MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Like the UK, the Irish games retail market took a hit with the fall of GAME.
In fact, the impact was more severe, as all RoI GAME stores closed after the retailer went into administration. Famously, some former GAME staff orchestrated a sit-in in protest against the lack of an administrator to uphold Irish employees’ rights to pay.
In the months since, the rest of Ireland’s games retailers have picked up the slack and there are still opportunities thanks to the decrease in competition left in the wake of GAME’s collapse.
There’s room for larger companies to establish a base in the Republic of Ireland, too. While the likes of Sony, Microsoft, EA, and Ubisoft are present in the region, their operations are more akin to local offices of their UK parents rather than standalone divisions.
The development community is thriving. Plants vs Zombies creator PopCap has a base there and middleware developers Demonware and Havok originated in Ireland. EA opened a BioWare customer service department in Galway, while casual publisher Big Fish Games expanded its R&D initiative in Cork. They are in good company as Facebook and Google have HQs there, too.
All local firms are represented by trade body Games Ireland.
THE FACTS
Population: 4,588,252
Currency: Euro
GDP (Per Capita): $47,513
Capital City: Dublin
Languages: Irish, English
KEY RETAILERS
Argos, Currys, Gameclick/Gamesnash, GameStop, Harvey Norman, HMV, Smyths Toys, Xtra-Vision
MAIN DISTRIBUTORS
MSE Group, Sean Fagan Wholesale
TOP DEVELOPERS
Affinity Tech, BatCat Games, CanDo Interactive, Darkwater Studios, DemonWare, EA BioWare, Eirplay Games, Eyesodic Game Studios, Nevermind Games, Open Emotion Studios, PopCap Games, Pufferfish, Redwind Software, Riot Games, Tribal City Interactive, Wee Man Studios
PUBLISHER OFFICES IN THE REGION
Activision Blizzard, EA, Icon Games Entertainment, Jolt Online Gaming, Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft
