Irish cloud platform for games developers GameSparks has been included in an elite list of 100 start-ups produced by European games industry publication Develop Magazine.
Develop Magazine is considered the bible of the game developer community in Europe and this is the second edition of the Europe 100 listing that GameSpark was included in.
GameSparks is a new cloud-based platform for games developers to help build the server-side functionality and features for games in one integrated development environment. Post launch, GameSparks provides studios with the tools they need to manage their games and grow player numbers.
“Although a focus with Ireland’s fast-growing gaming industry is the games and the companies that build them, a space in which we are gaining strength, the underlying success story in games technology highlights an enviable track record in providing the tools that the game makers themselves rely on,” GameSpark co-founder John Griffin said.
“Demonware, founded in 2003, was one of the first; Havok, the world’s leading physics engine bought by Intel in 2007; and more recently, Swrve finding success in the US with one of the industry’s leading analytics solutions. GameSparks is the latest Irish company to join this list.”
“There are some really promising companies in Ireland today. They have been very influential to us as we went through the early stages of product development for GameSparks. Working with them has helped us to develop a world class product and we are now actively selling that in Europe and further afield.”
Dual go-to-market strategy
GameSparks is gathering momentum since being formedearlier this year. The start-up was shortlisted for the Dublin Web Summit’s Spark of Genius. Inclusion in the list of Europe’s most exciting start-ups is an early sign that the firm could join the ranks of previously successful Irish game technology providers.
The product launched towards the end of August this year with a dual go-to-market approach targeting both the larger games companies and the smaller independent studios.
“What guides us is a desire to bring great technology to the indies”, explains Griff Parry, CEO.
“However, we also work closely with large games companies so it is important to us to maintain that broad appeal. Ireland is a great place for us to be based as we get great access to the local games companies who are never shy in telling us what we need to be doing.”
