United Front: 7 UK Studios To Keep An Eye OnThis is the first in a regular series of UK and European focused columns by Matt Martin, editor of IndustryGamers sister site GamesIndustry.biz, part of the Eurogamer Network.
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For a small island the UK makes a lot of noise. It used to be known as a real gaming powerhouse, punching above its weight and standing just behind Japan and the US as one of the most powerful games economies. Now there's no denying it's been overtaken in that respect, with Canada and Germany far more important to the wider global games business - Canada as a development hotspot, Germany leading the way in online publishing and new digital markets.
But while the UK's biggest development studios have been whittled away over the past three years, and our one traditional publisher shuffles along as best it can, the collapse of the traditional games business has paved the way for a new economy. Codemasters' game director Andy Wilson complained earlier in the year that the UK was becoming a nation of iPhone developers, but in a rapidly changed world, how is that a bad thing?
Micro-studios have sprung up from the ruins of Bizarre Creations, Black Rock Studios, THQ Warrington and many other studios that once pushed consoles to their limits. The same attitude toward hard work and polished products continues in this new development environment, influencing the business on a global scale. Is the UK the only region doing this? No, there are clusters across Europe, with bubbling hubs of talent trying to establish a reputation and carve out a deep niche in new markets, but I want to look at some of the companies that are pushing up, flexing and making a growing noise for the UK games business.
Splash Damage
You know Splash Damage from Brink, an online multiplayer shooter that saw limited success earlier in the year. But at a time when Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 are going head-to-head, it feels like the product of another age.
After its release there was some cruel chatter that Splash Damage might go the way of Bizarre or Black Rock, split apart after an expensive failure. However, being independent, the company has managed to sign at least one unannounced project for a major entertainment brand. The online multiplayer technology is already in place, and once a collection of well-known characters are laid over the top of an even more polished Brink engine there's going to be a lot of excitement from genre fans.
The game will be based on one of the biggest American pop culture brands of the last 50 years, and there's no doubt Splash Damage can do the licence justice. However, the project's success will depend a great deal on the backing it gets from the media company that owns the IP – a company widely believed to have given up on the console publishing business.
Mobile Pie
Mobile Pie is one of the freshest mobile developers in the UK. It is led by Will Luton, who is doing a grand job of representing the company at a growing number of conferences and pushing the brand in the most personal of ways. Mobile Pie has a few of its own properties - cute pop music sim MyStar, for example - but it has also inked deals for the universally recognised brand Top Trumps and Channel 4's Misfits, a cult show about superhero teenagers and their screwed up relationships with their new found powers.
Luton demonstrates that he understands his sector and is growing with it, and it'll be no surprise to see this company boosted by investment, acquisition or just good old fashioned solid partnership deals in the coming years.
CCP Newcastle
Does CCP Newcastle count as a UK company even though it's part of the wider Icelandic business? Considering it was set up for its first year by Pitbull Studios' Robert Troughton, a pillar of development in the north of England, we're going to claim it as one of our own.
Until this year CCP could do no wrong with its EVE Online business, one of the most unique properties in gaming and a way of life for many players. However, after upsetting fans who believe it has strayed too far from its original vision with micro-transactions, and stretching itself too thin with White Wolf project World of Darkness, the company has recently announced plans to scale back.
Tellingly, CCP Newcastle is the only part of the business unaffected by the process. It is working on DUST 514 for PlayStation 3, an ambitious cross-platform project that will tie directly to events in the world of EVE Online. There are questions as to whether a PC company can break into the console space successfully, but having amassed talent from some of the UK and Europe's finest developers, there's no question that CCP Newcastle is one of the pockets of resistance representing for the UK in the home console space.
Fight My Monster
It is too easy and too cliché to say, 'here's the new Moshi Monsters' and mention Angry Birds in the same sentence. Fight My Monster is neither of those, of course, but let's be clear about the market this is clicking with: youngsters with access to the web and no financial barriers to entry. That's a dream ticket right there, and Fight My Monster hopes to tap into the market of under-13s who are not able to access the growing Facebook gaming market.
A whole generation of gamers is being ignored by the regular social networks, despite being but completely comfortable with the internet and establishing their own cliques online. Sitting on the board of the company is Dylan Collins, an entrepreneur responsible for founding, growing and selling DemonWare to Activision and Jolt Online Gaming to GameStop.
Fight My Monster has strong leadership, and the site recently signed a deal with animation company Brown Bag Films, highlighting the crossover appeal of kids' gaming properties to media companies on the hunt for quality IP.
Double Eleven
Made up initially of ex-Rockstar Leeds developers, Double Eleven is in the process of building a high-end mobile and handheld studio in the English city of Middlesbrough, fueled by the early buzz for its take on LittleBigPlanet for PlayStation Vita.
CEO Lee Hutchinson is one of the smartest young bosses in the UK, steadily recruiting a loyal team of enthusiastic and dedicated developers as it expands beyond 30 staff and into a second office in Leeds. The talent has impressed Sony so much that it's signed the team as an exclusive Sony developer, and as the format holder pushes handheld, mobile and tablet gaming - as well as early work on the next home console - expect Double Eleven to be at the forefront of new generation game development in the coming years.
Mediatonic
Six years in and with well over 100 games to its credit, Mediatonic has become quietly successful building Flash, social, digital download and mobile games. If you can judge a company on its commissioning partners then look no further than Mediatonic's projects for Nintendo, EA, Sega, LEGO, Pixar and Disney. But also consider that this London studio is building a portfolio of original IP like Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess and Who's That Flying?, while also publishing digitally with Capcom and Sony, and encouraging its staff to create their own non-commissioned games.
With a founder recognised by the British Council and a company singled out by Facebook as a preferred development partner, Mediatonic is one of the shining stars of the UK tech sector.
Eutechnyx
The UK's racing sector have been hardest hit by closures and consolidation, but independently owned studio Eutechnyx has managed to change with the times, balancing traditional console development on its own NASCAR license, published in the US by Activision, with a more original, risky experiment in the MMO Auto Club Revolution.
Co-founder Darren Jobling backs the free-to-play model, but the game is clearly expensive to make - Eutechnyx has raised around £8 million so far in venture capital, along with a rare donation from the UK government. Traditional game publishers may have backed away from unproven projects, but VCs looking to back providers of new digital entertainment are impressed with the promise of a unique community game with all the glamour of the motor racing industry.
