The video games company preparing to create 150 jobs in Dundee hopes to be operational within four weeks.
The Courier revealed yesterday that Outplay Entertainment is setting up in the city to specialise in producing mobile and social games for use on smart phones, social networks and other internet platforms.
Chief executive Douglas Hare (43), who founded the company with his brother Richard last year, said he was close to signing a lease on premises in the city.
They then plan to begin recruiting artists, designers and programmers along with a number of other roles to begin work within weeks.
The firm, which will receive £2.25 million from Scottish Enterprise as part of a deal bringing them to the city, already has a number of games in the early stages of development.
Douglas, who grew up in Musselburgh but relocated to the US in 1994, said he was eager to get to work as soon as possible.
“Although we are a new start-up, it is the longest gestated start-up in history,” he joked. “A lot of background preparations have been going on and we are very keen to get going as soon as possible.”
Both Douglas and Richard (40) have more than 25 years experience in the computer games industry, and the addition of their expertise to the Dundee games sector was widely welcomed yesterday.
They started their careers in the UK in the mid-1980s before moving to Orange County, California, in the 1990s to work at Virgin Interactive.Exodus”It was a time when a lot of people in the industry were being hoovered up from all over the UK,” said Douglas. “There was an exodus and we were one of many who left to work with American companies.”
The brothers left Virgin Interactive in 1997 to found their own independent development studio, The Collective.
They quickly built up an excellent reputation and developed numerous high-profile titles including Star Wars: Episode III and Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb.
In 2005, The Collective merged with Backbone Entertainment, to form Foundation 9 Entertainment.
Last night Douglas said he was delighted to return to Scotland for a new challenge.
“Dundee has a long history of game development, and it seemed to us as the place that made the most sense to start out in,” he said. “We are delighted to be able to set up in the city.”
Richard, the president of Outplay, added, “By investing in the right skills and focusing our publishing efforts on these platforms and opportunities, Outplay is poised to become a significant player in the global games market.”
Meanwhile, it was revealed Douglas and Richard had been involved in discussionS with Abertay University prior to yesterday’s announcement.
The talent pool provided by the university’s graduates was one of the reasons for the decision to base Outplay in the city.
“Outplay Entertainment’s decision to choose Dundee to launch this exciting new social and mobile gaming company is a massive boost for the local computer games industry,” said Paul Durrant, the university’s director of business development.
“This is a vote of confidence in the international excellence of the Dundee computer games sector, and in the exceptional graduate talent produced at Abertay University.”