GOA, a tech company owned by mobile giant Orange, and which has an exclusive support contract with Warhammer Online creator Mythic Games, is to create over 400 jobs in Dublin, siliconrepublic.com has learned.
It is understood that the company has already recruited half of this number of workers at its new operation near central Dublin.
GOA has won the contract to support the hugely anticipated game Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, and the Dublin operation will support other games across Europe in five languages: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
With over seven years’ experience in the management of massively popular multi-player online role-playing games, GOA is the online games department of mobile player Orange’s content division.
Its teams reconcile technical expertise with a passion for games, and take advantage of France Telecom’s and Orange’s technical platforms to boost the gaming experience of European players.
“This is a terrific announcement for Dublin and demonstrates the changing nature of our increasingly knowledge-based economy,” said the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan TD.
“This powerful shift in our economic basis enables us to target investments at the cutting-edge of technology, and it is for these very reasons that the Government welcomes a company of this calibre and highly innovative nature.
“GOA is a superb addition to the thriving games industry in Ireland. It is a market-leader in multi-player online role-playing games, which are highly popular across the world.
“The games industry is a strategic target for inward investment into Ireland. Interactive entertainment is one of the fastest-growing and most popular recreational sectors globally, and this demand is creating new opportunities for Ireland and a substantial amount of sustainable, high-value added employment in this cutting-edge industry,” the Tánaiste said.
According to David Ryan, managing director of GOA in Dublin, the city was the perfect location to establish the company’s multi-lingual customer and engineering support centre, as it offers a highly educated and skilled workforce.
“Ireland has a strong internet infrastructure and a young, educated and creative population. It is the ideal location to gather a highly educated, multi-lingual team to provide the best services and support to our very large customer base, partners and customers across Europe,” Ryan explained.
The addition of GOA is a strategic win for IDA Ireland, adding to a strong and growing community of gaming companies in Dublin such as Havok (owned by Intel), Activision (formerly Demonware) and Microsoft.
“GOA’s European, multi-lingual base in Dublin is a significant addition to service industries in this country,” Dermot Clohessy, IDA executive director of business development and marketing, explained.
“IDA looks forward to encouraging further digital media companies, with similar high levels of technical expertise, to locate in Ireland in the future,” Clohessy added.
By John Kennedy
Pictured: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
