Eidos founder Livingstone joins Wilmslow’s Playdemic
IAN Livingstone, the Manchester-born computer games pioneer who brought Tomb Raider to the world, has joined Wilmslow social gaming company Playdemic as chairman.
Playdemic is behind the Facebook games Gourmet Ranch and Village Life – one of the fastest-growing games of 2013. Playdemic is the brainchild of software entrepreneur Paul Gouge, the Wigan-born founder of Rockpool Games, which he built up and sold for more than £7m in 2007.
Mr Livingstone, who was born in Rusholme and is a lifelong Manchester City fan, began his career as an author of fantasy role-playing books.
He co-founded Games Workshop, the high street retailer and publishers of the “Warhammer” franchise, and with Steve Jackson created the hugely influential and popular “Fighting Fantasy” gamebook series.
Paul Gouge said: ““The appointment of Ian demonstrates our commitment to creating the highest-quality games. He has operated at the top of the games business for many years and I am confident that his incredible experience and expertise in all aspects of the industry will prove invaluable in Playdemic’s continued growth.
“Ian has already proved to be an inspiration and a resource for the Playdemic team in creating exciting new games for the latest platforms.”
Mr Livingstone said: “The boom in social gaming represents an incredible opportunity for talented game studios like Playdemic.
“Millions of people are playing games on their smart phones and Facebook. Playdemic is a hidden UK success story; first with Gourmet Ranch on Facebook in 2010, and more recently with the hugely successful launch of Village Life.
“I am delighted to be appointed Chairman of the company, and look forward to working with the team to drive further growth on Facebook, and helping to leverage the studio’s content across mobile platforms.”
