SCOTTISH video games companies are set to attend one of the world’s biggest business gatherings to promote the home-grown industry.
As part of a bid to expand Scotland’s video games sector, eight firms from across the country will attend the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan which is expected to pull in 28 million punters from around the world.
Glagow’s BearHammer Games, Buildstash, Blazing Griffin and Edinburgh’s GLITCHERS, Wardog Studios, Speech Graphics and Yaldi Games will be joined by Dundee’s Konglomerate Games for the two-week trip beginning on April 5.
This will see them network with potential new investors and customers in Japan, beginning their stay at Tunnel Tokyo, a start-up “incubator” operated by the SEGA Sammy group and venture capital firm Pegasus Ventures.
They will then showcase their products at a Scottish Government event focused on gaming at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka.
The visit has been developed as part of the Scottish Government’s Techscaler programme.
Speaking at a visit to Blazing Griffin’s offices in Glasgow, Business Minister Richard Lochhead (below) said: “Japan is synonymous with gaming technology and, with a market valued at around $50 billion, it offers phenomenal economic opportunities for our own, hugely talented Scottish sector.
“Techscaler is about helping entrepreneurs unleash their ability to innovate, spearheading Scotland’s presence in expanding new markets.
“Techscaler Japan will present some of our most exciting gaming start-ups with considerable opportunities to unlock further investment, develop new commercial partnerships and drive and showcase their businesses on a global stage.”
Blazing Griffin's co-head of games, Justin Alae-Carew said: “We're incredibly excited to take part in Techscaler's market visit to Japan. Japan is not only an incredible consumer and producer of games, but also home to a fantastic array of multi-media intellectual property (IP).
"We see huge opportunity in exploring cross-border partnership with a specific focus on IP – either Japanese IP coming to the West or Western IP gaining foothold in Japan.
“The multi-media lens by which Japan views IP is also something for us to learn from and given our capabilities across film and games at Blazing Griffin, we're uniquely positioned to take advantage of the opportunities raised by that approach.”
