GAME DEVELOPER BioWare is to create an additional 200 jobs in Galway as it prepares for one of the biggest game launches of the year.
BioWare, which was bought by EA in 2007 for $860 million, already employs 200 people at the customer service centre in Galway, its first European facility.
The facility is supporting BioWare's massively multiplayer online (MMO) game Star Wars: The Old Republic,an eagerly anticipated game that BioWare is launching in December and is expected to be one of the biggest titles during the Christmas period.
Other titles developed by BioWare, which was established in Canada in 1995, include the popular Mass Effectand Dragon Ageseries.
BioWare co-founder Dr Ray Muzyka said Ireland will play an important part in the launch of what he described as “one of the biggest events in the history of video games”.
"It's the first studio outside of North America for BioWare. It's a global contact centre for Star Wars: The Old Republic, supporting customers worldwide," he said. "It's basically core to the game. We view it as one big team worldwide."
The new roles will be recruited both within Ireland and the rest of Europe, with the centre supporting English, French and German speaking customers.
“Games have changed dramatically since we founded BioWare in the early 1990s. The tools we now have at our disposal make games more exciting, more immersive and even more accessible. The games keep getting better and better and the audiences keep getting bigger,” said co-founder Dr Greg Zeschuk.
“We’ve seen a profound change in the responsibility developers have for their players. Ten years ago we created a quality game, shipped it to stores and started work on the next one. Today, launching a game is just the first event in a much deeper, longer relationship with the players.”
BioWare said it had considered other locations, but chose Ireland because of a steady supply of high quality recruits with the necessary skills for the roles, and a good partnership with the Government.
Attending the opening today, Taoiseach Enda Kenny welcomed the announcement of further job creation at the facility. “This is a big vote of confidence in Ireland,” he said.
