West Yorkshire gaming studios provide platform for economic growth

Hear from gaming entrepreneurs & innovators at Yorkshire Games Festival

Whilst some aspects of the creative industries were hit hard during the pandemic, other sectors, such as gaming, were able to thrive. Bobby Thandi, Founder and CEO of XR Games, provides some great insight into the sector.

Gaming studios in the region had already been steadily increasing, in part due to investment in the industry. “This growth, both of funding opportunities, and of the numbers of studios, shows others that the Yorkshire games scene is growing and thriving, even during a period of such uncertainty” confirms Bobby.

But it’s not just down to investment. Bobby goes on to say: “The Yorkshire gaming community is incredibly supportive and we’re always pushing each other to achieve great things. Organisations such as Game Republic have been crucial to cultivating this community, connecting, supporting, and encouraging studios both new and old. This support network is another big reason why the Yorkshire games community is so healthy.”

Join the festival

Yorkshire Games Festival takes place this month, at the Science and Media Museum in Bradford, and provides a week of activity to celebrate games culture, design and production including workshops and masterclasses to support and strengthen the gaming talent and ecosystem in the region. To see the full programme of events and buy a Game Talks pass: https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/whats-on/yorkshire-games-festival

XR Games attended the festival a couple of years ago to showcase their PlayStation exclusive Angry Birds Under Pressure VR. Bobby recalls: “It was a particularly great experience to showcase our game locally.” And commenting on this year he said: “On Thursday 17th February we will be presenting a talk on ‘What to expect when raising funding for your games studio’.” Mat Murray, Head of Marketing is standing in for Bobby as he now has an overseas business trip to DICE (a large games industry event).

Helping gaming grow

Earlier this month the first cohort of Indielab West Yorks: The Creative Catalyst Accelerator began for both TV and Gaming businesses. This inaugural programme enlisted 11 games studios and brings together all those elements that will enrich and grow the sector in West Yorkshire. Not only is it demonstrative of the investment in Gaming businesses and providing help to explore growth opportunities, but by its existence is connecting people and enabling further knowledge share.

The businesses involved are Archway Interactive, BetaJester, Cooperative Innovations, Lovewish, HALCYON Palace, Isokron, Kettu Studios, Kwizzbit, Thunkd, Weaseltron Entertainment and Vital Culture; having worked on a range of titles including Raiders of Erda, Robo Basho, The Magnificent Trufflepigs and 90 Minute Fever.

It’s clear that this already vibrant community has great potential with a range of network events throughout the year, an increasing level of investment and “an incredibly welcoming community of developers to join,” declares Bobby, “I can only see the Yorkshire games scene growing in scale over the next few years.”

Find out more about how The Creative Catalyst is supporting businesses in Gaming: https://www.the-lep.com/business-support/growth-support/the-creative-catalyst/