Riyadh-based mobile developer Floaty Studio has secured $1 million from Merak Capital to accelerate work on its two upcoming titles. The round arrives via Merak's Gaming Fund, the Saudi investment vehicle established in late 2024 with an $80 million corpus backed by the National Development Fund.

Floaty, founded in 2023, builds casual mobile games aimed at global audiences, pairing accessible gameplay with long-term player engagement mechanics. Its current slate includes Pirasea, a pirate strategy game, and Hero Squad, a sci-fi action title centred on assembling heroes to fight robotic enemies.

"This investment gives Floaty the momentum to accelerate the development of our current projects, strengthen the team in key areas, and continue building games with a global audience in mind," game director Abdullah Salah told Pocket Gamer.biz.

Salah added that the studio's focus is on improving game quality, expanding capabilities across development and growth, and creating a foundation for long-term future — while building from Saudi Arabia.

Where does Floaty sit in Merak's portfolio?

The deal is the latest in a run of Gaming Fund checks written outside Merak's accelerator structure:

• $480,000 pre-seed for game technology startup Qwacks in 2025
• $600,000 for UAE-based Khosouf Studio earlier this year, supporting its expansion and relocation to Saudi Arabia
• $1 million now for Floaty Studio

These direct investments sit apart from Exel by Merak, the firm's gaming accelerator, which launched after the $80 million fund was established. Exel deployed $5.1 million across 17 startups in its first cohort, with each company receiving $300,000 in equity funding. The accelerator has since become the first gaming accelerator to join the Riyadh Creative District, and its third cohort is currently underway.

What changes for MENA studios?

For regional developers, the signal is that Merak is running two parallel deployment tracks: accelerator checks at a fixed $300,000 through Exel, and larger bespoke rounds through the Gaming Fund for studios with market-ready projects. Floaty's $1 million round, roughly triple an Exel check, shows the fund is willing to back individual studios at meaningful scale outside cohort structures.

The pattern also reinforces Saudi Arabia's pull as a hub: Khosouf relocated from the UAE as part of its funding, and Floaty is explicitly positioning itself as building from Riyadh with global ambitions.

Watch for Floaty's next milestone — Salah says the studio will share more about its projects in the coming months, and Merak's continued pacing through the Gaming Fund will indicate how much of the $80 million remains in active deployment.