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PRESS RELEASES
6th August 2008
Jobs market defies credit crunch
Drive to employ new recruits in the video games industry continues, despite stormy economic climate
Recruitment agencies have told MCV that the games industry is still recruiting heavily, despite growing economic concerns.
As large companies in other industries are being forced to tighten their belts to cope with the credit crunch and potential recession, video game publishers and developers are still on the lookout for talented individuals to add to their business.
“We are pleased to say we haven’t seen any downturn in any of our divisions to date,” said Handle Recruitment’s director Peter Tafler. “On the contrary, this has in fact been our best year yet. The games and digital sectors are still going through considerable growth so we expect to be busy for some time to come.”
Specialmove’s head of recruitment Matthew Hill added: “The overall games market is extremely buoyant with particularly strong demand for experienced online and marketing staff.
In addition, we are seeing good growth from a number of smaller companies which – while young – have very experienced management. At Specialmove we are still seeing great demand for our clients.”
Yet despite the industry’s current strength, Game Op’s operations director Steph Woods has warned that any recession could lead to tighter recruitment budgets:
“Inevitably an economic downturn will impact on our industry,” she explained. “We expect to see a decline in software sales, which will affect publisher profitability. Due to this many studios will be forced to re-examine their requirements and monitor their budgets more closely.”
Christopher Dring - MCV Aug 6 2008, 3:10pm
19th October 2007
MCV Insider’s Guide
Briefly explain what your company does:
Game Ops provides specialist services for the computer game industry, and is focussed towards game development.
Does Game Ops have plans for future expansion?
Of course, but at a rate that will not jeopardise the personal service that we always aim to provide. The register however continues to grow, as many industry professionals embrace this flexible way of working.
Tell us a bit about the Services Game Ops offers:
Game Ops services include outsourcing, in-sourcing, risk assessment and recruitment solutions. We are the UK and Europe's leading provider of freelance resources for computer game development, boasting some of the best Programmer, Artist, Designer, Tester, Audio, Localisation and Producer talent available in Europe. All contractors are highly skilled and experienced in their individual fields and many have worked on the leading AAA titles of recent years.
Where did Game Ops originate and who was the founder?
Founded in 2002 by Jim Woods, a veteran of the game development industry. Game Ops provides a real alternative to the existing recruitment methods used by the industry and provide a means for game developers and publishers to find the talent and resources they needed as and when they are required.
Game Ops very quickly established a reputation for expertise and excellence within the industry and as a result has grown very rapidly. Steph Woods joined the company in August 2003 as Operations Director. 2005 has seen the company grow rapidly, with new office space and a dedicated office manager employed to allow the company to continue its global expansion.
Why should customers get in touch?
With more than 600 contractors currently registered, we can offer a choice of skills and experience to suit any project. We can also provide fixed price work for clearly defined projects. This guarantees costs and prevents a project going over budget.
For permanent recruitment solutions, Game Ops is able to offer a reliable, confidential service at a very competitive 10% flat fee across the board.
Having a good relationship with Scotland’s Universities, ensures that Game Ops can support graduates entering the games industry and provide employers with a steady flow of high calibre graduates to inject enthusiasm and new ideas into development studios.
What makes Game Ops stand out from competition?
We tailor the candidates to the studios’ specific requirements and many clients who utilize our contractors also rely on us to help them source candidates for permanent roles within their studios.
And to finish off an informal question that you're not obliged to answer, but is always fun:
Do you have any interesting office prank / drunk stories?
I (Steph) recently accidentally locked Susan (our Office Manager) in the loo after a Game Ops ‘get together’. When the guests had departed, she had to call me on my mobile to let her out!
Press release MCV 19/10/2007
14th November 2005
Helping You Find Gameful Employment
Dundee, November 14th. New offices, a new office manager, a roster of almost 500 contracting staff and agreements with many of the world's leading developers and publishers are just a few of the announcements coming from Game Ops, as the company celebrates its third anniversary.
The widespread adoption of outsourcing and increasing popularity of 'in-sourcing' within the videogames industry has provided the agency with an enormous boost in the past several months and driven a period of rapid expansion for the company.
New, dedicated office space in Dundee has been complemented with the appointment of Susan Walker as full-time Office Manager. Game Ops has also announced its roster of contractors has increased to almost 500, covering every skill set required within the games industry from coding and art through to production, audio, quality assurance, marketing and management.
In 2005, Game Ops has expanded its client list to include many of the world's biggest videogames publishers and leading game development studios, including, for the first time several companies working in the Asia Pacific region. Many of the games currently in the charts and due for release before Christmas 2005 have had input from Game Ops contractors during their development.
Game Ops is increasingly being recognised within the videogames sector as a reliable, efficient and cost-effective source of contractors, allowing developers and publishers to find all of the required skills and positions from a single source, with standardised contracts and complete flexibility on the duration of each contractor.
Ivan Davies, Senior Producer for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, says, "Game Ops have consistently delivered for SCEE and have always been able to supply the right resource at the right time. Reliable and trusted sums them up!"
Game Ops' understanding of the industry, personal knowledge of each contractor and ability to match specific individuals and key skills to each position is at the heart of the company's success.
David Amor of UK development studios Relentless Software, agrees. "We're continually impressed with the calibre of people Game Ops offer and the flexibility they afford us has been a great help to our business," he says.
Steph Woods, the Operations Director of Game Ops, says, "The demand for contractors has grown enormously over the past three years. It's now very much an accepted part of the videogames industry. We are finding more and more developers and publishers who are building out-sourced staff into their project plans from the very outset. However, it can often be difficult to find the right people. In an industry where milestones and deadlines are crucial, it's important that the staff who come in on a contracted basis have the required skills and can be effective from day one. Game Ops prides itself on providing this very high level of service and ensuring that each contract and each contractor are selected with the greatest care to provide the best possible fit. We'd like to thank all of our clients and contractors for making 2005 our best year yet."
In 2006 Game Ops is planning further expansion, giving the company increased resources and allowing growth on a global level.
About Game Ops
Founded in 2002 by Jim Woods, a veteran of the game development industry. Game Ops provides a real alternative to the existing recruitment methods used by the industry and provide a means for game developers and publishers to find the talent and resources they needed as and when they are required.
Game Ops very quickly established a reputation for expertise and excellence within the industry and as a result has grown very rapidly. Steph Woods joined the company in August 2003 as Operations Director. 2005 has seen the company grow rapidly, with new office space and a dedicated office manager employed to allow the company to continue its global expansion.
Game Ops has worked with many of the leading developers and publishers across the UK, Europe and North America. Clients have included Codemasters, Climax, Atari, Empire Interactive, Juice, Zoo Digital, Amuze, Kayak Interactive, Six By Nine, Creative Assembly, DC-Studios, Visual Science, Vis, Atomic Planet, Eidos, Exient, THQ, Take 2 and Mind's Eye.
Game Ops has almost 500 contractors signed up, covering all disciplines within the games industry. After a number of requests, the company has started offering full time staff and is now working with a number of complete development teams to offer their services to clients in both the development and publishing areas.
Game Ops also works closely with all of the universities in Scotland to support graduates entering the games industry and provide development studios with a ready source of high calibre talent.
Press release supplied by Games Press 10:23 14/11/2005
25th October 2004
Development Revolution
Game Ops Celebrates Second Birthday With Industry Endorsements & 300th Contractor
Dundee, Scotland, October 25th. Outsourcing work to specialist contractors is becoming more and more popular in the game development community, according to information released today by recruitment specialists Game Ops.
The company, which has pioneered the 'studio model', is celebrating its second birthday, and has today signed its three hundredth contractor. Game Ops is also announcing major expansion plans to increase capacity to cater for growing interest in its services.
"The development community is realising that the traditional development model, with all of the skills kept in-house, is simply not viable for many projects nowadays," says Steph Woods, the Operations Director of Game Ops. "Over the past two years, Game Ops has placed literally hundreds of contracted staff, including several teams, with some of the industry's leading development studios across much of Europe. Whether they've been involved in a project from the outset or been brought in to help a project get back on track, we've had a great deal of success placing contracted staff within studios."
In addition to the company's Glasgow office, run by Peter McDowall, Game Ops is opening a purpose built office in Dundee, Scotland to cope with an accelerating level of demand. Steph Woods will be based at Game Ops new Dundee HQ and the company will be recruiting more staff to ensure that Game Ops has the necessary infrastructure to continue supporting the development sector, as the value of outsourcing is discovered by a growing number of developers.
In addition, the company has recently started placing staff on a full-time basis with several studios. "In a number of situations, we have had studios ask specifically for the contractor to remain as a permanent member of staff," says Woods. "This is a wonderful endorsement of the work we do, and shows the value of our individual and expert approach to each contractor and each position we fill."
Several of the studios which have used Game Ops services have found their unique approach to outsourcing and recruitment to be very useful:
"We've found Gameops extremely trustworthy and effective in regards to securing the right resources in good and bad times. It feels great to have access to a service where they truly understand our requirements for a mutual match between the company and the individuals."
- John Kroknes, CEO, Amuze.
"We have only started using Game Ops this year, and already they are proving to be a best of breed agency with first class service and candidates,"
- Stephen Harrison-Mirfield, Director of Human Resources for Codemasters
"Helpful, flexible and most importantly, giving us the staff we needed in the timescales we want."
- Peter Dalton, Production Director, ZOO Digital Publishing Ltd
"Game-Ops differs from so many agencies by properly listening to your requirements and then carefully matching available skills. Juice Games were impressed by the quality of the candidates offered and by the whole process of monitoring the individuals during the hire period. Care goes a long way and that's certainly what you'll get from Game-Ops."
- Don Whiteford, Studio Manager, Juice Games Limited
Game Ops is always looking for talented and experienced individuals and teams. The company's website gives details of positions which are currently open and allows interested parties to sign up for more information.
Press release supplied by Games Press 25/10/2004
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23rd September 2003
Games Freelancing Consultancy Celebrates Its First Century
Game Ops, the games industry's first freelance staff consultancy today celebrated its first birthday, with the announcement of its 100th contractor signed, a new range of services and the appointment of two new full-time staff.
The company is the first agency within the games industry to offer freelance staff to developers and publishers, covering all areas of activity from development and coding, to artists, animators, audio engineers, quality assurance and production staff.
In order to capitalise on the success to date and provide a strong base for continuing growth, Game Ops has appointed two new personnel. Steph Woods becomes Operations Director and Peter McDowall, former Licensing Manager for Empire Interactive has joined as Business Development Manager.
Game Ops has also created a permanent recruitment division thanks to an overwhelming demand from the industry. "Our customers have been so impressed with the service and quality of staff that they approached us to provide them with a permanent recruitment service as well as offering outsourcing," says Steph Woods. "As part of our "Value for Money" policy we have decided to offer a standard 10% introduction fee. We hope that this approach will demonstrate to the industry as a whole that there are still companies prepared to offer a first class service at a very competitive rate"
In its first year of existence Game Ops has proven an enormous success with freelance staff supplied to some of the world's leading developers and publishers. The recent demise of several games companies throughout the UK and Europe have highlighted a number of weaknesses in the current structure favoured by development studios. The unique service provided by Game Ops provide an alternative means for game developers and publishers alike to access the skill base they require.
"The games industry continues to evolve and the requirement for freelance staff is growing rapidly," says Woods. "Game Ops is already extending services into Europe and further afield. With the new services and staff we are perfectly positioned to provide the industry with the services it requires to remain competitive and professional."
Press release supplied by Games Press 23/09/2003
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May 2003
Game Ops Offers Outsourcing Solution for Development
By Rob Fahey
Development troubleshooting agency Game Ops has launched a new service aimed at providing freelance staff to developers wishing to outsource work on their projects, helping to bring games in on time and on budget.
The company retains a group of experienced staffers with skills in a wide range of game-related areas – including coding, artwork and animation, design, localisation, testing, audio and massively multiplayer gaming – and promises to oversee the freelancing system, ensuring that it is cost-efficient and professional.
Interestingly, Game Ops also demands that all freelancers quote on a per-job basis rather than a per-day basis, which gives companies a firm ‘bottom-line’ quote for the services.
Game Ops managing director Jim Woods believes that outsourcing could help to solve many problems faced by development studios at the moment. “The traditional model used by studios is to keep all services in-house and maintain a large pool of technical staff,” explains Woods. “However this model creates very high overheads, which in the current environment is simply not viable.”
The type of freelancer service offered by Game Ops is the key to this, he argues. “There has been widespread recognition that the outsourcing model is a vital method of keeping development costs low, while maintaining the highest levels of quality. Using freelancers allows a development to maintain a very small core team and pull in the necessary skills as and when they are required.”
Individuals interested in opportunities for freelance staff at Game Ops can find more information at the Game Ops website, while companies interested in these services should chat to Jim Woods directly.
Press release posted on amusezine.com May/2003
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2nd April 2003
Gaming Development
Game Ops Offers New Solution To Developer Outsourcing
April 2nd. Game Ops, the interactive industry's first troubleshooting agency, today announced the launch of a unique new freelancer service designed to address the critical issue of outsourcing in the games development sector.
Game Ops retains a number of highly experienced staff across a broad range of disciplines including coding, art & animation, game design, localisation, testing, audio and massively multiplayer gaming.
Despite the global surge in games sales, development studios have faced a volatile market over the past 18 months, with many high profile companies going out of business. "The traditional model used by studios is to keep all services in-house and maintain a large pool of technical staff," says Jim Woods, the MD of Game Ops. "However this model creates very high overheads, which in the current environment is simply not viable."
The freelance service is an integral part of the overall Game Ops service, which is designed to offer a range practical methods to ensure both developers and publishers can bring games to market on time and to budget.
"There has been widespread recognition that the outsourcing model is a vital method of keeping development costs low, while maintaining the highest levels of quality," says Woods. "Using freelancers allows a development to maintain a very small core team and pull in the necessary skills as and when they are required."
Game Ops is also ensuring that the use of external personnel is controlled in a professional and cost-efficient manner. All freelancers available through the company will quote for an entire job rather than negotiate a daily rate, giving clients a bottom line figure for services.
"The games industry in the UK was founded by technologists and, at its heart this is still true. The current global market means that good business practice and careful management are now equally as important as technical ability," continues Woods. "Game Ops can provide an expert and impartial level of management and business service for any kind of project and the tactical resources required to complete the project and bring the title to market.
Press release posted on vgcity.com and worthplaying.com 04:38 02/04/2003
31st January 2003
Game Ops - Games On Time, Games On Budget
New company provides practical troubleshooting services for games industry
January 31st. Game Ops, a new troubleshooting agency, providing a wide range of practical troubleshooting and project delivery services to the games industry, was launched today in Scotland.
Founded by industry veteran Jim Woods, the former development director of DMA Design, Game Ops addresses the most critical issues facing companies operating in the global games market.
Game Ops offers a broad range of services to companies across the games industry including risk assessment, project management, coding, design, and art. With the growing complexity of creating games for the current generation of games platforms, each of these areas are now crucial in ensuring a project is completed on time and to budget. Game Ops support across all levels also ensures that the companies involved can maximise their return on investment in each project brought to market.
The pressure on developers to deliver high quality work on time and on publishers to produce AAA titles has never been greater. The high profile failure of a number of independent games developers over recent months and the ability of a small number of titles to account for a high percentage of overall sales in the marketplace, point to an industry in which fundamental skills such as initial risk assessment and project management are of paramount importance if a game is to be completed and successfully taken to market.
Having a resource such as Game Ops on hand to provide expert advice and, more importantly, practical solutions to the problems encountered throughout the life-cycle of a game can make the difference between making a loss or realising a profit from a project. In the current games market this is fundamental to the long term survival of developers and publishers alike.
"The goal of Game Ops is to provide Investors, developers and publishers with the services which are now obligatory to ensure products are successfully completed and brought to market, but which very few companies have as part of their fundamental structure," says Woods. "The industry is traditionally very strong on the technical side, but having the management resources to integrate all of the necessary skills and tasks into an achievable project is often a major problem. Even the most capable teams can find themselves facing impossible deadlines, that the project is growing uncontrollably or have one particular issue on the critical path which requires an enormous amount of resources to resolve. This is where Game Ops can offer essential assistance and bring things back under control."
Press release supplied by Games Press 31/01/2003
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