Disney enlarging Prague development studio

The Walt Disney Internet Group is extending its global mobile games business by increasing the size of its development studio in Prague.

The studio is to become WDIG's largest European location for the global development of mobile games. The facility, which is being renamed the Disney Mobile Games Studio, will officially open in its new location today.

"With the strength of Disney's brand, the depth of our content offering and our mobile gaming expertise, we feel that we are well positioned to capitalise on the growth potential of this sector across the EMEA region," said Cindy Rose, senior vice president and managing director of the Walt Disney Internet Group, Europe, Middle East & Africa.

An important factor in Disney's decision to expand the studio in Prague was the large pool of talented young game developers in the country.

"In the Czech Republic, there is a wealth of indigenous programming expertise, which combined with our long-standing Czech animation tradition, provides the ideal foundations for developing high-quality mobile games," said Jiri Rosenkranz, managing director of Disney Mobile Games Studio, s.r.o.

According to WDIG, the mobile gaming industry is expected to reach USD 8.4 billion in 2010, compared to 2.1 billion in 2006.

WDIG has worldwide game development centres in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Prague and Beijing. The company plans to increase the workforce in Prague by the fall of 2008.

In the Czech Republic, Disney cooperates with Telefonica 02, T-Mobile and Vodafone and is among the leading providers of mobile games.