“The north is well known for its industrial roots – we work hard and play hard and know that true skills are wrought through experience, and attention to detail. Not for nothing do they use the words Northern
Powerhouse” Arden Aspinall, head of studio, Rebellion North
presented challenges, but we have overcome that by opening to full remote working across the UK, preparing for an exciting and flexible future!
Arden Aspinall (Rebellion North): A second challenge comes with the media focus on regional rivalries – the North pitted against the South, England against its UK neighbours, the UK against Europe and beyond. In the games industry we can say with some pride that we value talent over territory and practice over provenance. As such, where you come from, in the UK or beyond, is not really relevant.
Gareth Jones (Playdemic): In terms of challenges, like games companies across the world, we are always competing for the best talent and Manchester is not as well-known as games hubs such as London, Berlin or Vancouver. That said, Manchester has so much to offer and so much potential that once people relocate here they tend to stay.
WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT IN THE AREA?
Mike Rose (No More Robots): One of the downsides of being up north, is that seemingly, we just don’t exist to our government, or the rest of the industry. Every big event is in London, or surrounding London, and we’re expected to travel many hours every time something is on. The Government likes to go on about how much they’re helping the tech industries in the North, but I can tell you that in my decade in video games, I’ve certainly never felt it here in Manchester. I’m really hoping Andy Burnham and co can help us out a bit more sometime soon, as it’s been quite disappointing that it seems to be solely London where “real” game developers are based, according to this Government.
Gareth Jones (Playdemic): At a national level the government introduced video games tax relief (VGTR) nearly a decade ago, which has supported the sector and has helped to drive the growth we’ve seen. But our cultural and economic importance is not yet reflected in the political conversation, certainly in comparison to TV, music and film. I am not aware of any specific support from the regional government to support the North West sector.
Phil Gaskell (Ripstone): The dissolution of the quangos and regional development agencies in 2010 has ultimately led to a lack of clear support channels for creative businesses. And while we’re aware that new initiatives are coming through in 2022 which focus on funding and business accelerators, I think it’s fair to say this is an area that deserves continued attention in the years ahead. More broadly, we do continue to benefit meaningfully from government support like VGTR and R&D tax credits, and we’ve had support from the likes of Creative England and Ukie as we’ve grown too.
Arden Aspinall (Rebellion North): We relocated our Rebellion North games studio to new premises at Prospect Mill, on the edge of the Ossett Conservation Area. We worked closely with the planning and conservation officers to ensure that our renovation enhances the area, respecting the heritage of the building, celebrating its past and looking forward to a successful future. As a bonus, it’s lovely to hear when your local government officer is also a big fan of the games too. There’s definitely more than a few Sniper Elite enthusiasts out there!
IS THERE A HEALTHY SENSE OF “COMMUNITY” IN THE LOCAL GAMEDEV/BIZ SCENE?
Graeme Ankers (Firesprite): There is an extremely healthy game development community across the North West, with a range of companies at various stages of their development from independent through to larger established studios. There are frequent informal events that bring the development community together, along with a healthy collaboration between different companies, ranging from knowledge share through to developing projects together.
Gareth Jones (Playdemic): We know and respect all the other companies in the area. It is important to be supportive of one another in maintaining and growing the industry in our area – there is benefit for all of us in that. I think we could and should do more to grow the local scene in the future – the more we can establish the North West as an attractive games hub, the more investment and interest we can attract to our area.
March 2022 MCV/DEVELOP | 57
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