New games development studio for Scotland

US-based Reloaded Productions Inc. acquired the Intellectual Property rights for the online multi-player game APB last year after its Dundee-based developer Real Time Worlds went into administration. It intends to relaunch the game as APB Reloaded.

Reloaded Productions will establish a dedicated Scottish game development team in Edinburgh as part of its global development operation. The location was chosen because of the world-class creative and technical talent available in Scotland.

The studio is expected to create at least 22 high quality jobs in game engineering, 3D art and game design, and will be launched with support from Scottish Development International (SDI) and £125,000 in Regional Selective Assistance from Scottish Enterprise. Reloaded Productions has appointed Michael Boniface as General Manager in Scotland and he is overseeing recruitment for the studio.

On the day Ms Hyslop launched the Scottish Government’s Creative Industries Strategy, she said:

“I am delighted that Reloaded Productions will establish a studio in Edinburgh rather than creating jobs only in its existing locations in Irvine, California and Bangalore, India. It is testament to the talent, infrastructure and cutting-edge skills Scotland has to offer in this fast-growing and competitive market and our continued promotion of this key sector internationally.

“Today’s announcement reinforces Scotland’s global reputation for creativity and innovation and as an attractive location for growth companies. Through our Creative Industries Strategy we intend to build on this reputation and on the talent that already exists here to strengthen economic growth and create opportunities for all of Scotland to prosper.”

Bjorn Book-Larsson, CEO of Reloaded Productions Ltd, said:

“After visiting Scotland, meeting some extraordinary game development professionals and also seeing the Scottish Government’s enthusiastic support for creative and technical ventures, we decided to invest in a Scottish team focused on the core game engineering and key creative design tasks.

“Our hope is to expand the Scottish presence and increase the size of the team over time as we add more creative game projects as part of our global MMO development efforts.”

The Creative Industries Strategy sets out how the Scottish Government is working to support the sector, which generates billions of pounds each year for the Scottish economy and supports more than 60,000 jobs. It includes areas such as improving skills, increasing investment and improving access to finance and international markets.

The Minister continued:

“We want to realise the full potential of our creative industries, which was identified as a high-growth priority sector in our recently updated Economic Recovery Plan. This strategy is a crucial part of our work to establish an economic environment that is attractive to growth companies.

“We are working closely with the sector as well as relevant public sector agencies to ensure the creative industries have the support they need. Creative Scotland last week stated its ambition to see Scotland recognised as one of the world’s most creative nations and will play a key role in this process.

“I am confident that this strategy for the creative industries – with its focus on growth, talent and ambition - will help make Scotland a more successful country with opportunities for all to flourish.”