NEOM’s Level Up Backs Five Saudi Startups in Gaming Expansion Push

Saudi Arabia’s push to grow its gaming sector under Vision 2030 has taken another step forward, with NEOM naming five homegrown studios as the newest recipients of funding through its Level Up accelerator. I’ve followed this programme for a while now—partly because, at Arageek, we’re always rooting for anything that gives MENA creatives a proper leg-up—and this latest round feels like a real turning point.

The chosen studios – Aiqona Productions, Fourcast Studio, Makera, OFF BOX Studios, and Phys – made it through a competitive first phase that initially supported 23 teams. Only five advanced, which tells you just how tough the selection has become. And believe it or not, this is now the biggest cohort the accelerator has ever run.

Level Up has been around long enough to prove its value. It was launched to tackle the usual pain points young game developers face: early funding gaps, shaky access to publishers, and that feeling of building in isolation. I reckon anyone who’s ever tried to get a creative venture off the ground knows that dance all too well. The accelerator offers seven more months of structured mentorship—around 600 hours per studio—plus funding and access to NEOM’s Publisher Partner Network. That network includes big names like UK-based Kwalee and regional heavyweight Tamatem Games, which is spot on for founders hoping to break into global distribution.

Toby Evan-Jones, who leads NEOM Gaming, said the programme has been “foundational” in shaping Saudi’s first wave of game studios. From the outside looking in, that doesn’t feel like an exaggeration; the National Gaming & Esports Strategy is ambitious, aiming for the sector to contribute more than $13.33 billion to GDP by 2030, and Level Up slots neatly into that roadmap. On the flip side, ambition alone doesn’t ship games—so the practical support matters.

Officials at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology seem to see Level Up as a sort of bridge between incubation and market scale. Sultan Alobaishi described it as a critical pillar, especially for teams who’ve just graduated from early-stage MCIT programmes. That smooth transition from idea to early traction to real commercial footing is often a bit of a faff in our region, so any structure that reduces that friction is welcome.

What stands out is the accelerator’s track record. Since launching, it has supported the creation of more than 170 jobs, and its portfolio companies still enjoy a 100% survival rate—quite rare in gaming, where studios can vanish as quickly as they appear. Alumni like Fahy Studio have already landed international publishing deals and seven-figure investments, while others such as Starvania Studio and Majestic Mind Games have picked up regional awards.

Whenever I meet young founders in the MENA gaming space—and this happened just last winter during a small meetup in Riyadh—they often mention how lonely the journey can feel. That said, programmes like this seem to inject a bit of confidence into the ecosystem. It’s still early days, but the signs are encouraging.

As the latest five studios dive into development, publishing pipelines, and commercial strategy, NEOM’s Level Up continues to plant itself firmly at the centre of Saudi Arabia’s push to become a global gaming hub. And if this momentum holds, they might be chuffed to bits with the long-term results, even if the road ahead is, well… not always straight.

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