2009 Develop Industry Excellence awards
Oxford-based handheld chaps Exient earn a nomination.
Exient, the Oxford-based handheld development specialist responsible for some of the biggest titles released during 2008, has been nominated as a finalist in the “Best Handheld Games Studio” category of the 2009 Develop Industry Excellence awards, taking place on the 15th July 2009 at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Brighton.
As one of only five companies to make it through to the category final of this hard fought, and internationally recognised, awards ceremony, Exient has been recognised for its contribution to handheld gaming development and for being one of the most profitable handheld development studios in the world.
Commenting on the nomination, David Hawkins, Exient MD, said “We are all extremely proud about reaching the finals. As a privately owned studio, we pride ourselves on the work we do and the services we provide to our publishing clients. To have this level of commitment and quality recognised by the wider development industry is something special.” He went on, “The Develop Industry Excellence Awards are awarded purely on studio merit, and being a finalist is a testament to the strong teams we have working within the Oxford HQ. We’re all looking forward to the ceremony proper on the 15th July.”
Exient has developed many of the top-selling handheld titles released through Electronic Arts over the past 7 years, as well as developing handheld versions of other top titles for other publishers.
The complete list of finalists for the 2009 “Best Handheld Games Studio” category is as follows:
• Exient
• Rockstar Leeds
• Curve
• Travellers Tales Fusion
• Secret Exit
For more information, including interview opportunities, please contact:
Keef Sloan, Peppermint P
@: keef.sloan@peppermintp.com
t: +44 (0) 207 240 2645
m: +44 (0) 7973 614302
About Exient Ltd.:
Exient was founded in 2000 by Charles Chapman (Technical Director) and David Hawkins (Managing Director) and the company now employs more than 50 staff, working on a variety of projects. To date, Exient has developed for Electronic Arts (EA), Activision, Midway, THQ and Ubisoft, and has sold in excess of 10m units. Exient has also just released its first in-house developed, original iPhone title under the X2 Games banner called X2 Football. More own-IP titles will be forthcoming.
About The Develop Industry Excellence Awards:
The Develop Industry Excellence Awards are wholly affiliated to Develop magazine, the respected development industry trade journal. Now in their 7th year, they are the only event of their kind to recognise the work done by games development studios, technology and service companies. They are also the only awards that acknowledge the things that matter most in games development – quality, talent, creativity and business smarts. Hype, marketing and PR are ignored, and developers are awarded recognition based purely on merit.