Watch: The team behind Malta’s first multiplayer VR game

A team of young developers is doing what once “felt impossible”: building what they say is Malta’s first locally developed, free-to-play multiplayer Virtual Reality (VR) game.

Ryan Camilleri, 25, has turned his hobby into a business by founding Midow Studios, a video game studio which has released its flagship game, Discovery of Magic.

“So many podcasts, videos and people will tell you that to receive funding at a very young age with no real published titles is almost impossible but we made it possible,” he said.

Camilleri graduated with a degree in artificial intelligence in 2021.

“The industry back then was almost non-existent,” he said. “Unlike today, there were barely any studios operating locally. So, for me to find a job in the gaming industry, it was nearly impossible.”

By “gaming industry”, Camilleri means video game development, as opposed to Malta’s more established iGaming industry, which relates to betting and gambling platforms.

With limited prospects at home, Camilleri moved abroad to gain industry experience. In 2023, he returned and launched Midow Studios.

I felt like I could have cried,” he said of the launch. There’s so much pride seeing what you’ve built and the ideas that you came up with coming to life. It’s a feeling I can’t really describe honestly. It’s just insane- Midow Studios founder Ryan Camilleri

“In 2024, we received funding, and we were valued at €5 million at pre-seed, so that’s a pretty big achievement,” Camilleri said.

In the game, players compete in fast-paced magical duels. The winner is the first to reduce their opponent’s life to zero.

The game draws inspiration from the Harry Potter universe, a franchise Camilleri has loved since childhood.

“The players in our world are wizards casting spells against each other as if they are Harry Potter. And the hook of our game is that the power of the spells scales based on how well you do certain movements in the real world,” he explained.

Although inspired by Harry Potter, Camilleri stressed that Discovery of Magic is not based on any existing franchise and that the team has created its own original intellectual property.

Since securing investment, Midow Studios has grown to employ five full-time staff members, all of whom are in their 20s. The team is based at Basecamp, the GamingMalta incubator in Żejtun.

Game designer Aaron Zarb was drawn to the project early on and began volunteering his time before officially joining the team. “From the first day that I met Ryan, he was telling me about the project and I was immediately enchanted with what was being done and knew I wanted to pitch in,” he said.

Local market still 'niche' and 'primitive'

The team described the local VR and game development market as still “niche,” noting frequent confusion between the gaming and gambling sectors in Malta.

“There is some confusion like that locally but it is probably because it is still early days for the industry,” Camilleri said.

As the domestic market matures, Midow Studios continues to look abroad for investment. The team says it is currently exploring investment opportunities with a major tech company in the United States and another in China.

While still in development, Discovery of Magic is expected to launch at the end of next year or early 2027. This August, the team made its international debut at Gamescom in Cologne, one of the world’s biggest gaming conventions.

Locally, the game will be showcased at Playcon, Malta’s video game expo, from October 9 to 12. Visitors will be able to try a test version and take part in spell-casting battles.

The game draws inspiration from the Harry Potter universe, a franchise Camilleri has loved since childhood.

Just launched page on Steam

Discovery of Magic has also just launched its page on Steam, the world’s largest digital game distribution platform.

“I felt like I could have cried,” he said of the launch. “There’s so much pride seeing what you’ve built and the ideas that you came up with coming to life. It’s a feeling I can’t really describe honestly. It’s just insane.”

The game is currently only available to add to user wishlists ahead of its official release. Despite having over a year of development to go, the team, which includes game artist Mary

Goncharov, 3D artist Jose Dominguez and community and content manager Michael Whelan, remains enthusiastic about the future of their game and the Maltese video game industry.