Gaming company targets US market to achieve growth ambitions

A WARWICKSHIRE gaming company is targeting the United States market as it looks to grow its business.

Viewpoint Games, based in Leamington Spa, plans to showcase its latest game at the Games Development Conference in San Francisco this month.
 
Viewpoint specialises in developing games for Virtual Reality headsets and released its first game, VR Karts (see graphic below), at the end of 2015.
 
The firm has received support from UK Trade and Investment in the West Midlands to enable it to attend the event, which is the world’s largest gaming industry conference and attracts more than 26,000 delegates from across the world.

Formed in 2014 by Neil Campbell and Neil Wigfield, Viewpoint spent two years developing its virtual reality game, which is now available on Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard and will be available for the consumer launch of the Oculus Rift at the end of March.
 
The pair, who each have more than 16 years’ experience in the computer games industry, hope that by attending the five-day conference they can introduce VR Karts to more industry experts and make contacts that will enable the company to develop further titles.
 
Neil Campbell said: “We’re very excited to be going to our first GDC because it will help us to connect with more people in the industry and establish relationships with platform holders, publishers and investors. Support from organisations such as UKTI is invaluable.
 
“We believe our first game, VR Karts, is a standout title for Virtual Reality and we aim to build on its success to establish Viewpoint Games as a producer of high quality content for the foreseeable future.”
 
Viewpoint Games received a small grant from Creative England and a start-up loan from Coventry and Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust to help it with the development of the game, while UKTI has supported the company through its Passport to Export programme, which helps new and inexperienced exporters to grow their businesses overseas.
 
The Leamington company is just one of 50 companies attending GDC as part of a UKTI delegation organised by the international trade team based in Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

Parminder Hayer, UKTI International Trade Adviser at Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber, said: “It’s great that Viewpoint Games is attending the conference in San Francisco because it is the ideal opportunity to meet potential new clients and partners.
 
“VR Karts is already doing well on the platforms that it is available on, so if the company can build on that and get even more gamers trying it out, then the possibilities are endless.”