Naphora Restructures Into a Mobile-First Developer and Publisher

Naphora has completed a major structural shift, moving away from its previous model of investing in external studios to focus on developing and self-publishing its own games. According to managing director Charles Bussy, the evolution aligns with the growth of Saudi Arabia's gaming sector and allows the company to build globally competitive intellectual property directly from Riyadh.

Under its previous model, Naphora operated as an investment label that supported external studios and local developers. By mid-2025, that model was phased out as leadership redirected capital, personnel, and operational focus toward internal development. While existing partnerships were handled responsibly based on active agreements, the studio stopped making new third-party game investments. Additionally, the game development academy from the original 2024 model is no longer a core operating component, though talent development continues through hands-on production experience alongside senior developers.

The company has rebuilt its organization around smaller teams, higher talent density, faster decision-making, and continuous marketability testing. This structural overhaul included strengthening the leadership team with the additions of Vishal Mahadeo leading marketing and Jason Maundrell serving as head of product and design, both previously from Halfbrick. Naphora currently has three mobile games in soft launch, with another three titles planned before the end of 2026.

Explaining the shift toward mobile platforms rather than PC or console, Bussy noted that mobile provides access to the largest gaming audience, global distribution from day one, shorter development cycles, and measurable player data. The studio utilizes progressive validation to prototype quickly and test concepts before committing significant production capital. Rather than viewing marketing as a standard support function applied at the end of development, Naphora treats its marketing unit like a product team that constantly tests creatives, analyzes data, and feeds audience insights directly back into active titles.