A new video game development studio is opening in Manchester and plans to create more jobs in the city.
Cloud Imperium Games announced the studio will open in Manchester's Enterprise City district in May 2022.
The Manchester studio aims to create more than 700 jobs in the area by 2023, and over 1,000 within the next five years.
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Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “Greater Manchester is an ambitious tech hub and has become a magnet for digital talent, with a community of industry pioneers, specialist academics and creative minds.
"We look forward to welcoming Cloud Imperium Games to the city-region in 2022 - in a move set to bring 1,000 jobs over the next five years, along with the opportunity for the region to play a new role in the future of gaming.”
Cloud Imperium Games was founded in 2012 by developer Chris Roberts and focuses on creating AAA games outside of the established publisher system.
Chris Roberts, CEO of Cloud Imperium Games, said: “Manchester is where I started my video game career, when I was hired to write the Game of the Month for BBC Micro User, back in 1983 at the ripe age of 14, so it makes me very happy to announce that we have signed a long-term deal for our biggest office yet, in downtown Manchester.
"Manchester is one of the most vibrant and modern cities in Europe, with strong education links and high connectivity, offering outstanding opportunities and quality of life for our team."
The company has headquarters in Los Angeles, Texas, Germany, Montreal, and Canada.
They already have an office in Wilmslow, Cheshire, with 400 employees that will relocate to the new Manchester office when it's ready.
Cloud Imperium are also the developer behind the upcoming and highly anticipated Star Citizen - a space simulator game that contains ambitious graphics and open-world gameplay.
"The new Enterprise City space is the perfect home for game development, with its deep investment in businesses focused on media, technology and creativity," Mr Roberts added.
"Manchester joins Los Angeles, Austin and Frankfurt as home to Cloud Imperium’s team, working in partnership with our community of players on Star Citizen and Squadron 42.”
Squadron 42 is another title in development by Cloud Imperium which is set in the same universe as Star Citizen.
It will have more focus on a Hollywood-style story-driven experience featuring an all-star cast of Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, Mark Strong and Gillian Anderson.
Mark Hamill is most known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film series.
Daniel Monaghan, real estate partner at Shoosmiths, said: "This deal has the potential to create up to 1,000 new jobs – boosting the North West economy and showing that Manchester is a prime location for growing, ambitious businesses.
"Allied London is creating a new hub for modern industry with Enterprise City and we look forward to supporting the firm as it attracts further businesses from the tech, media and creative sectors.”
The new Manchester studio will begin recruiting in early 2022, with positions available for programmers, artists, animators, audio specialists, writers, designers and producers, as well as administrative roles.
There will also be entry-level positions for newcomers looking to make their start in the videogame industry.
If you're interested in getting into videogame development, open roles at Cloud Imperium can be found on their page here.
