When Royelles CEO Múkami Kinoti Kimotho saw her children shift their focus from toys to mobile devices, she was determined to make their online experiences positive. To provide her 11-year-old daughter and other young girls with a safe and mentally healthy mobile game experience, Kimotho launched the Royelles app. The app is currently available on the App Store and Google Play.
“It became my mission to leverage gaming, and more specifically educational gaming that is inclusive and safe, as a means of dismantling the erroneous mindsets our kids have and tackling the issues that parents, educators, and champions of all our girls, in particular, were struggling and grappling with,” Kimotho told GamesIndustry.biz.
While Royelles is advertised as a metaverse app, it does not currently support multiplayer functionality. However, multiplayer and other features will be added within a year. Via Zoom, Royelles has hosted live experiences in which young gamers and their parents or guardians interact with female and non-binary identifying role models such as astronauts or activists.
“Success is as simple as the child who engages with our platform recognizing how powerful they are and taking a bold, fearless, undaunted approach to being the best they can be and realizing their potential,” said Kimotho.
Meet Princess Mara
The app’s narrative revolves around Princess Mara, who dreams of being the first person to land on Mars, while her mother wants her to be the first woman to lead their country’s peacekeepers. Mara leads players through activities based on her interests. Royelles is free with plans to add in-app purchases in the future.
“The entire narrative is built around the idea that big dreams require courage and boldness and bravery,” said Kimotho. “And anchoring yourself in authenticity and the idea that those qualities and characteristics that set you apart as different and unique are superpowers.”
Since Royelle’s target demographic is so young, the app is being marketed toward parents. While the app was designed with empowering girls in mind, Kimotho stated that it welcomes those who don’t identify as female as well.
The Future is Female
“I really feel like the future of the metaverse is female,” Kimotho told GamesIndustry.biz and the CEO isn’t the only one with this outlook. McLaren Sports is encouraging females to become esports racers, and Dorian, a women-first game streaming platform, raised $14 million earlier this year. Even Rockstar Games is becoming more pro-female, with its upcoming title GTA VI slated to be the first in the series to feature a female protagonist.
Search for Royelles on your App Store, or find out more at www.royelles.app.
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
