Saudi Teenager’s Roblox Passion Project MJ Studios Surpasses 100 Million Visits With Kingdom World

What began as a personal hobby for a Saudi teenager has blossomed into one of the most prominent Arabic gaming successes on the global Roblox platform. MJ Studios, the developer behind the hit title Kingdom World, has officially surpassed 100 million visits, marking a major milestone for independent game development originating from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Operating largely through the ecosystem provided by Roblox, the studio has forged a self-sustaining business model. By relying on revenue generated organically from in-game purchases, the team has managed to fund its ongoing development, support game updates, and expand its team without seeking external financial investment or venture capital backing.

To explore the journey behind this milestone, we caught up with MJ Studios founder Mohammed Mohammed and lead developer Idiris Mustaf to discuss the phenomenal success of Kingdom World, the complexities of crafting an authentic Saudi experience for a diverse global audience, and the unique landscape of developing games on Roblox from the MENA region.

The Humble Beginnings of MJ Studios

When MJ Studios was first established in 2020, its origins were rooted entirely in personal passion rather than commercial ambition. Reflecting on those formative years, founder Mohammed Mohammed compares the experience to watching a child grow.

"To me, those early years felt almost like watching your own child grow up," Mohammed explains. "I started making games simply because I enjoyed it, without really thinking about money or whether it could become a business. Seeing something I created slowly grow, improve, and succeed was something I was truly proud of."

Over time, what started as a solitary pursuit evolved into a major digital enterprise, eventually positioning MJ Studios as the creator of one of the largest Arabic-language gaming experiences on the entire Roblox platform. It was during this steady upward trajectory that Mohammed realized his pastime had transformed into something much larger. Even so, financial returns remained a secondary motivator.

"What motivated me was seeing the studio grow and seeing more and more people playing something we created," Mohammed notes. "My goal has always been to make MJ Studios one of the biggest Arabic studios on Roblox, and seeing how far we’ve come from those early days makes me proud of what we built."

Leveraging the Roblox Ecosystem

For many independent developers, transitioning from a hobbyist project to a commercially viable studio requires substantial upfront capital, networking, and technical infrastructure. However, lead developer Idiris Mustaf points out that building specifically on Roblox bypassed many of these traditional barriers.

"Roblox has made it possible for us to build, launch, and grow games much faster than we could have with a traditional game studio," Mustaf says. "The platform already provides important infrastructure such as multiplayer systems, servers, publishing, monetization tools, and access to a large existing player community."

By utilizing these pre-existing systems, the team was able to bypass the arduous process of building foundational backend technology from scratch. This allowed MJ Studios to concentrate its time, energy, and limited resources directly on creating engaging, player-focused experiences.

From Virtual Worlds to Real-World Engineering

At just 19 years old, founder Mohammed Mohammed is currently embarking on a university degree in engineering—a academic and professional path he credits directly to his early days of game development on Roblox. Designing virtual spaces and interactive showcases taught him core design principles that translate seamlessly into physical engineering disciplines.

"Designing games and showcases on Roblox has helped me develop many skills that I believe will be useful in engineering," Mohammed shares. "Through Roblox development, I learned the basics of 3D modeling and design, and I became comfortable turning ideas in my head into actual designs."

Before tackling massive multiplayer environments, Mohammed spent considerable time building isolated showcases entirely for his own enjoyment. He constructed virtual hotels, gas stations, buildings, and intricate individual rooms, starting from a completely blank canvas.

"I would start with an empty space and design everything from scratch, even if I was the only person who would ever play or see it," he recalls. "Doing that taught me to think creatively, pay attention to details, and understand how different parts of a design come together. I also gained experience with 3D design tools, which has given me a strong foundation for programs like Blender and 3ds Max that I may use during university."

Designing Kingdom World for Local Authenticity and Global Appeal

The crown jewel of MJ Studios is Kingdom World, a sprawling multiplayer experience heavily inspired by the daily sights, culture, and architecture of Riyadh and everyday life across Saudi Arabia. Capturing this local identity while ensuring the game remained welcoming to international players from vastly different cultural backgrounds required a delicate balance.

"With Kingdom World, I wanted to create a world that actually feels like Saudi Arabia, especially Riyadh, rather than just a game that happens to have Saudi buildings in it," Mohammed explains. "A lot of the inspiration came from things we see in our everyday lives—the streets, architecture, shops, cars, clothing, and the small details that make Riyadh feel like Riyadh."

At the same time, the developers carefully avoided making the game’s core mechanics exclusive to a local audience. The gameplay loops are built around universally understood social activities: driving around with friends, exploring a vast urban environment, engaging in roleplay, visiting various locations, and experiencing virtual community life.

"You don’t really need to understand Saudi culture beforehand to enjoy those things. I think that’s actually one of my favourite parts about Kingdom World," Mohammed says. "Saudi players can enter the game and recognise things from their real lives, while international players can enjoy the same game and, at the same time, experience a little bit of Saudi culture naturally. I wanted it to feel authentically Saudi without needing to explain to players that it’s Saudi—it should be something they can see and feel just by playing."

Current Development Status and Global Reach

While the public-facing Roblox page for Kingdom World still labels the title as being in a beta phase due to an unresolved platform-side bug preventing description updates, the studio’s official website confirms that the game is fully live, operational, and continually expanding.

"Kingdom World is officially live and fully playable," Mustaf clarifies. "Our Roblox page still says beta because of a Roblox bug that currently prevents us from changing the description. That said, the game is always evolving. We still have many new places, features, and improvements we want to add. Riyadh itself is constantly growing, and we want Kingdom World to keep growing alongside it."

Having surpassed the milestone of 100 million visits, the development team has been particularly gratified by the game’s reception outside the core MENA region. International players have embraced the Saudi-inspired setting, proving that cultural specificity can thrive on a global scale.

"Reaching 100 million visits is something we’re extremely proud of, especially seeing players from outside the MENA region enjoying Kingdom World and experiencing a Saudi-inspired world," Mustaf notes. "At this stage, success isn’t just about getting more visits. We want to keep improving the quality of the game, build a strong community, and introduce more international players to Saudi culture in a fun and natural way. If someone from the other side of the world can play Kingdom World, enjoy it, and learn something about Saudi Arabia along the way, that’s a success for us."

A Self-Sustaining Economy Without External Funding

Unlike many modern game studios that rely heavily on venture capital, publisher funding, or equity rounds, MJ Studios has charted an independent financial course. The studio achieved meaningful income as soon as its early titles established a consistent, active player base. Today, the vast majority of operational revenue stems directly from the Roblox developer economy and in-house microtransactions.

"We started generating meaningful income after our games began building a consistent player base," Mustaf explains. "Today, the majority of our revenue comes directly through Roblox and in-game purchases. Even on slower days with no updates, we generate around 150,000 Robux, equivalent to roughly $525, per day."

By choosing to reinvest these earnings straight back into ongoing development, fresh content updates, and team expansion, the studio has avoided outside debt or equity dilution. "We haven’t really depended on outside funding to grow the studio," Mustaf adds. "Most of what we’ve built has been supported by the games themselves… For me, that’s one of the biggest advantages Roblox gave us—we were able to turn something that started as a hobby into a self-sustaining studio."

Maintaining Privacy and Navigating Regional Challenges

Despite managing one of the most successful Arabic Roblox experiences in the world, the team behind MJ Studios maintains a deliberately low public profile. The founder remains anonymous, and very little biographical information about the broader development team is publicly accessible online. According to Mustaf, this anonymity is a deliberate choice designed to keep the focus squarely on the product.

"We’ve always preferred to let our games speak for us," Mustaf says. "I never really wanted to make myself the face of MJ Studios or build a personal following around it. For me, the focus has always been on what we create and the community around our games. Keeping the team relatively private also allows us to work comfortably without too much attention on our personal lives. We’re still very connected to our players, but we want people to know MJ Studios because of the experiences we build, not necessarily because of the people behind them."

Operating from Saudi Arabia while targeting the broader MENA audience presents its own distinct set of industry advantages and hurdles. The massive size of the regional Roblox player base provides an instant audience, and the team’s native familiarity with local culture gives them an instinctive understanding of what resonates with Arab gamers. However, cultural preferences within the region can sometimes create creative boundaries.

"One of the biggest opportunities is that the MENA Roblox community is huge, and being from Saudi Arabia helps us understand the culture, trends, and what Arab players actually enjoy," Mustaf observes. "One challenge we’ve noticed is that a large part of the Arab Roblox community is heavily focused on one type of game: roleplaying. That can make it harder to introduce completely different genres and convince players to try something new. At the same time, we see that as an opportunity to experiment and eventually bring more variety to the Arabic Roblox community, and also there haven’t always been enough high-quality experiences made specifically for Arab players."

Looking Ahead

As MJ Studios looks toward the future, the team remains open to the possibility of platform expansion, though they feel no immediate pressure to abandon their roots. While transitioning Kingdom World or future projects to standalone PC, mobile, or console platforms is a logical possibility, the studio is entirely content with its current digital home.

"We definitely agree with expanding into PC, mobile, or console in the future, and it’s something we would support and be open to," Mustaf concludes. "At the same time, I don’t see staying primarily on Roblox as a problem. For us, Roblox is comfortable—we understand the platform, the community, and how to build successful experiences there. I also don’t think being a successful game company has to mean leaving Roblox. If we’re building games that millions of people enjoy, growing a strong team, and creating experiences we’re proud of, then I already see that as success. If the right opportunity comes to expand beyond Roblox, we’d be happy to take it."