An award-winning Teesside games studio is looking to triple its headcount after moving to a larger office.
SockMonkey was previously located at Middlesbrough tech hub Boho Five but the studio has now moved into the newly refurbished Albert North.
The company was founded in 2013 and is best known for its work on the popular The Escapists and Prison Architects series. It has also landed contracts on console and PC titles around the globe, including US-based indie game developer tinyBuild and Outfit7.
Earlier this year the studio received £250,000 investment from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, which it will use fund the development of Fish Tanks, its first original title.
SockMonkey has taken up 5,000sq ft of office space at Albert North’s 16/26 building. The extra space will allow the firm to triple its headcount by the end of 2021.
Bob Makin, SockMonkey’s CEO, said: “We’ve experienced tremendous growth recently and having almost doubled the team we had quickly outgrown our studio space in Boho Five.
“Keen to stay in Middlesbrough’s digital cluster, we needed a new office that would accommodate our future growth plans. When we visited 16/26 at Albert North, we immediately loved the location and the large, modern open plan space.
“The big plus for us was that (developers) Jomast had listened to the needs of the digital sector and already created a vibrant community that met all our requirements.”
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Albert North is a new commercial district and digital tech hub, which was created through a project designed to regenerate Albert Road.
The redevelopment was carried out by property firm Jomast, which renovated a number of the town’s popular buildings.
SockMonkey is one of a number of tech firms that have moved into the area, including Mabo, Salesfire, Big Bite, Appamondo, LouTom Media and iConvert.
Mark Hill, commercial property director at Jomast, said: “The response to Albert North has been tremendous, and the area is becoming a real success story.
“We’re delighted to have been able to help a number of fast-growing businesses in the local tech sector make a move into larger office accommodation so they can continue to pursue their growth ambitions.
“With all the upper floor space at 16/26 fully occupied our focus early in the new year will be to refurbish the neighbouring property 28/32. This six-storey building will offer a further 24,000 sq ft of bespoke office space.”