“The decision to establish a UK studio was an easy one for CCP,” said Richard Smith, Technical Director of CCP Newcastle. “The North East has a distinguished heritage of game development, an experienced console-development talent pool and local universities producing exceptional graduates. We have been able to assemble a world-class team of console developers with unparalleled Unreal Engine expertise and integrate them with CCP’s global organization.”
As its first project, CCP Newcastle will collaborate with CCP Asia in Shanghai on the development of the upcoming MMOFPS DUST 514 for console platforms. It will also be responsible for delivering advanced solutions for lighting, physics and artificial intelligence to CCP's console projects. CCP Newcastle most recently teamed with Cambridge-based middleware provider Geomerics to integrate Enlighten technology for real-time radiosity lighting into Epic's Unreal Engine. Consequently, DUST 514 will be the first console title using the Unreal 3 engine to feature fully dynamic lighting.
CCP Newcastle’s founding engineers come from Midway Games, where they were widely recognized as some of the UK's leading experts on Unreal Engine. This core group will spearhead console-specific research and development, looking ahead to the next generation of videogame consoles and strengthening North East England’s reputation for pioneering game technology.
“Gateshead Digital Summer has showcased our commitment to attracting digital and creative businesses to Gateshead. The news that CCP will be opening a studio in Gateshead supports our vision of an enterprising borough,” commented Councillor Mick Henry, Leader of Gateshead Council. ““The arrival of CCP will lead to the creation of up to thirty digital jobs in an industry that already employs over a hundred local people. For Gateshead to continue to develop, we must support creative industries that provide employment and help boost the local economy.”
At this year's GameHorizon conference June 29-30 at The Sage Gateshead, CCP Senior Director of Business Development Yohei Ishii will outline a new path in console game development that will redefine how games will be accessed and monetized in a changing console and gaming market. CCP Newcastle is actively recruiting talent that shares this vision, and expects to attract some of the best and brightest game technologists in the UK development community.
Said Simon Goon, Head of Business Investment at One North East, “The digital games industry is a sector in which the North East is especially strong and which has been identified as a key area for creating jobs and economic growth in the years ahead. An innovative, market-leading firm like CCP will provide a major boost to the critical mass that is already here and we are delighted to have helped the company establish this new base in the North East.”