SOFTWARE company YoYo Games is predicting a doubling of its workforce as it moves into new offices and eyes further expansion in the United States.
The Dundee firm already has 25 staff and expects to double that number in the coming months. The majority of hires it said would be in software engineering.
YoYo specialises in helping developers make games for multiple devices and platforms through its GameMaker: Studio product.
That has been licensed to more than 20,000 developers around the world with around half of the customers in North America.
Sandy Duncan, chief executive, said: "GameMaker: Studio was only launched last May and we have seen an amazing ramp up since then.
"The 20,000 [developers] is really only scratching the surface. We think there is somewhere between one million and three million people using game development technology so there is a long way to go.
"Dundee is a gold mine for recruiting as there is talent here in abundance. There is something like 40 game companies here and the University of Abertay producing the best games graduates in the world as well."
As part of its expansion YoYo has agreed a 10-year lease on an 8700 sq ft office at Unicorn Property Group's DundeeOne development on the River Tay.
YoYo also plans to beef up its sales and marketing staff at its satellite office in San Francisco before the end of this year.
Mr Duncan said: "Although we are growing in Dundee with our research and development, our sales and marketing operation is also something we are focusing on towards the end of this year.
"The plan is to be expanding [in San Francisco] as well."
Mr Duncan said the flexibility of the GameMaker tool – sold through Amazon and the Steam online marketplace as well as YoYo's own website – allows it to quickly adapt to new software platforms and languages across mobile phones, web browsers and tablet devices.
He cited the forthcoming Tizen operating platform, reportedly being brought out by Samsung and Intel later this year, as something YoYo is already geared up to serve.
He said: "You can develop a game very quickly and there is really no limitation to the type of mobile or web games you can create.
"It is an important part of how we are developing as a company because our relationships with those bigger companies is growing rapidly as well."
YoYo was founded in 2007 and in 2010 brought on board Russell Kay and Michael Dailly.
The duo were part of the team which developed legendary computer puzzle game Lemmings in the 1990s and went on to sell more than 15 million copies.
The company also publishes a number of its own games – including They Need to be Fed, Karoshi and Lazy Mouse – which Mr Duncan says act as a showcase for GameMaker.
Mr Duncan added: "Being a developer ourselves means we have an in-house team telling us what is working and what they need [from GameMaker]."
Mike Galloway, Dundee City development director, said: "YoYo Games is an outstanding example of the entrepreneurial technology-led businesses that are flourishing in Dundee."
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