Start Up of the Month: When people think of the video gaming industry, they don’t usually think of Palestine. But one start up in Ramallah wants to change that.

PinchPoint, the first venture-capital-invested company in the West Bank, made its debut into the world of mobile gaming with Spermania – an Android game that has captured headlines and raised a few eyebrows. Appropriately released on Father’s Day, Spermania answers a question most mobile users have probably never thought to ask: what would it be like to be one of 300,000 sperm racing and competing for, as the game’s witty YouTube trailer quips, “the prize of a lifetime.”

But beyond cartoonish fallopian tubes, PinchPoint’s CEO Khaled Abu Al Kheir has big aspirations for his company. Five months ago, the PinchPoint team consisted of the four co-founders. Today, a team of 10 work out of its Ramallah headquarters, and in an interview with StepFeed, Kheir said he hoped to take on another five or six by the end of 2015.

“In the long term, in three years or maybe two and a half, we have in mind to become more of a publisher than just a game developer…we might start helping other game developers in the region publish their games.”

Kheir’s optimism for the future of PinchPoint pairs nicely with an enthusiasm for the start up’s newest game, Al Mamlaka.

“[It is] basically a casino game for the MENA region," says Al Mamlaka, who draws from traditional Middle Eastern card games. “We add a layer of virtual gambling,” explains Kheir. “We have Trix, which is famous in the Levant region, and Bloot, which is famous in the Gulf region.”

So does Al Mamlaka, a game produced in Arabic, point to a shift in PinchPoint’s focus towards the MENA region?

“We try not to think of it this way. The main asset we have is being innovative in game ideas, so… we’re going to try any idea that we come with and then we’ll find which market fits.” Despite occasional pressure from investors to narrow the focus, Kheir doesn’t believe that time has come yet. “If we become strong in one market then we might decide ‘OK, this is the market we want to focus on.’”

According to Kheir, it was clear from the beginning that PinchPoint would gear Spermania towards the western market. However, getting the game to the market turned out to be a challenge. Particularly because the Apple Store rejected the app due to its content.

“We tried four times, they rejected it four times, and on the fourth time they actually called my cell phone in Palestine, telling me to stop submitting the game and that there is no way they would post the game on their app store.”

Although disappointed and a little surprised – believe it or not, there are over 20 sperm-related games currently on the App Store – the setback has not discouraged the PinchPoint team. Instead, they’re choosing to focus on Al Mamlaka’s major release set for next week. The live, multiplayer game will be available on Apple, Android, and Facebook platforms.

Kheir freely admits that hitherto the gaming industry simply doesn’t exist in Palestine. But he doesn’t believe that being based in Palestine hampers their ability to compete on the world market.

“In the end, I don’t think there is a limitation from where you are, especially in this industry,” says Kheir. “The fact that we have lower pay rates than other companies, especially in Europe and the United States, gives us more opportunities to turn out more games with the same budget.”

There is no doubt that transforming the West Bank into a development hub for video gaming is somewhat of a gamble. But in Kheir’s own words, when speaking about Al Memlaka, “Gambling seems to work in the Middle East.”

We’ll see if PinchPoint is a bet that pays off.

Want to play Al Mamlaka yourself? Download the app for Android at the Google Play Store or on Facebook .

Have a favorite start up? Nominate them at #StepFeedSU.