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.

Individuals interested in Game Ops opportunities for freelance staff can find more information and register at www.gameops.co.uk

Companies interested in working with Game Ops should contact Jim Woods directly on 07980 557342