Outplay Entertainment, a new videogames publisher focusing on social networks and smartphones launched today. The company will be headquartered in Dundee, with details of premises expected within the next several weeks. Outplay is already actively recruiting and is working with Glasgow gaming recruitment experts Specialmove to find talented, passionate and enthusiastic people to join them.
The company has been founded by brothersDouglas and Richard Hare, who left Scotland in the mid-1990s to work with Virgin Interactive, before leaving to found development powerhouses The Collective and Foundation 9 Entertainment.
The company has received a great deal of backing and support from the various organisations within Scotland including Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International. Even the Scottish Government is getting in on the act, with First Minister Alex Salmond announcing the company’s formation at today’s First Minister’s Questions session at Holyrood.
The company has received backing from Pentech ventures, a venture capital fund, with many years experience in the Scottish digital media market, as well as the Scottish Investment Bank’s co-investment fund, giving the company significant resources to grow and meet the challenges of the new global gaming market.
Douglas Hare, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Gaming is reaching players all over the world, regardless of the hardware they use, or when and where they want to play. Outplay was founded to cater to this rapidly expanding global audience by taking lessons learned by the games industry over the last three decades and applying them to these new connected, interactive experiences as more and more people around the world discover the joys of gaming.”
Richard Hare, President of the new company, agreed, “There are significant advantages to creating and publishing on social network and mobile platforms. Shorter, more focused development cycles help constrain the upfront investment required. The ability to then rapidly update the games based on measurable consumer response helps us attract and retain players by enhancing and updating the games’ features. By investing in the right skills and focusing our publishing efforts on these new platforms and opportunities, Outplay is poised to become a significant player in the global games market.
The response to the launch of the new company has been extremely positive and widespread across the Scottish media and the games industry press.
Outplay should have a number of new announcements in the near future, covering new premises staff and projects. We will, of course, keep you posted.
We’d also like to add our congratulations and best wishes to Outplay as well and look forward to finding out more about the company’s plans for the future.
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