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Sony’s £2m video game training plan for Liverpool
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VIDEO games giant Sony has teamed up with the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) to launch a £2m staff training scheme to boost the region’s video games sector.
Sony, which has sites in Liverpool and Runcorn, says the investment in its workforce ensures the North West will remain a “global centre of excellence in video game creation, production and testing”.
Video gaming is a major industry in Merseyside and Cheshire, with firms including Sony and Bizarre Creations employing hundreds of people and many smaller developers dotted throughout the region.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE)’s Liverpool Studio and Sony’s Evolution Studios in Runcorn have created some of the biggest-selling PlayStation games of recent years, including WipEout and MotorStorm.
Sony’s Wavertree campus also houses the company’s XDev Studio, which tests games created by other developers. Quality assurance teams make up more than half of SCEE’s North West workforce, with recent successes including Little Big Planet and Heavy Rain.
Michael Denny, senior vice president at Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios Europe, said: “We are delighted the NWDA has recognised the significant contribution that our industry has made to the region.
“This is about investing in people, who are our most important and valuable asset.
“The investment will allow our North West-based operations to continue to be innovative, pioneering and competitive on a global level.”
The training programme will be delivered over the next four years.
NWDA chairman Robert Hough said: “SCEE operates in an increasingly competitive marketplace and must continuously invest in the latest training.
“The pool of talent in the digital and creative sector in Liverpool and across the North West is outstanding, so we must retain the major players in this sector and help them to remain competitive and become the best in the world, while remaining cost-effective.”
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