Dozens of jobs have been saved after gaming firms Codemasters and Rebellion swooped for skilled staff axed following the collapse of Midland firm Blitz Games Studios.
Blitz, one of the UK’s longest-running video games developers, announced it was to close on September 12, with around 175 people losing their jobs.
The Leamington Spa company was founded in 1990 by twins Andrew and Philip Oliver, who had previously worked with near neighbour Codemasters, based in Southam, and continued to collaborate with the studio on the popular Dizzy series.
Although Blitz ceased trading the Olivers said they had two ongoing projects that would allow them to form a new company and re-employ 50 of the 175 staff, while more than half of the remainder are set to move to Codemasters and Rebellion.
Codemasters told the Post it was ”saddened” by Blitz’s demise but added it was actively seeking to recruit former staff.
It said it currently had 30 jobs for senior programmers, games designers and a number of other roles and encouraged former Blitz staff to get in touch.
Rich Eddy, Codemasters’ director of communications, said: “Blitz has been a core player in the West Midlands development scene for so many years and we were exceptionally sad to learn of its closing.
“We have been in contact with Philip to offer our best for the future and to provide details of over 30 development positions at Codemasters in Warwickshire and Birmingham that we are able to offer to Blitz staff affected.”
He added: “We have openings for senior programmers, games designers, art manager, audio designer, and others working across our racing video games, including the BAFTA award-winning Formula 1 series, and we’re taking applications via our website and email.”
Sniper Elite developer Rebellion, based in Oxford, revealed it hoped to recruit around 50 former Blitz staff.
Jason Kingsley, who co-founded Rebellion with his brother Chris and is the company’s chief executive, said: “We’re hoping to be able to offer roughly 50 vacancies at Rebellion which Blitz staff are welcome to apply for. We wish all the staff and management at Blitz our very best wishes during this difficult time.”
Robbie Cooke, Rebellion’s PR and marketing coordinator added that Rebellion had already held a number of open days for dozens of Blitz employees, the first taking place the day after the company’s closure.
He added that even those who did not secure roles with Rebellion would be in demand elsewhere.
Other companies are also expected to join the race to sign-up former Blitz staff, with development studios Mind Candy, Natural Motion, Rocksteady and Splash Damage also believed to be interested in speaking to them about possible vacancies.
In a statement released by Blitz chief executive Philip Oliver he said: “We have managed to weather numerous storms over the last two decades that have sadly seen the demise of many of our friends and colleagues across the industry, but the run of problems we’ve had to face over the last year is unlike any we’ve seen before.
“Frustrations with clients, the global economic crisis, and more than our fair share of simple bad luck have all conspired against us and we are no longer able to continue trading.”
“We have done all that we can to make Blitz a success, and we have come frustratingly close in recent months. Major clients have felt unable to commit to investment in significant projects, others have changed strategy whilst appearing committed, and others have been slow to commit at all – all of these things have continued to hurt our finances.
“We have also sustained the business for some time with our personal savings but even those reserves have now been exhausted.”
