Mobile game studios in the UAE, and what the free zones actually give you
The United Arab Emirates has 9 mobile studios in this directory, 5 of them in Dubai, led by Yalla Group with about 850 staff. Corporate tax arrived in 2023 at 9% above AED 375,000, and qualifying free zone income is still taxed at 0%, which is the main reason studios incorporate there.
Türkiye refunds half of what a software company or game studio spends on advertising, app store commissions and hosting when it sells to customers abroad, and up to 70% when those customers are in one of twenty target markets. It is paid in cash, against invoices you have already settled. Try it with your own numbers.
01Where are the 9 studios in the United Arab Emirates?
9 in total. 5 of them are in Dubai, which have their own directories, and the 4 listed underneath are everywhere else in the United Arab Emirates.
| City | Studios | People |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai | 5 | 1,095 |
| Studio | City | Founded | People |
|---|---|---|---|
| JawakerA digital gaming company based in Abu Dhabi, UAE, established in 2011. | Abu Dhabi | 2011 | 140 |
| BLACKHUB GAMESBlackHub Games, одна из крупнейших игровых студий в России, захватывающая рынок мобильных Role Play игр. | n/a | 98 | |
| uGo gamesAn independent free-to-play game development studio with deep expertise and a close-knit team, where each employee… | Ras Al-Khaimah | 2009 | 32 |
| Jet GamesOur company Jet Games has been successfully developing mobile games on the Unity3D platform for several years. | n/a | 29 |
Headcounts are third-party estimates and companies count staff differently. Apollo company data, exported 20 August 2026
02Why do studios base themselves in the United Arab Emirates?
What brings them
- A 9% corporate rate that only applies above AED 375,000, and 0% on qualifying income inside a free zone.
- No personal income tax, which changes what a senior hire costs the company for the same take-home pay.
- Position between Europe, Asia and the MENA market, with the region's largest Arabic-speaking player base on the doorstep.
- Residency that comes with the company, which matters to founders relocating from elsewhere.
| Corporate income tax | 9% on taxable income above AED 375,000Effective for financial years beginning on or after 1 June 2023.source |
|---|---|
| Free zone treatment | 0% on qualifying income of a qualifying free zone person, 9% on income that does not qualifysource |
The Emirates sell a low rate on profit and a clean personal tax position. For a founder taking money out, that combination is hard to beat, and it is why so many holding companies sit there.
It does nothing for the spending side. A studio in Dubai buying installs pays the same media prices as everyone else and gets none of it back. Türkiye is three hours away by plane, in a compatible time zone, and pays back half to seventy percent of exactly that spend.
What Türkiye would pay back on your spending
Türkiye runs a government programme that refunds part of what a software company or game studio spends on reaching customers abroad. It covers advertising, app store and platform commissions, and hosting. The refund is paid in cash against invoices the company has already settled, so it does not depend on the company making a profit. The standard rate is 50%, and it rises to 70% when the customers being targeted are in one of the twenty countries on the Turkish Ministry of Trade's target list.
Put your own yearly figures in below. The rates and the annual caps come from the same file as our full calculator, and the total updates as you type.
03Questions we get asked
Does free zone status still give 0%?
On qualifying income, yes, subject to the conditions for a qualifying free zone person. Income that does not qualify is taxed at 9%.
Is the UAE a good base for MENA publishing?
It is the obvious one. The regional player base, the payment infrastructure and the Arabic-language talent are all there, which is what built Yalla and Jawaker.
Can a UAE company claim Turkish incentives?
Through a Turkish company that holds the contracts and pays the invoices, yes. The UAE entity keeps its own treatment.
Why a consultancy keeps a studio directory
CyberScope Solutions is an Istanbul consultancy that manages Türkiye's IT export incentive claims for software companies and game studios. We track where studios are because the question we are asked most often is who else has done this, and a list is a better answer than an assurance.
- Every figure is sourced. Each number links to the page it came from and carries the date we last checked it.
- We do the filing. Claims run through DYS, the ministry's own system, and we handle the evidence pack, the deadlines and the follow-up questions.
- You find out early if it is not for you. The first call is thirty minutes and we will say plainly if your spend pattern does not suit the programme.
Turn that number into money
Send us the rough shape of your spend. You get back what it is worth, what setting it up involves, and how fast the first claim can go in. Companies already operating here treat this as routine, and the six month window means the clock is running on invoices you have already paid.
- A reply from a person within one working day
- No mailing list, no drip sequence
- Thirty minutes, and you keep the numbers either way
Got it.
We will read it properly and reply within a working day. If you would rather get it over with now, pick a time that suits you.
Book a 30 minute call04Where these numbers come from
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/united-arab-emirates/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income checked 2026-08-20
- Apollo company data, exported 20 August 2026 checked 2026-08-20