Keywords Studios makes Milan a hub for video game audio production

16 Nov 2021

Image: Keywords Studios

The Irish gaming services company has added state-of-the-art equipment and expanded its Italian facility to handle increased demand.

Dublin-headquartered Keywords Studios has announced an upgrade and expansion to its audio and post-production facility in Italy.

The Milan studio has handled audio and post-production work for a range of games across various genres over the last 20 years and has been expanded thanks to Keywords’ recent acquisition of Italian audio production studio Jinglebell.

The expansion will allow the studio to cater for increased publisher and developer demand with the addition of state-of-the-art equipment.

The Milan studio is one of the main hubs for the company’s audio localisation services and a centre-point for the management and post-production of multilingual projects.

Keywords Studios’ regional managing director for Europe, Fulvio Sioli, said: “Managing the entire audio localisation process, from voice actor casting and recording to mixing, processing and post-recording quality checks, allows our client partners to focus on the creativity that makes their games great.

“Upgrading and expanding the Milan studio is a key step in continuing to offer the best of the best for these publishers and developers.”

The facility now offers eight recording booths, a new 16 sq m room with variable acoustics, and 5.1 surround sound mixing capabilities, giving the studio improved capacity and new options for creative audio services.

The centre also has 12 post-production rooms to harmonise the output of audio recordings done in other sites.

The renovation will also allow the studio to provide additional audio services to mobile gaming development, a key growing platform in the gaming industry.

Keywords Studios has seen steady growth to its reach and influence in the last couple of years through various acquisitions, including the purchases of High Voltage Software, UK development studio Coconut Lizard and Los Angeles-based Heavy Iron Studios in 2020.

The global gaming company is expecting an 80pc increase to its gross profits this year due to growing demand.

Founded in 1998, Keywords provides technical and creative services to most of the industry’s biggest names including Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, Epic Games, Ubisoft, Konami and Electronic Arts. It has more than 70 studios in 23 countries and works in areas including art, audio, development, quality assurance, localisation and player support.

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Leigh Mc Gowran is a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com