Morocco’s Gamescom pavilion shows it’s one to watch when it comes to mobile
- Morocco could be one to watch in future for great mobile releases
- That's what I found when visiting their first ever Gamescom pavilion
- Three great games caught my eye, including one dark-horse favourite...
Yes, believe it or not, there’s still more to come from Gamescom! The 2026 edition didn’t just break records; it was also one of the best ever for mobile. And for another first, this is the first time that Morocco has had its own international pavilion on the show floor. Naturally, having seen the LatAm pavilion at the show of the same name earlier in the year, I thought it’d be good to go and take a look for myself.
And what I found certainly suggested that Morocco is one to watch for mobile gaming. Aside from a growing international presence from studios such as Garena opening outposts, Morocco has also dramatically increased its focus on games as a career prospect. So, here are three very interesting upcoming releases I thought were worth a look.
Be aware, some of these are only set to be available on PC initially. But I’m assured that they are also planned for eventual mobile releases, if not already in the process of porting.
Rivaldom: Lead or Fall - Qasbah Labs
A particularly ambitious little game, Rivaldom looks to combine many different 4X elements into one package. But don’t mistake it for a copy of Civilization. Rivaldom is fast-paced and focused on bringing the fight to your enemy. You’ll also have heroes leading your chosen faction, which can be upgraded in different ways, while exploiting terrain to help grow your economy.
Essentially, think of it as a mixture of Civilization, Settlers of Catan and Heroes of Might & Magic. It’s got a lot of ambition, and while I only got to play it for a short while, I can see quite a bit of promise.
Kasbah - Ribat Studio
Morocco’s cultural footprint was once quite large in the West. But in the decades since, most are a lot less familiar with the distinctive culture of this region. Kasbah is an attempt to rectify that with a time-travelling first-person adventure that takes you through a fictional conglomeration of Morocco’s fabulous walled cities.
The time-travel element comes in by allowing you to shift between different periods of time, from the modern-day ruins and into the prime of the past. Doing so will open new areas to explore and help you to circumnavigate obstacles in classic adventure game fashion.
Za-id - ard Games
Now, this has to be my dark horse pick for the pavilion. Za-id is an ingenious mixture of Snake and Tetris where your objective is to guide the brick-gathering column around, collecting pieces as you go. It’s based on the art of Moroccan zellige, or tiling, and even at a glance it’s instantly beautiful.
Which is odd to say for something so minimalist, I know. But in terms of readability and instant engagement, this is definitely one to watch. I got the chance to play it on mobile, and while it’s currently available to wishlist on Steam, I’ve no doubt it’ll find an even bigger audience on mobile.
So, overall we’ve got a great spread of interesting releases from Morocco. Having spoken to many of the folks on the ground there, I also have quite an optimistic view of what we can expect. Could this be a new creative hotspot to rival the likes of Korea, China and beyond? Well, watch this space, because Morocco is certainly one to keep an eye on.
And in the meantime, if you need something to keep you occupied in the coming weekend, then we've got you covered. Just take a glance at our latest list of the five new mobile games to try this week!
