Dubai's game developers set to go global

Games developers in Dubai are set to tap the immense potential of the worldwide market. The gaming market in the Middle East and Europe alone is expected to be worth $15.4 billion (Dh56.57bn) by 2011 and is expanding at a compound annual rate of 10.2 per cent from $11.2bn last year, says electronic sports company Turtle Entertainment.

Vertex Studios, based in Dubai Studio city, is developing a next-generation game called Timeless for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

"The game will be completed within a year-and-a-half," said Technical Manager Ahmad Jadallah. "It is based on time travel where you can control a local character who goes back into time and into the future. There are multiple characters and environments.

"Timeless is being fully developed in Dubai and will be available in English and Arabic. Development is 20 per cent complete."

Vertex was funded a year ago by private investors and employs 18 people. Besides Timeless, the company is also involved in animation and virtual reality.

Staff recruited locally are working on the game and Vertex is considering hiring talent from Canada, Northern Europe, East Asia and Arab countries.

The company is looking for a publisher to make the game available worldwide.

"Our aim is to produce games with a global reach as we are not merely looking at the local market," added Jadallah.

Local competition does not bother him as he says other companies are focused on different fields such as mobile and online games.

"The others are different from us as Timeless is for consoles and PCs."

Piracy is a major issue for the industry and is also a matter of concern for Vertex.

"As this game will be made available on a worldwide level we will work closely with publishers to combat piracy."

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