Outplay Entertainment Launches New Headquarters in Dundee, Scotland

BOSTON and GLASGOW, Scotland, Feb. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Scottish games publisher Outplay Entertainment is to establish new offices and up to 150 high value jobs in Dundee, First Minister Alex Salmond announced today. Established in 2010 by brothers Douglas and Richard Hare, Outplay Entertainment specializes in publishing videogames for use on smartphones, social networks and other e-distribution platforms.

The Hare brothers have over 25-years of experience in the videogames industry -- more than 15-years in the USA -- working for Virgin Interactive in the early 90's and established The Collective, an independent design studio, in 1997 which developed high budget titles for brands including Star Wars: Episode III, The Da Vinci Code and Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.

The brothers' decision to return to Scotland to launch and grow Outplay Entertainment was based on Dundee's competitiveness for games development and skilled workforce. The company plans to capitalise on the growth of new digital platforms and build on its existing portfolio of games currently in development.

"Outplay Entertainment's decision to establish a Dundee HQ reinforces Scotland's reputation as an attractive and competitive location for the future of the videogames market," said Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond. "Over the last decade the games industry has evolved into one of the largest grossing entertainment industries in the world and Scotland has demonstrated that it has the talent, infrastructure and skills to deliver success in this fast growing sector," said Salmond.

Outplay Entertainment plans to establish offices in Scotland's highly innovative city of Dundee and expects to create up to 150 full time equivalent jobs.  The company will receive 2.25m pounds Sterling in Regional Selective Assistance to invest in Scotland, facilitated by Scottish Development International (SDI), which has worked closely with the company to secure this inward investment.

Commenting on the announcement, Scottish Development International President of the Americas Danny Cusick, said, "The success of this project and the Hares' confidence in building their enterprise in Scotland is testament to Dundee's innovative, highly-educated workforce and value proposition to global companies."

First Minister Alex Salmond also commented:

"There are more than 50 games companies in Scotland investing over 30m pounds per annum in our economy. The growth of social media and mobile technology present enormous opportunities to our creative industries and Outplay aims to capitalise on this through their online products."

Doug Hare, the Chief Executive Officer of Outplay Entertainment agrees:

"The videogames market is evolving at a truly astonishing rate. There are more people now playing games on different devices and in different ways, than ever before, creating a huge new audience that can truly be considered global in nature.

"From the earliest days of the industry, Scotland has built a reputation for creativity, inspiration and innovation, with the right skills, the right people and the right support – all in the right place."

Richard Hare, the President of Outplay Entertainment added:

"We chose to bring Outplay to Scotland because of the country's world class skill set in this area, and the enthusiasm, professionalism and support we received from SDI.  We are delighted to be back home, to launch Outplay in Scotland, and we look forward to being a part of Scotland's future in an industry with such enormous potential."

Danny Cusick continued:

"US companies seeking to establish or expand their global operations in Europe are continuing to find that Scotland has exactly what they are looking for, whether it's a well-developed business infrastructure, technical expertise, a world-class academic sector, or in this case, a growing community of highly successful games studios.

"This project is a great success for Outplay as well as the city of Dundee and we will continue to support the management team at Outplay, as the company develops its presence in Scotland."

Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise Lena Wilson said:

"Outplay's decision to invest in Scotland demonstrates the real capabilities we have within the digital media and games sector, particularly in Dundee, and is further proof that we can compete with the best at a global level.

"This investment has been secured as a result of Scottish Enterprise staff working with their colleagues within Scottish Development International to develop a compelling proposition based on Scotland's unique strengths in the digital media and games sector."

Background

Images of the First Minister, Doug and Richard Hare are available for download on www.flickr.com/scottishgovernment

More information on Outplay Entertainment can be found on their website: www.outplayentertainment.com

Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) is the main national scheme of financial assistance to industry, and is administered by Scottish Enterprise. The scheme provides discretionary grants to investment projects that will create and safeguard employment in areas designated for regional aid under European Community law.  Payment of RSA is made in installments, typically over several years as job and capital expenditure targets are met. 

For more information on RSA go to www.scottishbusinessgrants.gov.uk or call Sarah Cross at Scottish Enterprise on 0141 228 2726

SOURCE Scottish Development International