Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD today announced that Big Fish Games, the category leader in premium casual games with more than 2500 unique titles and 1.5 billion downloads, is continuing to enhance and expand its cloud gaming research and development initiative at its Cork, Ireland operation. Big Fish’s cloud gaming service will run the company’s casual game catalog in the cloud, which allows for its games to be accessible to customers on a variety of devices and platforms via interactive video streaming. This dedicated research initiative by Big Fish will involve the recruitment of 30 highly skilled software engineers, who will be located in the Cork RD&I centre, representing the largest research and development project undertaken by Big Fish in Ireland to date. As this is an exciting development for the wider games industry in Ireland, Big Fish’s investment is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.
Big Fish Games will also be one of the main contributors to the ‘Games Ireland Gathering’ (GIG) taking place on the 15th Feb 2012 at Dublin’s Gibson Hotel. Stephen Hegarty, Big Fish’s Director of European Business Operations located in Cork, Will O’Brien, General Manager of Big Fish’s cloud gaming initiative, and Ian Hurlock-Jones, Big Fish’s Chief Technology Officer, will be on hand at GIG to discuss the upcoming opportunities and technologies.
Making the announcement, Minister Bruton said:
“As part of the Government’s plan to address the employment crisis , we are determined to build on the sectors of strength we have built up over recent years, as well as selecting new sectors where Ireland can become a world leader. Over the past 20 years we have built up a base of multinational companies in the IT sector, which is the envy of many other countries; however now we must target those areas where the growth of the future is going to spring, such as cloud computing and digital gaming.
“Today’s very welcome announcement shows what is possible in these areas. The task now is to build on this news, and in the coming weeks the Action Plan for Jobs will outline a series of policy changes to target sectors such as these to create the jobs and growth we so badly need.”
Speaking to the announcement, Jeremy Lewis, Big Fish CEO, said, “Much like Netflix changed the way we view movies today, allowing film entertainment to be instantly accessed on over 800 devices, Big Fish’s cloud gaming service will transform the marketplace for premium casual entertainment by bringing our millions of mainstream customers that much closer to the thousands of wonderful games created by our in-house Studios and game development partners. As the trusted leader in premium casual entertainment, Big Fish will be delighting consumers anywhere, anytime, on the platform of their choice.”
Commenting on the announcement, Barry O’Leary, CEO, IDA Ireland said: “I am delighted that Big Fish Games have chosen Ireland as the location of choice in which to conduct this pioneering research. Ireland’s competencies in areas such as cloud computing and software engineering, together with its vibrant digital media portfolio, make it a perfect-fit with innovative companies in this space. There are now more than 1,500 people employed in the computer games industry in Ireland, and today’s announcement reinforces Ireland’s reputation as a leading location for digital media companies. Furthermore, the investment establishes Cork as a leading RD&I Centre of Excellence in cloud computing.”
About Big Fish Games
Founded in 2002, Big Fish is the leading online marketplace for premium casual games. Through its proprietary, data driven platform, millions of consumers seeking immersive, relaxing entertainment easily discover and purchase premium casual games created by Big Fish’s network of more than 500 development partners and in-house by Big Fish Games Studios. Renowned for offering A New Game Every Day!® on www.bigfishgames.com, the company offers thousands of games on multiple platforms — PC, Mac, mobile phone, and tablet. Big Fish’s websites, games, and customer service are available in ten languages – Danish, Dutch, English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish – and its games are sold in more than 150 countries. The company is headquartered in Seattle, WA, with regional offices in Vancouver, Canada, Cork, Ireland, and Luxembourg.
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