The runaway success of a mobile game featuring a food delivery guy racing around the potholed streets of Amman recently helped Jordanian games publisher Tamatem to hit the six million download mark.

Tamatem said its King of Delivery game, which was produced in collaboration with the Kharabeesh animation studio, has been downloaded more than 1 million times since its release over the summer. “This game has been a huge success thanks to its local aspect and the way it plays with some Jordanian stereotypes,” said Hussam Hammo, founder and CEO of Tamatem.

With a 35-game portfolio running both on Android and iOS mobile platforms, Tamatem has swiftly become a flagship company in the Middle East gaming sector, topping 40,000 downloads a day and raking in investments worth $500,000 from both regional and US investors. Tamatem backers include Kai Huang, the co-creator of the billion-dollar Guitar Hero franchise.

Tamatem has 12 employees spanning content developers and web designers, to marketing and business development strategists, the latter based in the company’s office in the Silicon Valley. “We are not only a gaming company but also a publisher,” Hammo said. “I want to help other gaming studios in the region to acquire more visibility. I will advise them on how to improve their products and then launch them, investing in marketing channels and creating a base of connected users by taking advantage of Tamatem’s six million users.”

Having already secured new rounds of investments for this year, discussions on future deals with companies from China, the United States, and Europe are also underway, with the Jordanian startup ready to launch five games in the Arab market throughout the year.

“We would like to expand in the U.S. by bringing more American games to this region, translating and customizing them for this market, and we are also thinking of breaking into the Arab world by opening an office in Dubai,” Hammo said.

Article By Reine Farhat
Wamda