Gaming firms flocking to ‘Silicon Spa’
COVENTRY and Warwickshire’s productivity is outperforming the UK – but the rise in the area’s economic fortunes is not limited to advanced manufacturing.
The runaway success of Jaguar Land Rover and a £250 million investment by Geely have made headlines, but another blossoming industry is helping to boost the region’s economy.
Leamington Spa has become one of the biggest clusters of digital gaming studios in the UK with well over 1,000 people working in the sector there – dubbed Silcon Spa.
Around 75 per cent work in gaming, a trend that started when Codemasters established there in 1986.
Recently a global game company has snapped up a local studio, while another has been established in the town.
Ubisoft, which employs more than 10,000 staff, has taken over FreeStyle games while SlingShot Cartel has been launched by two former FreeStyle staff.
It is the latest move in an industry which is in a state of constant change.
Ollie Clarke operates as a games developer through his company Modern Dream and has helped independents collaborate through Arch Creatives, a not-for-profit studio space in a converted railway arch, where people pay a monthly fee for a desk.
He said: “Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council have all realised the importance of gaming. The rise of a thriving creative sector, especially in a town known for its independent retailers, is good for attracting younger people and retaining graduates.
“Arch Creatives is thriving and we have eight more people moving in for two months this weekend and after that we’re going to explore the pay-per-minute model that allows people to have maximum flexibility in how they use the space whilst still allowing us to run sustainably.”