According to a New Zealand government agency Callaghan Innovation, the video game developer Gameloft will have to pay back $3.5 million worth of grants. Originated in Paris, Gameloft had opened up a facility in Auckland New Zealand. But as of recently, that location became one of the other 7 studios Gameloft had to shut down due to poor revenue. These failed studios include New York, Seattle and Tokyo. The Auckland’s location shutting down resulted in 160 job losses.
The grant given to the Gameloft studio was intended for the development purposes. It was meant as a kick off initiative for the small branch of the larger French headquarters. It also may have been intended to be a larger grant of $10 million instead of $3.5. But in a tweet from Callaghan Innovation, they explained that they did intend to “claw back” the grant from the developers. They also clarified the amount of money given to Gameloft.
Despite this dip in revenue and employment, the game developers have opened a new office in Nigeria.
“The opening of a new trade office in Africa will allow us to take advantage of the considerable potential of a market that already includes more than 367 million users,” said Gameloft’s African Sales Director, Vincent Brezillon. It looks as if they will be tackling more of the mobile word, partnering with national operators such as Orange, and Vodafone.
Let’s hope Nigeria has more luck than New Zealand.