South Sudanese game developer, Lual Mayen has been doing the press rounds to talk about his journey from a refugee to the head of his own game studio ahead of the launch of his first game – Salaam.

Lual rose to global prominence at the The Game Awards where he was showcased as a Global Gaming Citizen. Speaking to the New York Post, Lual recalled the challenges he had faced.

“A lot of people don’t understand the journey of a refugee,” said Mayen, 25, who and spent his first 22 years in a refugee camp in northern Uganda before moving to the United States.

“It was a journey of life and death,” he said, recalling family stories about bomb attacks, wild animals and how babies were abandoned by parents who could no longer care for them.

Under the umbrella of his studio, Junub Games, Salaam will be flown under the Facebook Gaming banner and is scheduled for release in the summer of 2020. Furthermore, Lual has stated that all proceeds generated from in-game micro-transactions will be reinvested into bettering the lives of refugees.