How Much Does It Cost To Develop A Game In Dubai

The video game industry is a rapidly growing sector that has seen an increase in the number of games being developed and released. The increasing demand for game developers and the requirement for a large investment to start developing a game has increased the price of video game development.

As the gaming industry is changing & new trends are emerging, it is difficult to keep up with the current market. That’s why you need to know what types of factors influence the game development cost and how you can get the most out of your money. 

The cost of developing a game may vary depending on the game type,  its functionality, and the size of the development team. Also, one of the major factors behind Dubai game development costs is the platform the game needs to align with. Developing games for various platforms like- mobile and web can increase the price range.

The development process of games is quite expensive. The cost mainly depends on the game's type and size.  Finding the right team to work on your project is difficult. Many factors affect the cost of game development. The article will explain how much it costs to develop a game in Dubai and what factors affect the price.

9 Factors That Determine The Game Development Cost 

The Complexity & The Length Of Gameplay

The type and complexity of the game is one factor that determines how much a game will cost to develop. The complexity of a game is all about its gameplay, story, and graphics. A game developer can create a game with different levels of complexity that will cost more or less depending on the difficulty level. A complex game with more features, functionality &levels will cost you more to develop than a simpler one. For example, a simple 2D platformer will be cheaper than a 3D open-world RPG. Given the available resources, you should be realistic about what you can achieve if you have a tight or limited budget. The length of gameplay also affects the cost because games with longer gameplay need more assets and development time.

Types Or Categories Of Game Being Developed

Depending on the project scope, there are three types of gaming categories- indie, AAA, and III. While hiring gaming, you must ensure they are compatible with all these titles. Indie games require a solo developer or a small team. Also, these are released on Steam or a similar storefront like the Nintendo e-store. On the other hand, AAA games leverage large developers teams, which means costs are much higher than indie developers. Also, AAA games require high marketing expenses, multiple gaming features & complex gameplay. III games fall between the other two game types. It’s bigger than indie games but not similar to major AAA games.

Targeted Platforms

The game development cost depends mostly on the platform the game is being developed. Different types of gaming platforms are- mobile game development, PC game development, NFT game development, console game development, AR/VR game development, and Unity 3D game development. The cost of developing a mobile game is less than that of a PC or console. This is because the hardware and software are much cheaper for mobile games. Also, if a studio wants to release a game on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, the cost will be higher than if they just want to release it on PC only because consoles have more features and specifications fulfilled.

Dev Team & Their Access To Resources

Your game development team greatly impacts the cost of your game development process. The developers' expenses may vary depending on the experience of the individual developers, their contribution to the development process & their responsibilities to the whole project. A perfect game development team consists of-

• Game Producer- Oversees all the development process from scratch to end & coordinates all the team members.
• Game Designer- Responsible for creating the main gameplay loop, levels, and functionalities.
• Game Artist- Depending on the client's requirements, creates the main UI/UX concept that aligns audience research, platform constraints & genre norms.
• Animator- Responsible for creating the real game environment, 2D/3D models & all sorts of graphical works.
• Game developer- Key responsibilities are to develop a fundamental game feature, create core algorithms, address code-related issues & quickly solve them & ensure high-quality game performance.
• Game Tester- Evaluate the quality of the game, test every feature & ensure game performance & compatibility.

Developing complex games will include high graphical work, detailed animations, usage of artificial intelligence, dynamic environments & many more. This all requires a higher budget. While you are leveraging more experienced developers, they need access to the high-quality resources that help them develop a game more efficiently than less experienced teams. Also, depending on the platform types & game complexity, team members need extra stuff, which also adds extra cost. You must carefully handle development team strength as different developers work at different speeds and have various price ranges.

Promotional Expenses

The game development cost and marketing expenses are related. The more you spend on marketing, the more you will have to spend on game development. After investing a large portion of your budget in mobile game development costs, you have to seriously consider investing in your game advertising. Even if your game is super functional & graphically attractive, you still have to focus on the smart marketing of your game. It can be digital marketing or TV advertising. The costs related to promoting a game can be different & it greatly depends on the size of the publisher. For ordinary cases, the marketing budget sums up at least 30% of the actual budget to reach the target audience and earn a profit. For example, marketing a big-budget AAA game may cost you a big marketing budget, while marketing an indie game only costs less.

PolyCount For 3D Model

Polycount plays an important role while deciding the game development cost. Polycount is a term used in the game development process to measure the number of polygons used to create a 3D model.  It is used in 3D graphics to determine the complexity and quality of an object. The higher the polycount, the more detailed and realistic the 3D model of your game elements will be.  Games with a low polycount are generally cheaper to develop than games with a high polycount. Games with a low polycount are usually 2D games that have less detail and do not require much rendering power. Games with a high polycount are usually 3D games with more detail and require more rendering power to run smoothly on modern hardware.

Software License & Hardware

Game development cost depends on Software License & Hardware, which includes the cost of tools and software license, hardware costs, and the cost of development.  Developing games like AR/VR games, Unity games, or NFT games require specialized hardware and software, which can be expensive. This cost depends on what type of software or data is required to develop the game. For example, purchasing an IP license is much more expensive than an open-source license for graphics & audio assets. Also, most of the time, developers prefer to use a paid version of the software rather than the free alternatives. You must need a huge budget for software programs Adobe Photoshop, 3D Max, Maya, Unity3D, and different types of plugins for cross-platform integration.

Rights Of Intellectual Property

Intellectual property matters the most in developing some specific game types like- NFT based-game, metaverse games, or simple AR/VR games. Game development costs can be high depending on which IP is chosen to be used in the game. The rights of intellectual property can be costly depending on how popular the elements are & the nature of the IP. The IP can be anything from a franchise, a book, a movie, a character, or even an idea. The more popular and well-known it is, the higher the game development cost will be because of licensing rights and other factors.

QA Testing

Quality assurance testing is a major factor that highly influences game development costs. QA testing is a crucial part of the game development process. It is an important step in the game development cycle that ensures the game is bug-free and ready for launch. The platform for which a game is being developed influences its cost because each platform has its own challenges. For example, a mobile game will not have as many bugs as a PC or console game because it is easier to test on mobile devices. It can be expensive if you are not careful about it and make mistakes during the QA testing phase.

Cost Of Developing A Game in Dubai, UAE

Now, we know enough about the major factors determining the cost of developing a game in Dubai. Now, proceeding to the average cost of game development in Dubai, here is an estimation of the cost for each type of game development: 

The mobile game development platform's price varies from AED 70,000 to AED 80,000. For PC game development, the price varies from AED 80,000 to AED 90,000. For NFT game development, the price varies from AED 90,000 to AED 100,000. For Console game development ( Xbox and PlayStation), the price varies from AED 130,000 to AED 150,000. For AR/VR game development, the price varies from AED 90,000 to AED 100,000. Lastly, Unity 3D game development prices vary from AED 80,000 to AED 90,000.

Why Royex Technologies?

Royex Technologies, a leading game development company in Dubai, has experience developing over 300 projects for our clients, including several Mobile games, console games, NFT games, AR/VR games, and other Solutions. So we have the expertise perfect for your requirements. We have mentioned our development cost for each platform, which of course, depends on the complexity of the application and the timeline available. If interested, feel free to call us at +971566027916 or mail us at info@royex.net, and we can send you a proposal based on your idea.