Invest North East England Shines Spotlight on Gaming Sector

Invest North East England welcomed an overseas delegation of experts to the region to learn about the thriving gaming sector and explore opportunities for expansion.

The delegation of specialist gaming companies from Ireland, as well as representatives from the Department for International Trade (DIT), visited the region as part of the Northern Exposure conference, which was held at Newcastle’s Discovery Museum last week.

The conference, sponsored by Invest North East England, attracts businesses, industry leaders, professionals and experts from across the world to share ideas and do business with the North East games community.

The Irish delegation also spent time in Newcastle and Gateshead and visited leading games developer Ubisoft Reflections, and the University of Newcastle.

They then visited PROTO, Europe’s first dedicated centre for emerging technology which specialises in XR, 3D character capture and motion capture.

The delegation met with gaming and VR companies based at PROTO, including Wolf and Wood who specialise in making virtual reality games.

Ryan Bousfield, Founder and Director of Wolf and Wood said “It was great to meet studios outside of the country, talk about our games and inspiration and the growing games community in the North East”

David Pattison, Inward Investment Manager at Invest North East England, said:

“North East England has long been at the forefront of the global games industry, you might not know it, but some of the world’s biggest games have been developed and made right here in the North East.

“There are over 15,000 people employed in our creative industries with more talented people entering the sector every year.

“North East England has positioned itself as a major player in the video games market and Invest North East England was delighted to bring the international delegates to our region to show them the unrivalled opportunities we have to offer.”

The region has over 50 internationally-renowned, specialist gaming companies operating here and some of the world’s biggest games have been developed in the North East.

Gateshead-based Atomhawk Design developed the concept art for Mortal Kombat 11; Newcastle-based Ubisoft Reflections created Tom Clancy’s The Division franchise; and the Gateshead office of Polish-headquartered People Can Fly worked on the global smash hit, Fortnite.

Invest North East England organised the visit in partnership with Gateshead Council, Invest Newcastle and the Department for International Trade (DIT).

Invest North East England works in partnership with the seven North East local authorities to help businesses locate or expand in North East England. Focusing on the region’s sector strengths, it helps businesses access UK Government, support agencies, sector specialists, universities, colleges, knowledge networks, finance streams and business organisations so they can locate, grow and prosper in the region.

For more information, visit www.investnortheastengland.co.uk.