Popular BAFTA award winning games developer and publisher Codemastes have announced they they will be boosting Birmingham’s Games Sector with over 100 new jobs on offer across the Midlands.
The new jobs will also see an addition 25 people joining Codemasters 120-strong team that is based in Birmingham. This will bring in a influx of new talented developers and also underlines confidence in raising the profile of Birmingham’s growing gaming industry. The announcement came at Birmingham Science Park Aston’s Launch Event. Their website can be found by clicking here. The event brings new key gaming media figures to the city in order to host a Meet the Game Press event for local digital companies.
Codemasters is already building on the success of its recent games including the best selling series of the official Forumla one games. They will be bolstering the team which is based at its game development studio at Tricorn House in the Birmingham City Centre.
The City of Birmingham is home to more than 12,500 digital and technology fans ranging from innovative SME’s to global brands and the city employ nearly a quarter of the UK games workforce. It has got itself a position as a hotbed for future gaming talent with fantastic education provision. This inludes the £25 million Birmingham Omiston Academy which was opened in October 2011. It is the first specialist digital media academy of its kind and Gamer Camp which is a finishing school for rising game developers and was also set up by the successful Birmingham City University.
Further support for the gaming industry in Birmingham also includes Enterprise Zone. Enterprise Zone introduces incentives including business rates relief and planning permission in order to attract digital, creative and rising games companies into the heart of Birmingham. There are also business incubation programmes including Birmingham Science Park Aston’s Entrepreneurs for the Future scheme which will provide gaming, digital and ICT start-ups by using office facilities and support.
Simon Miles, Talent Acquisition Manager, Codemasters had the following to say regarding the games sector in Birmingham:
“The success of our recent games and our plans for the future means that Codemasters will continue to see growth as we expand our teams here in the Midlands. The skilled talent pool in Birmingham, along with the support available for developers in the area, and across the Midlands generally has created a dynamic and creative local business community. We are looking to recruit staff from the region as well as enticing some new employees into the city as well.”
Sarah Darch, investment manager at Business Birmingham added:
“That a global name like Codemasters is expanding here demonstrates that the gaming industry is taking the Birmingham area seriously as a place to locate and grow their businesses. A number of other local gaming companies are now expanding, employing new staff or attracting investment, building a real sense of excitement and momentum in the area. “The business community and public sector have worked together to create wide range of benefits for smaller companies looking to grow in the region – from education and training, to rates relief and incubation schemes – it has become easier to set up or grow a business here. With so much happening in the city right now, I expect that a number of other games developers will follow in Codemasters footsteps and look to establish a presence and expand their here.”
This is fantastic news for the city of Birmingham as a whole in terms of rising their gaming industry profile. We would love to hear your thoughts on this via the comment section below.
