Metaverse company in Dubai: licence and 5 activities

The metaverse survived its hype cycle and settled where it delivers value: digital twins for industry, virtual events with real tickets, digital fashion that brands sell by the thousands and holograms that fill stages. Whoever builds those experiences — the studio, the designer, the platform — needs the usual thing to charge for them from a serious base: a licensed company with an official activity that describes exactly what it does.

The Gaming/Metaverse group of the official activity list of RAK DAO / Innovation City, the Ras Al Khaimah free zone specialised in digital assets and Web3, answers with five activities — all rated low risk — that cover the metaverse’s creative economy end to end. This guide breaks them down one by one: what each allows, where the token line sits and how the whole is taxed.

The activity group: general map

The costs are additional to the free zone licence and come from the official list — like any published fee, it pays to confirm them with the authority before budgeting. With all five entries rated low risk, the group shares with the gaming one the lightest processing in the catalogue: the choice is about business model, not about the file.

The five activities, one by one

Experience design (Metaverse Experience Designer)

It covers the construction of immersive environments and experiences in the metaverse for clients — virtual events, simulations, digital twins — with the condition written into the entry itself: no token issuance. It is the group’s agency activity, the one that takes the metaverse beyond gaming — into industry, training and branding — within the free zone’s creative economy. Additional cost: AED 8,899.

Virtual fashion and NFT wearables (Virtual Fashion & NFT Wearables)

It covers the design of digital fashion and wearables for avatars and NFTs in virtual worlds, and the creation and sale of virtual goods — defined as non-financial digital collectibles. It joins creative design with Web3: the brand sells the digital garment as a collectible and utility, not as an investment. Additional cost: AED 8,899.

Interactive storytelling studio (Interactive Storytelling Studio)

It covers the creation of immersive narrative content with VR/AR and video game technology — interactive story games, virtual tours — defined as entertainment software development. It is the pure creative studio’s entry, and one of the group’s three cheapest doors in: AED 2,399 additional.

Virtual event platform (Virtual Event Platform)

It covers the construction of platforms for events, concerts and conferences in metaverse and VR environments, monetised with tickets and NFTs — expressly as non-financial services. It is the activity that extends the free zone towards tourism and virtual conferences: the platform charges for the ticket, the NFT is the ticket — not the investment product. Additional cost: AED 2,399.

Holographic production (Holographic Entertainment Production)

It covers the creation of AR hologram experiences for entertainment and events — virtual artists, augmented reality shows — as a service to venues and brands. It is the group’s spatial computing entry, aligned with Dubai’s and the UAE’s bet on innovative media. Additional cost: AED 2,399.

The limits of the group

The group’s refrain is the one that runs through the whole list, with its own accent: experience, content and service yes; financial token no. The designer builds the world without issuing tokens; the fashion brand sells collectibles, not securities; the event platform charges for tickets — as NFTs if it wants — as a non-financial service. As long as the NFT is utility, collectible or ticket, the perimeter holds; the moment it promises returns or works as an investment, the conversation changes regulator. The neighbouring activities in the list complete the map: the competitive side is in the guide to the gaming and eSports company, and the tokenisation and infrastructure layer, in the guide to the Web3 company.

Taxation of the company

The framework is that of any creative and technology company in the Emirates. On VAT, services to local clients are taxed at 5% and supplying clients outside the country can qualify for the 0% rate under the conditions of the regulations — the natural case of the studio that produces for global brands or sells virtual goods to buyers half a world away. VAT registration is mandatory once you exceed AED 375,000 of annual taxable turnover. On profits, Corporate Tax at 9% above AED 375,000. For a company mixing projects, tickets, virtual goods and royalties, the accounting that classifies every flow from the first invoice prevents the problem where it usually starts.

Steps to set up the company

1. Activities and scope: choose from the group the ones that cover your actual model — and combine them under the same licence if you do more than one thing (experiences + events, storytelling + holograms).
2. Structure: a company in the free zone with the activities added, each with its own additional cost, to be confirmed with the authority.
3. File: shareholders’ KYC and a description of the model — with a low risk rating on all five entries, the process is among the lightest in the catalogue.
4. Incorporation and space, from a flexi desk to an office or studio, depending on the team.
5. Visas for the founder and the creative team.
6. VAT and accounting from the start, with the 5%/0% classification defined before the first invoice.

Conclusion

The Gaming/Metaverse group is the catalogue of the immersive creative economy: five low-risk activities covering everything from the industrial digital twin to the hologram on stage, with the token line drawn clearly — collectible, utility and ticket yes; investment no. For the studio or platform already billing for experiences, Ras Al Khaimah offers the complete structure — licence, visas, competitive taxation — with the lightest processing in the list. The metaverse that survived the hype is being built now; the company to build it is set up in weeks.