The founder of Cheshire games studio Airship Interactive has personally funded the acquisition of its assets out of administration.
Airship provides art services for some of the world鈥檚 largest gaming companies including Disney, Microsoft, Blizzard, 2KGames and Sony PlayStation Studios.聽
It has earned a reputation as one of the leading art production studios for the games industry and worked on hit titles including FIFA successor FC24, Star Wars Hunters and Marvel Spider-Man.
Just in January, Airship relocated from Lytham St Annes in Lancashire to an 8,000 sq ft office at Bruntwood SciTech鈥檚 Glasshouse in Alderley Park, Macclesfield.
That came alongside six-figure funding from FW Capital鈥檚 NPIF II fund, the third time the investor had invested in Airship from a Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
After administrators Mike Dillon and Anthony Milnes of Leonard Curtis were called in on 1st July, Joe Harford – who founded the firm in 2008 – made the move to 鈥渆nsure business continuity, preserve the studio鈥檚 creative legacy, and protect the livelihoods of its team鈥�.
Citing wider industry challenges, Airship said existing management funded the transition which will see all employees transfer to newly formed entity Airmergent under UK TUPE regulations – with no disruption to contracts, payroll or client delivery.
鈥淎irmergent allows us to protect the team, preserve the work we鈥檙e proud of, and build something even stronger,鈥� said Harford. 鈥淲e鈥檙e carrying forward everything that made Airship trusted by clients worldwide, while expanding into co-development, enhanced workflows, and more agile ways of working.聽
鈥淚鈥檓 proud of the resilience our team has shown and grateful to our partners for continuing the journey with us.鈥�