XR Games Works with Mayor of West Yorkshire To Attract Top Tier Talent through a “Creative New Deal"

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, sat down to meet with XR Games’ Founder and CEO Bobby Thandi about jobs, training, and growing the local economy.

Following the UK Government selecting XR Games for its ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ campaign, Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, sat down with XR Games Founder and CEO Bobby Thandi, to discuss digital jobs, growing the local economy, and representing West Yorkshire on the global stage.

After an incredible period of growth at XR Games over the past year, conversation naturally turned to the future, and how XR Games is best placed to support the local community with new job and training opportunities.

In 2021, XR Games was proud to support the UK Government’s ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ campaign. XR Games was one of only 13 businesses chosen from all over the UK to champion local export success stories and promote opportunities in international markets.

This is in no small part down to the worldwide success of the business’ latest game, ‘Zombieland VR: Headshot Fever’. Zombieland VR was coded in Leeds, and has since been downloaded in 175 countries around the world.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said “I feel incredibly proud that Leeds-based XR Games has been recognised by the Government as one of only 13 companies that exemplify the very best that British business has to offer the world.

“Born in Bradford, Bobby Thandi chose to stay and build his company right here in West Yorkshire, proving that we can be the kind of region that nurtures entrepreneurs, pioneers new technologies and takes on the world.”

Zombieland’s worldwide success and acclaim has also accelerated XR Games’ own growth plans. The team plans to double capacity and scale with new job roles across the business.

The Mayor and Bobby both agreed that there is a huge opportunity to upskill local people for these kinds of highly technical digital roles. Tracy has already set out a plan to listen to local businesses and be responsive to their needs, with the aim of increasing the skill levels of potential recruits within the region.

Tracy also took this opportunity to speak about her Creative New Deal, and how she can build on the success of businesses like XR Games with exciting initiatives such as Skills Connect, which provides free training courses to help adults develop new skills in a variety of sectors, including digital.

Interested applicants can complete a Skills Connect course from the comfort of their own home or attend courses in the classroom. All courses are designed by local employers, ensuring that participants leave with skills needed right here in West Yorkshire, right now.

By providing training developed by those already in the digital sector, Tracy hopes to upskill the local community and keep these skilled people within West Yorkshire.

Tracy also hopes to make her skills initiatives as responsive to businesses as it can be, by supporting adults within the region to develop the skills that local businesses need to succeed.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said “I am really looking forward to working together with Bobby on our skills offer in West Yorkshire, to ensure that anyone wanting to start a business, upskill or find a well-paid job needs to look no further than our fantastic region.”

Bobby Thandi, Founder and CEO of XR Games, said “The international success of Zombieland VR and our huge growth over the past 12 months means that trying to find the best talent is crucial to our future success. We’d absolutely love to be able to find this talent locally, but that’s not always the case.

“Initiatives like Skills Connect will hopefully mean a plethora of exciting talent coming in through the door for growing businesses like ours, and with the number of opportunities we have planned in the coming months, supporting the region with new jobs for local recruits sounds like a win-win for everyone involved.”

To find out more information about Skills Connect, visit http://www.futuregoals.co.uk/skillsconnect

About XR Games

Headquartered in Leeds, England, XR Games is an award-winning game development studio. Founded in 2017, XR Games specialises in full-scale immersive AR/VR games, and is led by industry veterans from Rockstar, Activision Blizzard, EA, Codemasters, Sumo, Team 17, and others.

XR Games has collaborated with big-name brands including Sony Pictures Virtual Reality and Rovio Entertainment for console VR games. In 2019, XR Games released ‘Angry Birds The Movie 2 VR: Under Pressure’ to critical acclaim.

In March 2021, XR Games released the award-winning ‘Zombieland: Headshot Fever’ on Oculus Quest and Rift. Zombieland VR has since gone on to win multiple awards, including becoming a ‘Game of the Year’ finalist at the 2021 VR Awards and 2021 TIGA Awards, and has been released for VR platforms around the world such as Steam, Viveport, and a host of different headsets in China.

2021 also saw XR Games win the coveted GP Bullhound Award for 'International Success 2021' and ‘Best Small Studio’ at the 2021 TIGA Awards.

Links

Zombieland VR on Oculus Quest: https://www.bit.ly/ZLVRoculus

Zombieland VR on Steam: https://www.bit.ly/ZLVRsteam

Zombieland VR on Viveport: https://www.bit.ly/ZLVRviveport

Zombieland VR website: https://www.zombielandvrgame.com

XR Games Website: http://www.xrgames.io

XR Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/xrgamesvr

Media Contacts

Bobby Thandi, Founder and CEO, XR Games: bobby.thandi@xrgames.io

Mat Murray, Head of Marketing, XR Games: mat.murray@xrgames.io