Outsourcing

Tiga, the UK's game developer trade body, today released a new report that shows that some key game developers regard outsourcing as fundamental to their business. According to Tiga's research, 83 per cent of UK game developers outsource at least one business process. Leading developers including Blitz Games, Monumental Games, Ubisoft Reflections and Zoe Mode, all pointed to outsourcing as essential to meet tight deadlines, skill requirements and scalability issues. Industry leaders also point out that the flexibility of outsourcing is increasingly attractive given the current global economic downturn.

William Brown, Associate Producer at Ubisoft Reflections states: As we begin to see the impact of the recent financial crisis along with the ever-increasing scale and expectations of current and next generation games, we are embracing outsourcing as one of the ways we can stay competitive in the global market.

Developers also agreed that outsourcing requires a high level of investment in terms of planning, communication and ongoing management.

As Ben Hebb, art director at Zoe Mode states: clear communication and planning is everything. Having enough internal resource to manage and feedback on work is vital.

David Tolley, outsourcing manager at Monumental Games adds: successful outsource contribution is driven by experience, passion and strong support from internal staff. A few short years ago, outsourcing was almost taboo now it is a necessity.

Quickstart Global, a leading outsourcing management company, also contributed to the study and stated: For now, the key question is not should you do it, or even is this the right time to do it, but how you can outsource while maintaining cost and quality control.

Richard Wilson, CEO at Tiga, concludes: Our case studies show that a well-managed approach to outsourcing can give UK game developers a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

For a full version of the Tiga report Outsourcing and Offshoring (Tiga, 2009), please visit www.tiga.org.

Notes to editors:

1. Tiga is the trade association representing the UKs games industry. We have 150 members, the majority of whom are either independent games developers or in-house publisher owned developers. We also have outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership.

2. Tiga's vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business. We focus on three sets of activities: political representation, generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the competitiveness of our members. This means that Tiga members are effectively represented in the corridors of power, their voice is heard in the media and they receive benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities.

For further information, please contact: Dr Richard Wilson, Tiga CEO on: 0845 0941095; Mob: 07875 939643; or

Email: richard.wilson@tiga.org, or, Eva Whitlow, Tiga PR Manager on: 07814 039 983, or email eva@tiga.org.