Mission to make games as portable as music
May 20 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal
A SOFTWARE engineer has been awarded £1.9m to develop technology that could revolutionise the gaming market and allow people to share games on mobile phone handsets.
Antix Labs, which has a North East base in Stocksfield, Northumberland, has received most of the funding from Newcastle venture capital firm NorthStar Equity Investors (NSEI) which will see it build up its sales and marketing teams in the UK.
The Reading firm is also looking to build up its small North East workforce by drawing on the region’s expertise in the gaming sector to help it launch the Antix Game Player, which will allow players to share games on a variety of mobile phone handsets, much as they can with music and video.
Peter Davidson, responsible for Antix’s Northumberland operation, said: “The North East has clear expertise in the digital arena, which is why we have increased our activities here.
“We are actively evolving plans of co-operation with the region’s academic institutions, but we’re also targeting gaming businesses seeking to break into the mobile market who need a sustainable business model to be able to participate in the industry’s recent rapid growth. We also want to help those still in education in the region that have the ambition and the skills necessary to be successful in this market place.”
The technology also received investment from North East venture capitalists Hotspur Capital and Antix founder and chief executive Francis Charig.
Antix, which was founded in 2007, expects its product to be in high demand from the gaming community, which it said was moving closer to cross-platform services.
