A Belfast technology company which specialises in so-called city-builder games has won a multi-million pound contract with an unnamed global games developer.
Rocket Flair Studios said as a result of the deal it will be investing some £700,000 and tripling its workforce with the creation of 14 new jobs.
The company was only founded in 2017 and has used augmented reality and virtual reality to create games such as mythical ancient Egypt city-builder Dynasty of the Sands.
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James Bradley, Director of Rocket Flair Studios, said the deal was transformational.
“We are delighted that our innovative products have led us to secure a multi-million pound contract with a prominent global games developer,” he said. “This is a huge step forward for us, especially as 94% of the sales from the project will be in markets outside Northern Ireland. This will bolster our reputation globally.”
Rocket Flair Studios has been offered support for the creation of the new jobs to the tune of £98,000. The roles, eight of which are already in place, are focused on a range of areas including full stack and front end developers, and QA, lighting and animation engineers.
“We would not have been able to maximise our new contract without Invest Northern Ireland’s support. We approached Invest NI’s Eastern Regional team in 2020 when we were a team of six. Its support to help us triple our workforce and create 14 jobs has given us the capacity and specialist expertise to secure and deliver this contract. We now hope to make our plans to create a centre of expertise for strategy-based PC games in Northern Ireland a reality.”
Susan O’Kane, Invest NI Eastern Regional Manager, welcomed the deal.
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“Rocket Flair Studios is a local gaming start-up with a passion for building unique games. Investments like these are key to our economic growth, as part of The Department for the Economy’s 10X Economic Vision. Rocket Flair really understands the global gaming industry and has created a niche with Dynasty of the Sands, which it has received worldwide recognition for,” she said. “Securing a multi-million pound contract at such an early stage in its business is a significant achievement.
“Our team continues to work closely with James to help deliver a strategic plan for the company to progress at pace and scale. Our support is already making a real difference to the company’s growth and has helped it expand its team, with some of the roles now in place. If this is what Rocket Flair can achieve in such a short period of time, I really look forward to following the company’s future success and continued innovative games developed at its Northern Ireland based studios.”