Name of wordplay similar to a pun but where one word is made up

Question

An example would be most clear:

Let's say a company finds a new way to help people communicate. They call their company kamunik8r

Since kamunik8r is a made up word that is meant to sound like 'communicator', does that make this a pun? What is this?

Answer 1

It is a type of rebus.

The rebus principle is defined as

using existing symbols, such as pictograms, purely for their sounds regardless of their meaning, to represent new words.

Such symbols can include numerals or even letters, such as C U later (for see you later).