One of the funded companies from our launch round portfolio has today announced a one-game development deal with global publisher, 505 Games (part of the Digital Bros group). Roll7, the BAFTA award-winning studio behind the hit titles OlliOlli, OlliOlli2 and Not a Hero secured investment for the same project funded by the UK Games Fund.
Pre-production work (supported by UK Games Fund) has already started on a brand new concept which will be a complete departure for the studio, but which will be multi-platform, multiplayer-focused, and tap into one of the biggest current gaming trends. Securing investment from 505 Games would have been extremely difficult without the help of the UK Games Fund. The deal safeguards 6 jobs and creates 10 new jobs.
“The invaluable support from the Fund was crucial in us getting to a solid prototype and passing due-diligence by making key technical hires.”
Simon Bennett, Roll7
Ian Howe, President of 505 Games said,
“We have been impressed with Roll7’s work for a long time and have admired what they’ve done off their own bat. We jumped at the chance to support them when they were looking to take the next step up with their most ambitious project to date.
Early support intervention schemes such as the UK Games Fund are essential to a growing games development talent sector, where big name IPs and saturated markets can make it challenging to identify exciting projects to partner on.”
“This deal represents a perfect example of exactly why the UK Games Fund was established and comes hard on the heels of several other good news stories from our Round 1 companies. These outcomes validate the UK Government’s significant investment in boosting the early stage ecosystem for games developers across the UK.”
The unannounced game will be released in 2017.