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The Creative England Games Scale Up Programme is under way. The programme, which is supported by Ukie, is helping a number of ambitious games businesses across the UK to grow their businesses with the help of some of the most inspirational business leaders to emerge from our sector.
But which companies have secured a place on the programme? Let's take a look.
aPriori Digital - https://aprioridigital.com/about
aPriori Digital is a games development studio based in Bristol,
England. They are a friendly and knowledge team that have created and worked on
a range of games including Aperion Cyberstorm, The Bradwell Conspiracy, Can
Androids Pray and Double Pug Switch with many more currently in development.
They create their own IP as well as offer their services as a
work-for-hire studio to help with all types of game development, games console
porting and publishing.
Tag Games - https://www.tag-games.com/
Tag Games are a mobile development studio based in Dundee,
Scotland. They specialise in working with exciting IP and big ambitions. They
have spent years making sure they are the perfect partner for companies who
want to make amazing mobile games. Working primarily as a Free to Play mobile
games developer that have worked for other studios. They have a good track
record of delivering large scales IP products for clients across the globe. And
are taking their first steps into the platforms and business models. Over 8
years, the company grew from 6 to 50.
GLITCHERS - https://maxscottslade.com
GLITCHERS was started by brothers Maxwell and Hugo as a
self-funded studio with ambitions to become a household name in gaming. Maxwell
is an award winning game designer (BAFTA nominated, Webby, D&AD, Cannes Lions)
and has worked on incredible games that cross from gaming into other sectors
such as healthcare, fintech and education - as well as producing original
content under the GLITCHERS brand.
Slug Disco Studios - http://slugdisco.com/
Slug Disco Studios is a small indie games development studio based
in the UK. The company was founded by 3 friends: Matt, John & Liam, who met
back in school and lived together through university. The company was set up to
support their dream of producing a video game all about ants. With a
combination of freelance educational software contracts, a grant from Creative
England, and a kickstarter campaign, they were able to see their first major
video game project "Empires of the Undergrowth" through to Steam's
Early Access programme in December 2017.
Cardboard Sword - https://cardboardsword.co.uk/
Cardboard Sword is an
independent games company formed in 2013. Working fully remotely, they
currently have a staff of 11 across the UK, with contractors around the world
including Chile and Australia.
The AAA-experienced team comprises ex-developers from places like Playground
Games, Frontier, Cloud Imperium, Sumo Digital and Double Eleven, and now works
exclusively on their own-IP.
Now
hiring and with two games in development – stealth Metroidvania ‘The Siege and
the Sandfox’ and chill 80s driving game ‘Transmission’ – they’re growing in
both company size and portfolio.
Ground Shatter Ltd - http://groundshatter.com/
Ground Shatter is a Bristol-based PC and Console development studio, with a focus on action-orientated short session experience. Founded in 2014, the company’s first title, SkyScrappers was released on PlayStation 4 and Steam, partly funded via Creative England. In March 2019, the company’s biggest title yet - multiplayer, first-person shooter RICO - was launched across all major platforms. Over the course of the last six years the company has grown steadily from a solo development effort to a team of eight full-time staff, built up from the experienced local developers alongside hand- picked junior talent. The team is currently hard at work completing the hotly anticipated deck-building, action-movie tactics game Fights in Tight Spaces
Playtra Games - https://www.playtra.com/
Playtra is an independent game studio, which quickly grew into a
team of 9 diverse staff, winning the ROKiT Global PitchFest and Silver medal in
the IndieBooster Competition, in 2020 where they came up at first place among
more than 400 game projects. Playtra's mission is to create the games that
define a generation. Pushing the boundaries of genres like strategy and RPG
while exploring new trends in gaming with deliciously fun game mechanics.
Playtra believe games have the power to change everything. Games push the
boundaries of what is possible in technology and art. They aspire to be
pioneers, creating the new worlds that gamers will inhabit for many years to
come.
Huey Games Ltd - www.hueygames.com
Huey Games develop original IP such as Hyper Sentinel, which they self-published in 2018 on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac and iOS, and upcoming titles Wreckout (2021) and Mechinus (2022).
They are also a trusted
console porting service provider, with clients including Sold Out Software
(Radical Rabbit Stew for PS4 and Xbox, plus unannounced projects) and small
indie developers such as James Lightfoot (The Mystery of Woolley Mountain for
Nintendo Switch), ihobo (Silk for Nintendo Switch), Matt Glanville (Switch 'N'
Shoot for PS4 and Xbox One), and Puppygames (Basingstoke for current and
next-gen consoles).
Their veteran team have extensive experience in game design, game
development and publishing. Between them, they have led the production of hundreds
of hit games across almost every platform.
Flick Games - https://www.flick.games/
Flick Games was formed in May 2019 as a home to Flick Solitaire, a
new genre-defining solitaire game for mobile. Flick raised an angel round in
April 2020 and Flick Solitaire launched on iOS and Android mid-June 2020.
Nequinox Studios - https://nequinox-studios.com/
Nequinox are a
'AAA' games studio based on the outskirts of one of the UK's brightest and most
vibrant cities, Manchester. Led by Anthony and Stephen Robinson, the company
was founded as a centre for technical excellence in the video games industry.
In the two years since opening their doors, they have become the 'go-to' studio
for technical challenges and co-development on AAA and mobile games.
Nequinox embrace new technology, ideas and platforms and employ game players
and game makers with pedigree who share their values and passion for games. They
are proud of their technical DNA, but are a creative and fun-loving bunch too. Nequinox
actively generate ideas and bring their collective skills, story-telling and
energy together to produce amazing games.
Make Real Ltd - https://makereal.co.uk/
Make Real is an award-winning immersive technologies content
developer and publisher, with a proven track record in creating validated,
meaningful and memorable learning experiences for the enterprise and
entertainment sectors, at work, in and out-of-home.
Their background in learning, games and simulation design and development means
we lead the way in creating content determined by objectives and outcomes, not
driven by the technologies. However their team of creatives, coders, designers
- and internal partnerships team - ensure they remain at the forefront of the
technology and understanding audience and user needs, always looking to
evangelise and educate partners on the benefits and use cases of immersive
technologies.
Make Real are trusted by some of the world’s largest organisations to design
and deliver their learning & development, training and simulation
solutions, including Vodafone, Lloyds Banking Group, Porsche, McDonald’s and
EDF Energy.
Make Real is an approved developer partner with Oculus for Business ISV, HTC
Vive, Microsoft HoloLens, Sony PlayStation VR and Google.
Nosebleed Interactive Ltd - www.nosebleedinteractive.com
Nosebleed Interactive are a multi-award winning game development
studio. Named as one of the Top 50 creative companies in the country by
Creative England, they have worked with some of the world’s biggest content
providers such as Sony Interactive Entertainment and on brands such as Star
Trek. Nosebleed Interactive have won several awards including best small to
medium business in the Newcastle Business Awards. Alongside this they were
among the first companies to receive support from the prestigious UK Games
Fund.
Alongside launching their own IP, Nosebleed Interactive have also grown into a
trusted work for hire studio, helping publishers port to console, building
other companies games and apps from the ground up and consulting on various
projects across a variety of industries such as broadcast TV, theatre,
healthcare and obviously video games.
Draw & Code - https://www.drawandcode.com/
Draw & Code are a leading experiential XR studio who craft AR, VR, immersive installations and games. Not only does this include original and licensed IP and products, Draw & Code also offer development services for innovation-hungry brands. Clients and partners include Mercedes, Sony, Red Bull, Liverpool Football Club, Nokia, Hyundai, Chelsea Football Club, John Lewis, Unilever, National Museums Liverpool and more. The studio has also authored two augmented reality-focused patents and are cited in industry best-practice guides from Unity, the industry standard toolkit for games development.
Earthbound Games - https://www.earthboundgames.com/
Earthbound Games is a Dundee based game development studio focused
on creating competitive multiplayer experiences aimed at the esport
marketplace. Earthbound's first title, Axiom Soccer, an online multiplayer
which combined elements of vehicular soccer with those of a competitive
shooter, was released on Steam's Early Access in April, 2019. In early 2020, Earthbound
Games was restarted by 3 members of the original team, completing a small
investment round in June 2020.