Hot on the heels of Realtime World’s financial problems, British television’s Channel 4 has spent a tenth of its annual creative budget on the videogame industry in Dundee, Scotland.
The videogame industry in Dundee, Scotland, is currently facing a scary time, thanks in large part to the dire straits A.P.B. developer Realtime Worlds finds itself in. However, some good news has come to the area in the form of a £1 million investment from Channel 4, which is putting some serious money into games and games-related television.
The channel’s investment has been split amongst Tag Games and Dynamo Games, which will both be creating some yet-to-be-revealed games based on a couple of Channel 4 programs. Meanwhile, Headlight Scotland, a TV production group, has been hired to create a three-part documentary series about the videogame industry’s presence in Dundee.
According to Ian Mackenzie, Media Project Manager for Creative Diversity at Channel 4, things aren’t as dark for game developers in the city as many people are assuming, thanks in part due to his company’s investment. “[The £1 million] is a very positive counter point to the bad news of Realtime Worlds,” he said. “This investment is one example of people recognizing the talent that is in Dundee.”
While things certainly seem grim right now, the future of Realtime Worlds still remains to be seen; there are a number of ways this could go right now, such as the developer being snatched up by a larger company or a number of smaller studios springing up if it does collapse. In the meantime, the investment from Channel 4 can’t hurt things, since it’ll likely lead to some new jobs that employees leaving Realtime Worlds might be able to snatch up.
Source: Herald Scotland via GamesIndustry.biz
Published: Aug 25, 2010 07:00 pm