Business as Usual with Distancing 

Nour Khrais of Maysalward tells us about a mobile game publisher & developer focused on offering free-to-play games for smartphones & tablets.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Nour Khrais: We are all doing well, masked, hand-washed, and keeping our distance.

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Maysalward.

Nour Khrais: Driven by the passion for handheld games back in 2003, I saw an opportunity to start my own mobile game studio in Jordan to create unique mobile games and value-added services. 

How does Maysalward innovate? 

Nour Khrais: Despite the small size of the operation, we believe in R&D. We allocate money and time to look a step ahead in mobile technology and gaming. 

How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your business finances?

Nour Khrais: Traveling for conferences and building new business halted with COVID-19. Despite the online alternatives, nothing can replace face-to-face meetings and a glass of wine at the end of the day with your future partner or client.

Did you have to make difficult choices regarding human resources, and what are the lessons learned?

Nour Khrais: Nothing major during this period. 

How did your customer relationship management evolve? Do you use any specific tools to be efficient?

Nour Khrais: Our players in the early few months of the lockdown pressured us a lot as they were just free and eager to get support, and therefore they overloaded our LiveOp’s team. We had to look into online solutions to talk with them and get more data-driven decisions by analyzing the data flow. 

Did you benefit from any government grants, and did that help keep your business afloat?

Nour Khrais: No

Your final thoughts?

Nour Khrais: The market has grown in terms of users, but as a free-to-play game developer, our advertisers vanished during the first 6 months of lockdown. We understood early that we need to turn to survival mode without impacting our creativity and development flow. This is what we did by opening a few partner projects.

Your website?

Https:// www.maysalward.com