Hypemasters is opening a new development centre
in Abu Dhabi, UAE
November 9, 2022
By Boris Kalmykov, CEO & Co-Founder of Hypemasters. Now, also the GM of the Abu Dhabi studio.
I am excited to announce that we are setting up our new development center on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE!
From our origins in 2019, we have been a remote studio. It wasn’t really our choice: we grew from a team of 5 to almost 40 through the pandemic. It had its perks. For example, we never limited ourselves to hiring people in one location and it has dramatically increased our opportunity to build the best team. Also, it boosted our operational efficiency. We all had to communicate through task trackers, chats and calls in a clear and transparent matter for things to work. No more of, “I came to his desk and asked him to do this”, bypassing processes.
On the other hand, we’ve been noticing the incredible effects of gathering together. That’s when a lot of bonding, planning & bouncing ideas could happen. The creative and the magical part.
By Q2 2022 we have become a studio of almost 40 people, living in 10+ countries (from the UK, Portugal, Lithuania, Turkey, Georgia, South Korea etc.). Gathering everyone is one place has become pretty tough.
Hence, we’ve decided that we needed a new home for the team. A place where we could create games, live and have fun together!
Partnership with AD Gaming & TwoFour54
We have gone though a lot of thinking before settling on Abu Dhabi. Why not bring everyone to the US, UK, Portugal or Turkey? However, none of the locations in question could satisfy our needs.
The “aha!” moment came in summer 2022. Our investors, GEM Capital, introduced us to the AD Gaming crew. They sold us to the idea of moving to Abu Dhabi.
Below are our top-3 reasons for choosing Abu Dhabi.
Support
AD Gaming & TwoFour54 offer incredible packages for gaming studios relocating into Abu Dhabi. From free Unity licenses to providing salary incentives, they try to help with everything that you need to operate. Take into account the 0% income tax, Abu Dhabi becomes unbeatable. The level of support goes beyond of what UK, Canada and other countries have to offer.
Community
Incentives are great, but without the community it would be hard to build something long-lasting. AD Gaming & TwoFour54 are putting a lot of effort into creating a lively community. There are gaming events and conferences happening every month. The moment you step into the ADGaming Hub, you get introduced to literally everyone! I’ve met people from the UAE, Italy, the UK, Germany, Russia, South Korea and so many more countries. The feeling of community is already there and what’s cool about it is that everyone is trying to help each other with whatever needed - business setup, finding school for kids, UA, funding and so much more. Everyone is motivated and curious!
High growth environment
All of the above is happing in a high-growth environment. In 1960, the population of Abu Dhabi was less than 20,000 people - a desert landscape with very little infrastructure. In 2022, there are more than 1.5 milion people from 100+ nationalities and the city booming with infrastructure, services & top-notch entertainment. All industries thriving in the UAE from Real Estate Construction to Web3. It gives you a surreal feeling that you are at the centre of action, where moving fast & doing great things is the default modus operandi.
It’s been 1 month since my family has moved to Abu Dhabi. Hypemasters has 4 people in Abu Dhabi now and I can’t wait to see more of us here!
Check out the official press release from AD Gaming: