- “Artificial intelligence is central to YallaPlay”
- “YallaPlay specialises in timeless mobile card games”
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Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan returns on November 9th and 10th, 2024, offering you a chance to gain insights into the world’s fastest-growing games market, MENA.
As part of our MENA coverage and run-up to the event, we spoke to YallaPlay CEO and founder Kareem Seddik to discuss the company’s focus on real-time multiplayer games, localisation efforts and leveraging AI in games.
PocketGamer.biz: Tell us more about YallaPlay and what you’re up to right now.
Kareem Seddik: YallaPlay specialises in timeless mobile card games, powered by our proprietary backend engine that supports real-time PvP gameplay and complex monetization strategies. Currently, we’re scaling, leveraging our engine and vast data sets to roll out new titles.
How many staff do you currently employ and where are they based?
We began in Austin, expanded to Brazil, and ultimately moved our HQ to Abu Dhabi. At our peak, we had around 40 team members, both in-office and remote. We’ve honed our internal processes over the years to streamline interdependent work and optimise remote collaboration.
Amidst widespread layoffs in the games industry, YallaPlay is still hiring. What factors do you attribute to your ability to continue expanding your team during these challenging times?
Our continued expansion is driven by long-term decision-making and strategic investments in our business. By focusing on “forever games” from the start, we’ve avoided cyclical trends. Our proprietary engine also allows us to deploy and operate games at a fraction of typical market costs, keeping us lean and competitive. Additionally, since we self-publish and own our IP, we’re insulated from decisions by external publishers or other industry players.
What’s the appeal of real-time multiplayer games for you and how do you ensure the balance and fairness of PvP mechanics?
Real-time multiplayer is at the heart of our strategy as we believe it’s key to unlocking long-term retention and IAP-heavy monetisation in our genre. We leverage vast amounts of data from billions of our game cycles to build robust models that optimise key KPIs, including balance and retention.
“While AR and VR are very interesting, we are highly focused on our strengths, which lie in AI. AI is central to YallaPlay.”
Kareem Seddik
How have your games been received internationally outside the MENA region?
Spades Masters is a key title in our portfolio that performed exceptionally well in the U.S. market. We partnered with MiniClip initially for its launch and are currently scaling the game further. With millions in revenue generated, we plan to replicate this success with several more titles internationally, following a “rinse and repeat” approach.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in the localisation process, and how have you ensured the delivery of a culturally relevant experience for players?
Localisation challenges often involve navigating cultural nuances. We address this by deeply understanding the local culture of each game and carefully adapting content to ensure it’s culturally relevant while preserving the game’s essence. It’s a delicate balance between scalability – using identical content across games – and tailoring unique content for each game.
How are you leveraging advanced AI technologies to enhance the player experience in your games?
While AR and VR are very interesting, we are highly focused on our strengths, which lie in AI. AI is central to YallaPlay. It enhances player experiences through smart matchmaking, dynamic difficulty adjustments, and optimised economy management. Our focus on AI ensures we deliver the best possible experiences in our games.
“We’ve successfully secured several rounds of VC funding from both gaming-focused sources and broader tech VCs within the region.”
Kareem Seddik
What do you see as the current opportunities and challenges facing the games industry in Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region?
As with any new ecosystem, senior talent acquisition is naturally a challenge but there’s a new generation of young, extremely talented, and hungry local game production talent emerging.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia are heavily focused on investing in the region’s gaming industry, which is commendable and significantly contributes to the ecosystem’s growth. We’re glad to be contributing to these ecosystem-building efforts, as the market is ripe for innovation, and we’re well-positioned to capitalise on it.
In terms of funding and support for gaming studios in MENA, what has been your experience navigating the funding landscape?
We’ve successfully secured several rounds of VC funding from both gaming-focused sources and broader tech VCs within the region. By clearly articulating the scale and opportunity in our sector, and aligning our strategy with the goals of our investors, we’ve been able to close deals effectively. It’s about more than just building relationships – it’s about demonstrating a vision that resonates with the ambitions of our funding partners.
What are your plans for the rest of 2024 and the coming year? Will you be exploring new platforms? And are there any specific initiatives or projects on the horizon that we should look forward to?
We’re focused on mobile, where we continue to see significant growth opportunities. We have more card games slated for release soon, but one project I’m particularly passionate about is our AI Tutor initiative.
This project is highly innovative and particularly meaningful because it merges our expertise in card games AI with education, allowing us to give back through a fun and engaging learning experience.
