Tens of thousands of pounds of development cash is to be injected into Dundee after the city’s creative industries hub emerged as a major winner in a new funding round.
The £4 million UK Games Fund was set up in October to provide grants of up to £50,000 to support video games development projects, create jobs and develop new industry talent.
It will operate through until 2019.
The UK Government-backed scheme’s first ever founding round saw grants handed to Dundee’s Tag Games and Ruffian Games among a total of 24 awards to companies across the country.
The fund is managed by UK Games Talent and Finance, a not-for-profit community interest company which was established with the aim of boosting the UK’s video games sector and the “talent ecosystem” that supports it.
The company’s founder and chief executive is Dundee-based Paul Durrant, the man who developed the Dare to be Digital competition through his business development work at Abertay University.
Mr Durrant said the gaming sector was a driving force for the UK’s creative economy.
“The level of creative activity in the UK’s games development sector is running at record levels,” he said.
“The 100-plus applications we received to the first round of the UK Games Fund has surpassed any of the rounds in our previous fund.
“Our new portfolio of supported companies represent the first members of our talent-led movement to build on the UK’s creative strengths in video games development.
Ruffian Games creative director Billy Thomson welcomed the funding.
“Fragmental will be our first self-published game at Ruffian, and this funding will allow us to add more content and apply additional test and refinement time to our development all of which will result in a far better gameplay experience for the players who purchase the final game.”
Tag Games CEO Paul Farley added: “This grant will be vital in allowing us to develop exciting new game IP to the prototype stage, opening new market opportunities and increasing our company’s growth potential.”
The sector is worth an estimated £84 billion to the UK economy annually but Culture and Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey said it still had huge potential. “The UK is home to some of the world’s most successful video games and this cash boost will help these games companies grow their business and create the blockbusters of tomorrow.”