TopTop: Newborn Town’s Game-Social App Competing with Yalla in the Middle East

1. The Phenomenon

Yalla has been the leader in the Middle East board-and-card game social market for many years. Its Yalla Ludo is almost synonymous with Middle East board-and-card gaming.

But starting in 2025, things changed. Sensor Tower data shows that TopTop, under Newborn Town, ranked No. 6 on the Middle East social networking revenue chart, with revenue growth exceeding 70%. This company is directly competing with Yalla for territory.

More notably, Newborn Town has two products in the top 10 of Sensor Tower’s Middle East social revenue chart: SUGO at No. 5 and TopTop at No. 6. This is not a coincidence. Newborn Town’s “two-front battle” strategy in the Middle East is working.

2. Product Check

TopTop’s product logic is simple: board/card games + voice chat. Users enter TopTop and can play popular Middle Eastern games such as Ludo and Domino. During the game, users can voice chat, playing while socializing.

This model is especially popular in the Middle East. Because offline social scenarios are limited, online board games plus voice chat become a young person’s “online cafe.” Users are not there to find dates, but to find someone to play and chat with.

TopTop and Yalla Ludo are almost identical in model. The difference is that Yalla Ludo is the pioneer, while TopTop is the challenger.

In Newborn Town’s product matrix, TopTop is a growth-stage product, complementing Mico, which is more mature. In 2025, TopTop’s revenue grew more than 70%, becoming one of Newborn Town’s two fastest-growing products alongside SUGO.

3. The Company Behind It

TopTop is developed and operated by Newborn Town (09911.HK). In 2025, Newborn Town’s total revenue was RMB 6.89 billion (+35.3%), social business revenue was RMB 6.14 billion (+32.9%), and net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 930 million (+95%).

TopTop’s strategic meaning is to establish a competitive foothold in Yalla Group’s core territory: board-and-card game social. Newborn Town uses SUGO to compete for Yalla’s voice-social users and TopTop to compete for Yalla Ludo’s board-and-card game users, forming a “two-front pincer” competitive posture.

Yalla Group (NYSE: YALA) is the largest social gaming company in MENA, with 2025 revenue of $342 million and 48 million MAU. Yalla has operated in the Middle East for nearly 10 years and has very strong brand mindshare. For TopTop to shake this position, product alone is not enough. It also needs continuous capital investment and operational patience. Newborn Town has both: it is a Hong Kong-listed company with nearly RMB 7 billion in annual revenue.

4. Game Analysis

Strengths:

• Strong growth (+70%+), currently in a fast catch-up stage.
• Backed by Newborn Town as a listed company, with sufficient capital and resources.
• Forms product synergy with SUGO.

Weaknesses:

• Market share is still far behind Yalla Ludo.
• User acquisition costs in the board-and-card game social track may rise.

Opportunities:

• The Middle East board-and-card game social market is still growing.
• AI technology, especially the Boomiix engine, can improve recommendation and matching efficiency.

Threats:

• Yalla Group will not easily give up market share and may start a price war.
• Geopolitical and regulatory risks in the Middle East.

5. Operating Review

TopTop’s promotion strategy focuses on refined paid acquisition in the Middle East. Meta ads target core markets such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with Arabic creative optimized for local users.

In promotion strategy, it works together with SUGO. The two products share Newborn Town’s media-buying budget and ad team, forming brand synergy in the Middle East market. Cross-promotion inside the product matrix helps reduce customer acquisition cost.

Newborn Town uses the money earned by mature products such as Mico to support the rapid growth of SUGO and TopTop. This “use war to feed war” strategy has been effective in the Middle East market.

6. User Feedback and Industry Judgment

Industry judgment: the competition between TopTop and Yalla Ludo is essentially a battle between first-mover advantage and latecomer speed. Yalla has brand and user base (48 million MAU). TopTop has growth speed and AI technology. The outcome is not settled, but TopTop’s growth trend (+70%+) shows that variables may appear in this race.

Looking at the Middle East board-and-card game social track, this market is far from saturated. A young population, many offline social restrictions, and strong per-capita payment ability combine to make board-and-card game social a long-term track in the Middle East. Whoever can continue investing and iterate quickly in this track may eventually win.

TopTop’s battle with Yalla in the Middle East is not over yet. But Newborn Town has more ammunition than Yalla. Its buff is the parent company’s annual revenue of more than RMB 6 billion and the support of AI technology.