REAL TIME WORLDS EXPANDS DUNDEE WORKFORCE

Realtime Worlds |

Leading Scottish based games developer, Real Time Worlds, is set to expand its Dundee workforce by over 40% in under six months.

The news comes on the back of a recent announcement by Real Time Worlds - founded in 2002 by Managing Director, Dave Jones, creator of the multi-million copy selling franchises, Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings - on the firm's launch into the Korean market in October, when it opened an office in Seoul.

Recently receiving an investment of £1.05 million by the Helsinki-based CIM Venture Fund for Creative Industries and Scottish Enterprise's Co-Investment Fund, Real Time Worlds is currently in development of new technologies, including two upcoming titles, one of which will be the company's first offering into the online games market.

The Dundee development studio - which has successfully attracted employees from across the globe - currently employs 51 staff. The firm predicts that its current recruitment drive will increase its workforce by more than 40% over the next six months, while Real Time Worlds' Korean office, will expand from four to ten over the same period.

Continuing to build on the groundbreaking content for which the company is revered, Real Time Worlds' is experiencing growth at a rapid rate. This is reinforced by its entrance to a region considered to be the undisputed global champion of online gaming - the main revenue earner in the Korean games market pulling in $1billion in 2001, 37% of a total $2.8billion.

Real Time Worlds is one of the UK's leading games companies currently working on the next generation of multiplatform gaming. Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG's) have formed the backbone of Korean gaming culture for over a decade, with Korean games companies now controlling more than 70% of the world's fastest growing online market, China, where the rapid growth of high-speed Internet, with close to 70 million users, has secured the supremacy of online games over PC and console-based games.

Managing Director Jones commented on the company's ongoing success: "Real Time Worlds is at the cutting edge of a number of different technological areas. Not only are we succeeding at the forefront of this sector, which is challenging, particularly when market conditions are so tough, but it's fantastic to consistently attract staff of the very highest calibre both locally, and from all over the world in order to meet our long-term goals."

Real Time Worlds is also headed up by Tony Harman, former Director of Development and Acquisition at Nintendo of America, who joined Jones last year, along with Ian Hetherington, former Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and founder of Psygnosis. The three industry veterans are responsible for some of the world's best selling games.

Press:

Stephanie Robertson

T: 01333 451 122

M: 07919 447 231

E: [email protected]

Real Time Worlds Contact:

Colin Macdonald

T: 01382 202821

E: [email protected]