In association with: REGION FOCUS: UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST | BETA
opportunities here, both for investors locally and globally.” Furthermore, in the United Arab Emirates,
developers almost without fail speak warmly of the support they receive from trade bodies. The authorities realise the potential the industry has to bring more money into the area, and provide a wealth of support for international companies looking to establish themselves in the region. And unsurprisingly, it is again TwoFour54 that is setting the standard in supporting and facilitating investment from overseas. “The Government of Abu Dubai, through
TwoFour54, is looking to develop many different industries here, including an international media hub,” asserts Theler.
The other thing that helped us was the
revolutions in the region, that made many people join Facebook and
see what the tool is. Mohamed Sanad, Nezal
“They are putting a lot of energy, expertise
and effort into this. They are a huge help to companies thinking of coming here to make use of the potential here. They helped Ubisoft a lot with finding a location and sorting out visas. We are very well supported, and very well welcomed. There is so much enthusiasm from people here; from small companies and then people like Sony. There is excitement and people are motivated. It’s been a very positive surprise.” And in an incredible twist, even the inspiring, often distressing events of the 2011 Arab Spring have helped games developers. While the global games industry pales in comparison to the significance of the events that toppled dictators throughout last year, there has still been a positive impact on the fortunes of the area’s up-and-coming developers. “I think Facebook’s decision to add Arabic language boosted the social games market as the Arabic users are increasing steadily,” says Nezal’s Sanad, before delivering an insight that is quite remarkable. “The other thing that helped us was the revolutions in the region, that made many people join Facebook and see what the tool is that helped people in revolution.” Civil uprisings, it turns out, can also offer a
way for consumers to discover new gaming platforms, and the Middle East is a place where that has already happened. And with money, enthusiasm and a huge market fuelling the booming Middle Eastern sector, things look set to keep getting better.
DEVELOP LIKE AN EGYPTIAN
While Abu Dhabi is the undisputed king of Middle Eastern and North African games development hot spots, other hubs are springing up in the least obvious of places, and serve a growing audience. Mohamed Sanad is marketing executive
at Egyptian studio Nezal, and he has been telling Develop why the region has emerged as one of the world’s most fascinating games development destinations currently active.
What makes the Middle East a great place to make games? I believe that Middle East and North Africa market is a blue ocean, but it is largely underserved when it comes to original gaming content developed specifically for it, as almost all games are translated into Arabic from famous games in the US or EU. There are not many games that use the regions cultural elements that make the player feel at home. The market has shown great capacity and is growing steadily.
What are the challenges faced as a developer in the Middle East? The main challenge is to find and attract the required talent. The other challenge we faced was the market data and statistics. There is very few, if any, information about the social gaming market in the Middle East.
What are the area’s key strengths? Basically, the lower salaries in Egypt compared to other places like the US or Europe make the development costs much lower.
Are their good quality educational establishments relevant to games development in Egypt? Not at all. There is not a single place in Egypt to teach you game level design or sound engineering; you need to learn this by yourself or pay tons of money to join an institution in Europe or America, if you are interested in such field. It is also hard to find a good animation studio to teach you game animation. Most of our employees in these areas specifically are people who have passion and went a very long way to get the required knowledge by themselves.
What advice would you give to a young developer considering setting up a studio in the Middle East? My advice would be to not copycat other global games and try to come up with ideas that fit the cultural elements of the region. Another piece of advice is to work hard to find the good talent that fit in with games development. You have to be a gamer. It will be easier if your employees are gamers.
While the UAE remains the region’s development hotspot, other areas in the Middle East and North Africa house blossoming development hubs, such as Egypt, where studio Nelaz employs Mohamed Sanad (left)
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