Games start-up wins Nokia’s time

MOBILE game development company Eclipse Interactive has won a prize in a Nokia game competition, just five months after starting up in business.

The Manchester-based company’s game concept ‘Watchers’ won third prize in the Nokia Mobile Games Innovation Challenge, which includes direct access to Nokia.

Managing director Nic Garner said: “We were really thrilled to be placed in the Nokia competition and are looking forward to working with them over the coming months to prove the game concept.

“This is an epic endorsement for the entire Eclipse Interactive team and illustrates how far we have come.”

After five months in business, the company is already profitable and employs 15 people – all without any outside funding or financial support.

Mr Garner said: “When we started the company in July we were very aware that we were setting up at a difficult time, and we were determined to set up on a budget rather than spend time searching for investment.

“Happily since then we have gone from strength to strength; we have a lot of work on, including contracts with a major global publisher, and we have several new titles coming out in the New Year.