CONNECT WITH US
Gaming

Gaming

Istikan Studio's Danar Kayfi: "Most investors and publishers still don't see Iraq as a place where games get made"

PocketGamer.biz logo

Published on

Add as a preferred source on Google
Istikan Studio's Danar Kayfi: "Most investors and publishers still don't see Iraq as a place where games get made"

Erbil-based Istikan Studio is building a growing catalogue of games, from cosy tea shop simulator Istikan Chai to strategy game General Idler and upcoming title Bathroom Please!. 

The seven-person team operates as part of Iraqi telecom and digital solutions company Tornet, funding its development without outside investors.

Ahead of Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan on November 7th and 8th, we speak to studio manager Danar Kayfi about finding an audience in China, building games rooted in Kurdish-Iraqi culture and what Iraq’s game development scene needs to help more local teams become sustainable businesses.

PocketGamer.biz: Could you tell us a bit about Istikan Studio and what you're up to right now? 

Danar Kayfi: We're a small game studio in Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and the game development arm of Tornet, a telecom aggregation and digital solutions company. We named ourselves after the istikan, the small glass that tea is served in across Iraq and much of the Middle East. The popular story is that British colonial officers called it the "East Tea Can" and over time that became "Is-ti-kan". 

It's in every home, office and bazaar here, and that's roughly where we'd like our games to be too. We're very busy right now. Social Suspect just launched on iOS and Android. General Idler, our strategy idle game where you conquer a world of 195 countries, is moving from demo to its full 1.0 release on Steam. 

Bathroom Please! has a demo going into Steam Next Fest and launches on October 27th.


Source link
Related Topics:Gaming

Disclaimer

We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We TheMorningPulse.fyi want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It's possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.