New international project to grow Scotland’s brightest gaming companies launched 

A new £50,000 project which aims to grow Scotland’s next generation of internationally competitive digital media and technology companies was unveiled in Dundee yesterday (Thursday, February 16, 2017). 

The ‘Global Domination Accelerator’ for the Scottish Games Sector will be delivered by Elevator on behalf of Scottish Enterprise, and is now open for applications from software and gaming companies with international growth ambitions based throughout Scotland. The project was launched today in Dundee at the offices of Outplay Entertainment, the largest independent mobile developer in the UK.   

Elevator – the social enterprise dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs, business leaders and employees – will provide specialist support, expertise, initiatives and advice to assist around 15 participants in the initial eight-month programme. The ‘Global Domination Accelerator’ will comprise workshops, monthly meet ups, 1-2-1 focus sessions, mentoring and four international events featuring key international experts from the games or associated industries. 

Screen Shot 2017 02 17 at 11.16.09Elevator Accelerator Project manager Andy Campbell said that Elevator has a comprehensive understanding of the games industry, having worked with more than 50 games sector companies over the past 20 years.

“Games sector companies are very different from standard businesses, and common to all is an underlying creative passion in gaming – whether this is on the creative side or technology driven, the need to create great games and interactive experiences fuels their passion.

“Often these companies are formed accidentally from a spark of an idea for a game or technology, rather than with the aim of establishing and growing a commercially-driven business.  As a result, the creative and developmental aspects of the business typically far outweigh the importance placed on the business being a commercial success. 

“The games industry has also changed dramatically over the last decade when games were typically large scale multi-million dollar development deals for PC and/or console.  Game development these days is very different and large scale development deals are rare. In addition, there are now a broad range of platforms including smart phone and virtual reality. 

“Commercial models are also very different, with developers now having to self-fund to develop and release a minimum viable product for release, and hope for incremental income or grant funding to develop it further.  Companies are often unsure just what their objectives should or could be when it comes to growing their business, products or services internationally. This needs to be addressed and explored extensively.” 

Mark Newlands scottish enterpriseMark Newlands, Sector Head for Technology & Engineering, Creative Industries and Sustainable Construction, Scottish Development International, said: “Digital Technology is a significant industry in Scotland with a £5billion turnover industry employing 65,000 people. The combination of creativity with digital capability is the bedrock on which Scotland’s international competitiveness is built.   

“For the past 20 years, Scotland’s exceptional experience and talent, unique capabilities, emerging and growing clusters has allowed the Scottish games industry to punch above its weight, producing a string of games that have sold millions of copies around the world.  In going forward Scottish Enterprise wants to support Scottish companies to develop their business and drive their exports potential even further.  

To support this approach SE is delighted to be working closely with Elevator, given their depth of experience and knowledge of the games sector globally, to be look at ways and opportunities to drive international growth of Scottish games companies, at an individual level, and also to support the overall profile and promotion of Scottish expertise in this area”.  

Douglas Hare, chief executive officer of Outplay, said: “From the outset, any company looking to work in the games sector has to take an international perspective. The industry is global, and with this comes numerous opportunities. My brother Richard and I moved to California in the early nineties where we co-founded and grew two successful game development companies. We returned to Scotland to set up Outplay in 2010, drawn by a wealth of games industry talent. Not only do we employ an international workforce, but our games are played all over the world. This takes research, understanding, partnership and investment of time, resources and money. Having gained this great international overview, I can see the huge potential for Scottish games companies to play in that international arena. Outplay are delighted to support the new ‘Global Domination Accelerator’ from Elevator and hope to see some great successes in the future.”

The closing date for applications is Wednesday, March 1, 2017, and anyone interested in applying should CLICK HERE 

#GLOBALDOMINATION #makingithappen

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