What is the next thing on your to-do list? I am also grateful to have been able to travel around the SWANA region and visit studios and work on initiatives that can support them. I am grateful to have gotten the opportunity to work on technical projects that kept pushing my skills forward, like the VFX army scene I did a while back. Working in a team of incredibly smart multitalented people that I trust and keep learning from. What’s the thing you’re most proud of doing in your time with Epic Games? I’m also the co-founder of Arabic Games, an initiative that aims to grow the game dev ecosystem in the SWANA region. I am grateful to have worked on technical projects that kept pushing my skills forwardĮventually, I joined Epic Games as an Evangelist, and I have been doing that for the last four years. Joseph Azzam (second from left, with the mic) of Arabic Games and Epic Games speaks on a panel in Amman in November 2019. Joseph Azzam: I’m from Lebanon, and I come from a tech artist background that I gained working on my own VR game. : What is your background in the games industry? “But very shortly after arriving, I realized how much I missed going to physical events, catching up with some old acquaintances, making new ones, and exchanging knowledge.” I was a bit sceptical about whether events would still be popular after the pandemic,” he tells us. But the MENA market remains the fastest growing scene in games and the region anticipates a boost in its player base of over 8.2% this year.Īzzam is currently preparing for the Arabic Games Conference which also takes place in November.v“Gamescom was my first event after the pandemic. Western markets seemed to thrive during the pandemic but slow in the months following. In November, the Pocket Gamer Connects conference will return to Jordan, and this gives us an excellent opportunity to dive into the region’s potential. This week we’ve spoken with Joseph Azzam, co-founder of Arabic Games and Evangelist at Epic Games in Lebanon. Welcome to the second in a series of profile features and interviews uncovering the opportunities and challenges of the Middle East and North African games market.
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