Piranha Byte, based in Dubai, is getting its teeth into the lucrative smartphone games market and looking for funding to take it to the next level.
The videogames company this month released its second title and has more in the pipeline in what it describes as a "booming" market in the Middle East.
Waleed Kharma, the chief executive and co-founder of Piranha Byte, said the company was already in talks with potential investors.
"We're looking to grow the team, to be able to turn out more games," he said. "I'm in talks already with different investors [from] the Middle East."
The company, based at Dubai Silicon Oasis, is funded by its co-founders, Mr Kharma said. He declined to say how much money Piranha is looking to raise.
Videogames are big business globally. The total gaming market is expected to grow from US$63.9 billion (Dh234.7bn) last year to $86.8bn in 2014, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
High rates of growth in video-games sales are also expected in the Middle East.
"The industry is booming. We're not just targeting the Middle East, we're targeting the world. But the Middle East is a booming market as well," said Mr Kharma.
Piranha specialises in smartphone games for Apple and Android handsets, although it is also monitoring other platforms such as Facebook, it said.
Middle East gaming companies have grown more prominent in recent years, although they are yet to produce anything on the scale of Angry Birds, the mobile game series that has attracted more than 700 million downloads.
"There are not many games developers in the Middle East. There are a few that are rising and shining, which is great and shows that there is potential," said Mr Kharma.
Abu Dhabi's media hub twofour54 last year announced it had invested more than $2.5 million for minority stakes in two Arabic online gaming companies, Tahadi Games and Jawaker.
Piranha Byte developed the word-based game Kalimat, which was the first title to be published by AppsArabia, the mobile app fund backed by twofour54.
The company this month released a second game called Peek!, in which users challenge other players to guess a secret word based on photos they share with each other. The photos are obscured by tiles, which can be removed by spending coins.
The game is free to download from the Apple App Store, with revenues coming from advertising and in-game purchases of coins. A version of the game is also being developed for Android.
Piranha Byte has several other games in the pipeline, said Mr Kharma. These include a game centred around Arabic music.
bflanagan@thenational.ae
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The%20Hunger%20Games%3A%20The%20Ballad%20of%20Songbirds%20%26%20Snakes
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How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
Bridgerton%20season%20three%20-%20part%20one
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Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City