Riot Games and Jagex join Ukie

The League of Legends developer, Riot Games and the RuneScape developer, Jagex have become the newest members of the UK trade body, Ukie.

Cambridge-based Jagex is undergoing a re-brand at present following investment from the Chinese-based publisher, Fu Kong Interactive Entertainment. The company has been active with Ukie before despite not being a member having partaken in the International Trade program.

“Jagex has enjoyed a great relationship with Ukie for many years and participated in its event initiatives at China Joy and Gamescom and now we’re proud to make a commitment to support Ukie’s work representing the industry by becoming members," said Jagex COO, Phil Mansell.

“Jagex continues to be a success story for the UK’s game development and publishing sectors. Jagex today is the western arm of a global games group. The commercial performance of our RuneScape portfolio has never been stronger and we are pursuing further growth through both investment opportunities and by expanding our offerings with additional titles across multiple platforms. We are also extending our development and publishing partnerships for PC and mobile and ready to talk to studios across the Ukie network as we look to invest in and commission new titles.”

Ukie has also been looking to extend their membership to the esports sector following the esports white paper published last year. Riot Games are the latest in the field to join the trade body and take a leading role in shaping the direction that Ukie’s esports representation will take over the next 12 months.

"With Riot Games developing a publishing and esports organisation in the UK we felt that we should take an active role in helping shape and guide the UK esports scene," said Mark Cox, UK head of publishing at Riot Games. "It’s vital we support the players, professional organisations and pro players across all franchises allowing this amazing sport and community to thrive, ultimately putting the UK on the map as a powerhouse in esports. At Riot we are committed to helping Ukie and its members learn and develop, as this ultimately benefits all UK gamers."

"It has never been more important for the games industry to be speaking with one united, collective voice," added Ukie CEO, Dr Jo Twist OBE. "We are delighted to welcome two such influential companies as Jagex and Riot Games to our membership and look forward to working closely with them in the months ahead. Ukie continues its ambitious plan to make the UK the best place in the world to develop and publish interactive entertainment and welcomes all games businesses looking to work with us to help meet this ambition.”