The Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) is extending its global mobile games business by increasing the size of its development studio in Prague. The studio is to become WDIG’s largest European location for the global development of mobile games and supports The Walt Disney Company’s growth strategy of leveraging technology to create entertainment content for global distribution.
The facility, which is being renamed the Disney Mobile Games Studio, will officially open in its new location today. Cindy Rose, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Walt Disney Internet Group, Europe, Middle East & Africa: “The mobile gaming market is developing at a rapid pace. With the strength of Disney’s brand, the depth of our content offering and our mobile gaming expertise, we feel that we are well positioned to capitalise on the growth potential of this sector across the EMEA region.”
The decision to invest in mobile game development in Prague is part of WDIG’s strategy to extend its mobile games business across the region and the world. An important factor in the decision to expand the studio in Prague was the fact that there is a large pool of talented young game developers in the country. Jiri Rosenkranz, Managing Director of Disney Mobile Games Studio, s.r.o.: “Our team specialises in what we call ‘end-to-end development’ and works on the entire creative process - from conception to the finished game which typically runs on over 400 different handsets. For young programmers, this provides an exciting career development opportunity. In the Czech Republic, there is a wealth of indigenous programming expertise, which combined with our long-standing Czech animation tradition, provides the ideal foundations for developing high-quality mobile games.”
Recent industry research revealed that the mobile gaming industry is a developing market with strong growth potential as mobile devices become the primary electronic interface for consumers. Handsets are increasingly attractive for gamers as larger screens and new generation platforms enable more complex and better-quality gameplay. The global penetration of mobile gamers is expected to increase rapidly from 2006 to 2010. The mobile gaming industry is expected to reach USD 8.4bn in 2010, compared to 2.1bn in 2006.
WDIG is already one of the leading providers of mobile content today and has game development centres in four locations worldwide: Los Angeles, Tokyo, Prague and Beijing. Disney began operations in Prague with the acquisition of Living Mobile in 2005. Living Mobile, which is headquartered in Munich, had a game development studio based in Prague. As a result of its investment in game development, Disney plans to increase the workforce in Prague by the fall of 2008. In the Czech Republic, Disney cooperates with Telefonica 02, T-Mobile and Vodafone and is among the leading providers of mobile games.