Climax Studios, the British video game developer, headquartered in Portsmouth, has announced that it is opening a new facility in Edinburgh.
Climax Studios Edinburgh is already recruiting for a variety of developer positions.
Climax is best known for its work on titles such as Sudeki, Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. In 2021 Climax was acquired by the games services giant, Keywords Studios becoming part of the company’s co-development provision, producing triple-A titles for partners such as Sony, Lego, Bandai Namco, Hasbro, Microsoft Studios, Konami and Build A Rocket Boy.
The Scottish Games Network spoke to Mark Anthony Hobbs, the new studio head of Climax Studios Edinburgh.
Scottish Games Network: Tell us a little more about Climax Studios
Mark Anthony Hobbs: Climax is a AAA co-development studio with over 35 years of experience across all aspects of game development. We partner with the world’s top developers on headline games providing everything from tech solutions, art, and creative all the way to full game development. We have studios in Portsmouth, London, Liverpool and now Edinburgh.
SGN: What are the goals of the Edinburgh Studio? What will it be working on?
MAH: The initial goal is to take advantage of the incredible talent we have here in Scotland and allow those folks to work on some great AAA titles with our partner studios. Over time and as we grow, I’m excited about how we can help shape and foster the Scottish games community.
SGN What sort of roles are you recruiting for – and what will you be looking for in the future?
MAH: We have several positions open right now for Programmers of various levels and specialities like gameplay, graphics and UI. Eventually, we’ll look to fill various roles across different disciplines, but our initial focus will be to bring in engineering talent and grow from there. (Jobs page here).
SGN: Climax is now part of Keywords Studios, what does that add to the studio’s capabilities?
MAH: Since 2021 Climax has been part of Keywords Studios, the #1 technical and creative solutions provider to the global video games industry. With over 12k people and 70+ studios worldwide (25 in Game Development and Art), the Keywords platform helps elevate Climax Studios as a leader in AAA co-development.
SGN: Can you tell us more about your background and how you’ve come to be the head of the new Edinburgh studio?
MAH: I’m originally from the Philippines and grew up in Aberdeen. My first video game was Super Mario Bros and to this day I am an avid gamer. I studied Computer Games Technology at Abertay University and started out in games as a Programmer. For most of my career, I’ve supported AAA game development but as games have increased in size and complexity, I’ve found myself building teams that collaborate across multiple studios. As Studio Head, my focus is to build a studio with the talent and collaborative spirit that helps our partners deliver games the players will love.
SGN: Is there anything you’d like to say to the games community across Scotland?
MAH: Please reach out and say hello! I’m super excited to be able to bring a new game studio to Scotland and I’m keen for us to be a part of the wider community.
Thanks to Mark for taking the time to speak to us. You can find all of the vacancies for Climax Studios on the company’s jobs page.