Services provider Side has expanded its presence in China by opening a new studio and acquiring art outsourcing provider Roboto Entertainment.
Based in Chengdu, Roboto Entertainment was founded by Andrea Cordella in 2014. It specialises in providing environment and world-building art, and has worked on AAA and AA games across console and mobile.
Cordella has been appointed as global head of art at Side and will also serve as studio head for the new Chengdu office.
“I know from the moment I met Deborah and the team at Side that the company aligned with the values my team and I hold dear,” said Cordella.
“We strive for excellence and hold creativity close to our hearts – games are the only art medium where the consumer plays an equal role to the creator, and we will continue to deliver that creativity to every brief, now collaborating with teams across the world and supporting developers on a range of projects.”
Cordella and the Chengdu studio will collaborate closely with Side’s locations in Shanghai, as well as teams across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia.
Side CEO Deborah Kirkham: “When half the titles at Gamescom’s Opening Night Live this year were made in China, the world notices. China has long been one of the most important markets for our industry, and I’m fiercely proud of the fact that our team there is hungry for more work, so we’re going to grow.”
“This acquisition is a double-down on a winning regional strategy. With Andrea as our Global Head of Art and a new studio in Chengdu, we now have some of the industry’s best environment and world-building artistic talent.”
The Chinese games market exceed ed $50 billion for the first time last year. Niko Partners projects industry revenue will increase 4% to $53.9 billion in 2026. China’s player base is expected to reach 769 million by 2030.
Niko Partners attributed the revenue and player increases to “stronger-than-expected performance from both newly launched titles and legacy evergreen games.”
Earlier this year, Side opened a new studio in Taipei after eight years of operations in Taiwan. The studio created 79 jobs and was described by the company as a “strategic move.”
This summer, Side expanded its quality assurance services through a partnership with Modl.ai, announced at Gamescom.
Both companies signed a memorandum of understanding that is binding for six months as they work together on an AI-enabled QA system.
“The MOU effectively brings the best of what Side has to offer and the best of what Modl.ai has together in a unique solution,” Side CCO Martin McBride told GamesIndustry.biz.
“One of the crown jewel, holy grail experiences for the games industry right now has been using AI technology to better augment QA services. No one’s really found a great solution for that. We think we have.”