The Company’s new facility will provide customer support for players of their future massively multiplayer online games and is expected to result in the creation of hundreds of jobs over the next several years.
Under the leadership of industry veteran Matt Firor, ZeniMax Online Studios was founded to create online role playing games. Overseeing the global customer service initiative at the studio is Rich Barham, Director of Customer Support, whose leadership will foster the growth of the operation. Prior to joining ZeniMax Online, Barham, formerly with Blizzard Entertainment, was a major contributor to the management of in-game support needs, customer care, and retention for World of Warcraft and was a key team member setting up customer service centers for North America and Europe.
“Today’s announcement marks an important step for us,” said Matt Firor, president of ZeniMax Online Studios. “We are excited to be building an experienced team, led by Rich, which will focus on providing superior customer support for our games. Galway has world-class educational facilities, is a beautiful place to work and live, and offers a wide variety of benefits for our employees. Our ability to provide superior customer service for our future products is firmly on track.”
Support from IDA Ireland, the Irish Government inward investment agency, and other local entities, as well as the country’s thriving customer support industry, were critical elements in selecting the Galway location.
Welcoming today’s announcement, IDA Ireland’s CEO, Barry O’Leary, said “ZeniMax Online Studios’ decision to locate its European customer services operations in Galway acknowledges Ireland’s delivery of services’ excellence in the digital media sphere and its position of strength in the global gaming industry. They are a very welcome addition to a cluster of companies across Ireland in a sector which is witnessing rapid growth. IDA Ireland’s strategy blueprint, Horizon 2020 recognizes the global growth in services and today’s announcement by ZeniMax Online further embeds Ireland’s reputation as a European digital capital.”