BBC reports that Muhammad Thaqif was working on his game at an internet cafe, but it was deleted by staff who thought it was a virus.

Thaqif, who didn't have his own computer at home, planned to sell his game for 1 Malaysian ringgit, about R3.50.

Youth and Sport Minister Syed Saddiq said on Twitter his determination was "brilliant" and that there needed to be more young people like him.

The shop's staff later managed to recover the game.

Saddiq posted a follow-up a few days later that he had had meeting with Malaysia's "youngest game developer".

Thaqif had in September posted in a Facebook group called PC Gaming Community Malaysia, saying that he was working on a first-person zombie shooter game he wanted to sell for just RM1.

In October, he posted again saying that the game had been deleted.

"I've spent close to a year on this game," he said on Facebook, asking whether anyone had suggestions for laptops that were priced under RM350 ($84; £65).

His plight won both sympathy and praise from social media users. One tweet detailing his situation on Twitter gaining more than 10,000 retweets.

Thaqif began receiving donations and was eventually given his own computer by an imam.

The gaming industry is fast-growing in Malaysia, with the country set to host a prestigious gaming competition - the DOTA2 Major - later this month.

It will be the first DOTA major tournament to take place in South East Asia.

BBC