it in but was left out due to technical reasons. All the staple genres of fresh top-grossing titles are represented from arcade puzzles to 4X strategies, along with several RPGs. There’s even a game that broke into the top 10 of the US Top Grossing charts on both platforms. While one might expect a summer slowdown, there’s clearly no room to relax. […]

Andriy Zmeul August 18

Highlights

Saudi Fahy Studios Secures $1.75M Investment!

What amazing news for a Sunday. When I explain the potential of the Kingdom, and especially the 2030 strategy, I use the example of Fahy Studios.Hani Hashem and Fahad Al-Shibl have been putting in the real work in the market for the last few years. They’re not hype men; they are undoubtedly going to succeed in this industry.I’ve been lucky enough to call them friends since we signed a publishing deal last year, whilst I was at Kwalee, and you won’t meet two smarter or nicer guys.Cannot wait to see what this money does for your growth! Investors: Impact46 and Merak Capital- Fahy specialises in hybrid-casual mobile games and is preparing to launch RAWR, Footy Traps, and Heist Party- It aims to expand production and attract local talent to launch global games from Saudi Arabia

John Wright August 18

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