AUG. 4, 2009 • Abu Dhabi Media Company is partnering with Gazillion Entertainment to create the first MMO studio in the Middle East. The goal is for management from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to fully manage the studio within five years, and create MMO content in Arabic. Student from the UAE will be the first to be considered for employment at the studio. The first game in development will be based on the popular pan-Arab comic book anthology Majid.

Impact: There are over 340 million potential consumers in the Middle East/North Africa market.  However, this is an area with substantial internal conflict and most of the population is still far behind in terms of access to technology.  There is clearly growth potential, but also the need to localize content and also be able to understand what content is acceptable for the market.  Thus partnering with a local studio is key and a clear necessity for anyone looking to enter the Middle East.