PlayStation Arabia · FY26 Q2 brand campaign
It Happenson PS5.
Sony's global platform, translated for the region through eight Playmakers, one cinematic film, a studio shoot in Dubai and an owned-channel rollout built to make the roster feel like a cast. I was creative lead on the shoot, came up with the social content around the film (the poster reveal, Cast Chairs, Absolute Cinema, the Aburob blooper reel and the Playmakers interview), produced the wrap-up film and shot the behind-the-scenes stills.
- Client
- Sony Interactive Entertainment MEA, via ITP Gaming
- Shoot
- Dubai studio, 20 July 2026
- Live
- 18 August to 4 September 2026
- Playmakers
- Ossy Marwah, Noor Stars, Banderita, Ibrahim Al Hajjaj, Xzit Thamer, Beki Ksri, Pisty, Aburob
- My role
- Creative lead on the shoot; concept and production of the owned-channel content; wrap-up film producer; behind-the-scenes photography; Wolverine owned-channel content through the launch year.
- Playmakers
- We manage the roster regionally. When a campaign or event brings them together, I come up with the content pieces that support it.
01 · Brief and response
Cultural translations,one continuous film.
The global brief offered two routes: Cultural Translations (gameplay moments reimagined through lifestyle lenses) and IRL Reactions. The regional response was a single collaborative film: each Playmaker filmed separately in a controlled studio, then connected with matched camera moves and recurring motifs so it reads as one production across markets.
- Ossy Marwah007 First Light
- Noor StarsMarvel's Wolverine
- Beki KsriGhost of Yōtei
- BanderitaFortnite
- Xzit ThamerGran Turismo 7
- AburobSaros
- PistyAstro Bot
- Ibrahim Al HajjajPS5 exclusives, as the campaign's Director
Each Playmaker owned one title. Ibrahim Al Hajjaj joined the roster for this campaign as the Director figure who ties the film together.
02 · The shoot
One day, eight sets,a green portal.
Creative lead on set: the portal rig, the blue garage, the dressing-room mirror and the Director's desk were built so each Playmaker's world could cut into gameplay. I shot every behind-the-scenes frame myself between set-ups.
03 · The social content I came up with
Tease the cast,then reveal it.
Seven hero pieces and nine reveal Stories in eighteen days, all original to the regional channel. I pitched each one, built it and published it: the owned channels did 3.42M views and 47,149 interactions, up 568% and 358% on the previous year's brand campaign. The global launch video was the one asset that came from the toolkit.
- 18 Aug
Global launch video (global)
Video, cross-posted to Facebook and X. The campaign's only cross-platform asset. 100 replies on X.
55,200 views · 1,421 eng. · 2.57%
- 28 Aug
Cast Chairs
Carousel. Eight director's chairs, one name each, the day before the poster.
242,128 views · 5,142 eng. · 2.12%
- 28 Aug – 3 Sep
Playmaker reveal Stories
Nine Stories. The Lineup. Ibrahim Al Hajjaj's two Stories led on views (23,364).
121,045 views · 2,620 eng. · 2.16%
- 29 Aug
Poster reveal
Static. The whole cast together. The biggest owned post of the year.
1,821,661 views · 9,442 eng. · 0.52%
- 2 Sep
Aburob BTS fails
Reel. Blooper reel from the portal set, cut from my own behind-the-scenes footage.
246,679 views · 5,406 eng. · 2.19%
- 4 Sep
Absolute Cinema
Carousel. The week's trend, shot with the cast on our own set. 920,598 views and 14,600 interactions by month end (September wins deck).
852,600 views · 20,220 eng. · 2.37%
- 4 Sep
Playmakers social interview
Reel. Smallest reach of the hero pieces, best conversion.
83,627 views · 2,898 eng. · 3.47%
Source: PlayStation Arabia owned-channel wrap-up report, September 2026. Engagement rate is interactions over views on the report's basis.
Poster reveal · 29 August · 1.82M views
Cast Chairs · 28 August
Eight director's chairs under one light, a name on each. Built the day before the poster so the reveal had somewhere to land.
Absolute Cinema · 4 September
The trend of that week, shot with the cast on our own set while they were in the building. 852,600 views and 2.37% at the wrap report; 920,598 views and 14,600 interactions by month end. The September wins deck calls it the proof that trend-led content with the Playmakers is worth planning for.
The sentiment pass on the Playmaker-tagged comments ran 57% positive and was mostly about the creators themselves, which is what a cast reveal should do. The negative share was largely unrelated platform discussion, which the report separated out rather than hid.
04 · Marvel's Wolverine
A launch year,on owned channels.
Wolverine ran through the whole of 2026 on PlayStation Arabia: announcement, localisation news, State of Play beats, the It Happens on PS5 integration, the limited edition hardware, launch day and the post-launch combat reels. Sixty-one pieces, 2.16M views, 61.7K engagements, 3.12% engagement rate across the year.
Noor Stars x Wolverine, the Cultural Translation
Noor's everyday beauty routine, an unfamiliar pendant shaped like three curved claws, a rush of power as she fastens it, and a hard cut into Wolverine gameplay. Written as a scene-by-scene script with no dialogue so it travelled across markets. Ossy Marwah's version followed the same logic with claw marks appearing through his pre-training routine.
Wolverine Happens on PS5: the container series that tied the title into the campaign platform.
Launch carousel with the Arabic logo lockup.
Press X thumbnails for the episode with Wolverine's Arabic voice actor, filmed in Egypt; Strapped In; and the claw-mark teaser.
My role
- Creative lead on the regional shoot
- Concept and production of the owned-channel content: poster reveal, Cast Chairs, Lineup Stories, Absolute Cinema, Aburob BTS fails, Playmakers social interview
- Campaign wrap-up film
- Behind-the-scenes photography
- Wolverine owned-channel content through the launch year
- Playmaker support: scripts and talking points (Noor Stars, Ossy Marwah, Aburob) with the account team; content around their events
- Monthly and campaign reporting
With
- ITP Gaming account leads (client submission and Playmaker management)
- Director and production crew on the film
- ITP Gaming motion designer and VFX
- Sony Interactive Entertainment MEA regional team (brief, assets, approvals)
Playmaker fees, cost-per-view data and the campaign budget are not shown. Global toolkit assets appear only as cropped frames within the regional work.
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