SPARQ, the groundbreaking AI-native game engine and creator platform, has officially announced its relocation to Innovation City, the world’s first free zone powered by artificial intelligence and designed for innovators.

The move reinforces Ras Al Khaimah’s ambition to become the global home for gaming, creators, and frontier technology – and marks a major milestone for the region’s rapidly expanding gaming ecosystem.

Built by industry veterans with decades of experience developing games, engines, and online worlds, SPARQ is reimagining what game creation can be. Their mission is simple: make creation frictionless. Their technology allows creators to build and ship games 10–100x faster than legacy engines by removing complexity and empowering imagination through full AI-assisted development.

“SPARQ isn’t just building a game engine – they’re building a movement,” said Paul Dawalibi, CEO of Innovation City. “They represent exactly the kind of ambitious, world-changing company we created Innovation City for. Their arrival signals to the entire global gaming industry that Ras Al Khaimah is where the future will be built.”

Related: Powered By Startup Culture: Paul Dawalibi, CEO of Innovation City, On “Creating a Home for People Who Dare to Build the Impossible.”

A Game Engine Reborn Through AI

SPARQ’s platform eliminates traditional bottlenecks – from complex code to rigid pipelines – replacing them with an intuitive interface, AI-driven code generation, and dynamic creation tools that let anyone turn ideas into interactive worlds instantly.

“We’ve lived the pain of building games the old way,” said Christopher Pail, Founder and CEO of SPARQ. “Some of our games took off, others didn’t – often because the tools got in the way. SPARQ is our answer to that problem. Game creation should be joyful, fast, and limitless. AI makes that possible.”

With SPARQ, a new generation of creators – designers, storytellers, streamers, filmmakers, and digital artists – can build sophisticated interactive experiences without needing deep technical expertise. The platform merges gaming and content creation into one creative frontier.

Why Ras Al Khaimah and Innovation City?

After building companies across Europe and other global markets, SPARQ’s founders knew the frustration of navigating fragmented regulatory landscapes – especially in the fast-evolving worlds of gaming and artificial intelligence. Ras Al Khaimah offered something radically different: clarity, speed, and a government aligned with innovation.

“In Ras Al Khaimah, we’ve found a home that matches our ambition,” said Christoffer Wilhelmsen, co-founder of SPARQ. “A place that doesn’t slow innovation – it accelerates it. Innovation City understands creators and builders. It moves at our speed.”

Beyond policy, the team emphasized the region’s inspiration-rich environment: striking natural landscapes, a global outlook, and a rising community of pioneers pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

A Long-Term Commitment to Build the Future in Ras Al Khaimah

SPARQ has already committed significant investment to relocating its team to Ras Al Khaimah and plans to bring top-tier global engineering and creative talent into the Emirate over the coming years.

Following the launch of their AI-native engine and platform, SPARQ will establish the SPARQ Creators Centre in Ras Al Khaimah – an AI-enabled studio hub where the world’s top creators can build breakthrough titles directly from the Emirates. Discussions with partners are already underway to scale this initiative and support the region’s emergence as a global nexus for creative and technical excellence.

“For us, this is a long-term commitment – technology, talent, and the worlds that will be built here,” Christopher added. “We’re not just moving to Ras Al Khaimah. We’re building the future of creation in Ras Al Khaimah.”

A Signal to Gaming Studios Everywhere

SPARQ’s move is a powerful endorsement of Innovation City’s vision: a free zone that feels like a startup, operates at founder speed, and supports companies shaping the next era of gaming, AI, and digital creativity.

As more pioneers choose Innovation City, the momentum grows – and early movers gain outsized advantages from community, collaboration, and proximity to the world’s newest creative supercluster.