Twofour54
Twofour54 is an Abu Dhabi government-backed media and creative industries hub providing production infrastructure, business support, and a media free-zone environment for local and international companies.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Twofour54 is a media, entertainment, and creative-industries hub established by the Government of Abu Dhabi in 2008. Its name refers to Abu Dhabi’s approximate geographical coordinates, 24 degrees north and 54 degrees east. Rather than operating primarily as a conventional consumer-facing media brand, Twofour54 combines the functions of a media free zone, production-services provider, business-environment operator, and creative-economy development platform. The organization is headquartered in Abu Dhabi and operates facilities across several locations. Its principal creative campus is associated with Yas Island and Yas Creative Hub, while other production assets include a large backlot in Kizad and studios in Mussafah. These facilities support film, television, advertising, digital content, gaming, animation, audio, publishing, news, and other media activities. The platform offers companies and creators infrastructure, licensing and establishment assistance, government and travel services, production support, and the ability to operate with full foreign ownership within the relevant free-zone framework. Twofour54 has positioned Abu Dhabi as a regional and international production destination. Its facilities have hosted or supported work connected with major international films and television productions, including The Bourne Legacy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Fast & Furious 7, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, 6 Underground, Dune, Dune: Part Two, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Regional and South Asian productions have also used its facilities, contributing to the hub’s role as a bridge between international studios and Middle Eastern, Arabic-language, Indian, and other regional content markets. The organization’s activities extend beyond physical production. Twofour54 has hosted media businesses across audio, visual, print, news, and digital applications, and its ecosystem has included companies such as CNN, Edelman, Euronews, Fox News, Forbes, M&C Saatchi, The National, Oracle, Russia Today, Sky News Arabia, Ubisoft, and other international and local organizations. It has also supported independent creators and freelancers. By 2020, the organization reported a community of more than 550 media companies and more than 700 freelancers, as well as involvement in over 2,300 major international productions in Abu Dhabi. Twofour54 has periodically expanded its role through partnerships and creator-focused programs. In 2012 it took over operation of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which continued until 2015. In 2015, Ericsson acquired Twofour54’s playout operations under a strategic partnership that also created a broadcast and media-services hub in Abu Dhabi. In 2021, Twofour54 inaugurated Yas Creative Hub, a large purpose-built campus designed to accommodate hundreds of companies. The Community Hub, launched there in 2022, was intended to provide collaborative space for gamers, filmmakers, and content creators. The organization also launched a 2022 initiative offering digital-content creators training, mentoring, and access to production resources. Twofour54’s public-development role was particularly visible during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it offered measures including rent relief and assistance with remote working. It has also promoted media innovation, youth-oriented content, and the growth of the region’s digital creator economy. In 2023 it announced plans for a new film-studio complex in Abu Dhabi, with an intended opening in 2025. The brand’s overall positioning is therefore built around enabling production and creative businesses, attracting international projects, developing local talent, and strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as a global media and entertainment center.
History
Twofour54 was established in Abu Dhabi in 2008 as a government-backed initiative to develop the emirate’s media and entertainment economy. Its name is derived from Abu Dhabi’s approximate coordinates, 24 degrees north and 54 degrees east. The initiative was designed to attract media companies, international productions, creative professionals, and technology businesses by combining production facilities with business-establishment support and a free-zone operating environment. The organization developed a broad media ecosystem covering film, television, broadcasting, publishing, news, digital applications, gaming, advertising, and related creative services. Its support model included studios, production locations, backlot infrastructure, licensing and company-formation assistance, government and travel services, and other operational resources. This approach allowed Twofour54 to function both as a service provider to productions and as an institutional platform for companies establishing regional operations. In 2012, Twofour54 took over operation of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. The festival remained part of the emirate’s cultural and media landscape until it ended in 2015. In February 2015, Twofour54 entered a strategic arrangement with Ericsson under which Ericsson acquired its playout operations. Ericsson subsequently established a broadcast and media-services hub in Abu Dhabi intended to serve broadcasters across the Middle East. This transaction reflected Twofour54’s changing role as an ecosystem builder that could attract specialist media infrastructure and global technology partners. Twofour54’s production facilities supported a wide range of international and regional projects. Productions associated with its facilities included The Bourne Legacy, Deliver Us from Evil, Baby, Bang Bang!, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Fast & Furious 7, War Machine, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Tiger Zinda Hai, Race 3, Bharat, 6 Underground, Sonic the Hedgehog, Dune, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and Dune: Part Two. The production slate also included Arabic, Indian, and other regional projects, demonstrating the hub’s role beyond Hollywood-oriented production attraction. The organization expanded its physical footprint through facilities on the Abu Dhabi mainland, in Mussafah, in Kizad, and on Yas Island. Yas Creative Hub, inaugurated in 2021, became a major purpose-built campus for creative and media businesses. It was designed to accommodate more than 600 companies and reinforced the strategic importance of Yas Island within Abu Dhabi’s creative economy. In 2022, Twofour54 added The Community Hub, a collaborative venue for gamers, filmmakers, and content creators. Twofour54 also pursued industry-development programs. In 2018 it organized the Media Innovation Forum, focusing on Arabic- and English-language media and youth engagement. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it supported resident media businesses through measures including rent relief and remote-work facilitation. In 2022, it launched a program for digital content creators in the Middle East that combined training, mentorship, and access to production facilities. Leadership included former Universal executive Wayne Borg, who served as chief commercial officer until 2013. Michael Garin became chief executive officer in 2020, followed by Mark Whitehead in 2022. In 2021, Stillfront Group acquired Jawaker from Twofour54 Abu Dhabi, marking a significant divestment involving a digital-gaming asset associated with the organization. In August 2023, Twofour54 announced plans for another film-studio complex in Abu Dhabi, with a target opening in 2025. Through these developments, Twofour54 has remained focused on infrastructure, international production, business attraction, and the development of Abu Dhabi’s wider media and creative industries.
- 2023
New film-studio complex announced
[1]Twofour54 announces plans for a film-studio complex in Abu Dhabi targeted for opening in 2025.
- 2022
Digital creator initiative launches
[1]Twofour54 introduces a training, mentoring, and facilities-access program for Middle Eastern digital creators.
- 2022
The Community Hub opens
[1]A collaborative space for gamers, filmmakers, and content creators opens at Yas Creative Hub.
- 2021
Yas Creative Hub opens
[1]The organization inaugurates a large purpose-built campus on Yas Island for creative and media companies.
- 2020
COVID-19 support measures
[1]Twofour54 provides rent relief and remote-working assistance to members of its media community.
- 2015
Ericsson partnership changes playout operations
[1]Ericsson acquires Twofour54’s playout operations and establishes a regional broadcast-services hub in Abu Dhabi.
- 2012
Abu Dhabi Film Festival operation begins
[1]Twofour54 takes over operation of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.
- 2008
Twofour54 is founded
[1]The Government of Abu Dhabi establishes Twofour54 as a media free zone and creative-industries development platform.
Products and positioning
A government-backed Abu Dhabi media and creative-industries platform that combines production infrastructure, free-zone business services, talent development, and international production attraction.
Creative-industry campus · 2021
Yas Creative Hub
A purpose-built campus on Yas Island that brings together media, entertainment, technology, and creative businesses. Inaugurated in 2021, it was designed to accommodate more than 600 companies and serves as one of Twofour54’s principal platforms for business formation, collaboration, and creative-industry growth.
Film and television production infrastructure
Twofour54 production facilities
A network of production resources associated with Abu Dhabi, including studios in Mussafah, a large backlot in Kizad, and facilities connected with Yas Island. These assets support international feature films, television, advertising, regional productions, and other screen-content projects.
Production services
Twofour54 intaj
Twofour54’s production-services activity supports the practical requirements of screen projects in Abu Dhabi. Its associated production work has included major international films, Indian cinema, Arabic content, television, and other productions using the emirate’s studios, backlot, locations, and production ecosystem.
Creator and collaboration space · 2022
The Community Hub
A space opened at Yas Creative Hub in 2022 for gamers, filmmakers, and digital-content creators. It is intended to encourage collaboration and provide a shared environment for creative work, networking, and the development of media and interactive projects.
Marketing campaigns
- 2022Digital Content Creator Initiative
Middle East
An initiative providing Middle Eastern digital creators with training, mentorship, and access to production facilities.
Outcome. The initiative broadened Twofour54’s creator-economy role beyond company tenancy and conventional film and television production.
- 2018Media Innovation Forum
United Arab Emirates · Middle East
A Twofour54-organized forum highlighting media innovation and the work of partners producing Arabic- and English-language content intended to connect with the region’s youth.
Outcome. The event reinforced Twofour54’s role as a convenor for regional media innovation and youth-oriented content development.
Brand decisions
2023
Announcement of a new film-studio complexStrategyBackground
Twofour54 continued expanding Abu Dhabi’s capacity to host large-scale screen productions.
Action taken
The organization announced plans to develop a new film-studio complex in Abu Dhabi, with an intended opening in 2025.
Aftermath
The project was presented as a further expansion of Abu Dhabi’s production infrastructure; the supplied reference material does not confirm its final opening or operating status.
2021
Sale of Jawaker to Stillfront GroupM&ABackground
Stillfront Group pursued expansion in the Middle East and identified Jawaker as a regional online-gaming asset.
Action taken
Stillfront Group acquired Jawaker from Twofour54 Abu Dhabi.
Aftermath
The transaction transferred Jawaker to a specialized international gaming group and represented a notable divestment from Twofour54’s broader digital portfolio.
2021
Opening of Yas Creative HubProduct launchBackground
Twofour54 needed a larger purpose-built environment to accommodate the expanding media and creative-business community in Abu Dhabi.
Action taken
The organization inaugurated Yas Creative Hub on Yas Island.
Aftermath
The campus became a central location for creative companies, production activity, collaboration, and business support.
2015
Transfer of playout operations to EricssonM&ABackground
Twofour54 sought to deepen Abu Dhabi’s position in regional broadcast and media services through a partnership with Ericsson.
Action taken
Ericsson acquired Twofour54’s playout operations and established a broadcast and media-services hub in Abu Dhabi.
Aftermath
The arrangement placed the relevant playout activity under Ericsson while expanding specialist broadcast infrastructure serving Middle Eastern broadcasters.
Sources1 sources
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