A games incubator which aims to strengthen Bristol’s burgeoning games sector and a creative skills programme that is developing its talent pool are the latest tenants in the city’s Engine Shed innovation hub.
Game Boosters is seeking talented videogame developers to help them achieve success. Its objective is to help game studios to create profitable and quality projects. 
Its arrival this month boosts Bristol’s already vibrant games sector, which is becoming a key part of the city’s tech industry and a major draw for inward investment to the city.
Game Boosters, which is being assisted by Engine Shed, aims to break the traditional incubation business model to become a leader in publishing, mentorship and incubation in Europe.
Meanwhile specialist skills provider Boomsatsuma is to move from Boxworks – the ‘meanwhile units’ housed in converted shipping containers next to Engine Shed – to 1,000 sq ft within the building itself.
Boomsatsuma empowers young people through education programmes that are aimed at leading to jobs within the creative media and tech fields. It is the largest single employer of creative apprentices and interns in the South West.
It will move into Engine Shed in September to run the first year of its post-16 ‘agency’ programme – a new course for young people offering entry level pathways into creative and hi-tech industries.
Students will be working towards an extended diploma while working in a creative agency serving the needs of stakeholders and industry partners. The programme has been set up in association with the Learning City and Temple Quarter engagement hub for Bristol.
Both new tenants align with Engine Shed’s mission to stimulate long-term economic growth by supporting activities that help overcome barriers or create new activity.
It does this by helping to ensure sustainable growth over the next 10-15 years, stimulating or nurturing new or emerging innovation clusters – such as games development – and helping to ensure Bristol’s diverse workforce is skilled and motivated to fill the jobs requirement of these clusters.
Engine Shed director Nick Sturge said: “This is an exciting new development for us. Having previously hosted and successfully helped establish WebStart Bristol, the privately run internet accelerator, hosting another early-stage accelerator – this time in the games sector – gives us the opportunity to help this new initiative get a foothold in the city.
“To then also be able to host an innovative skills programme for young people, who can then fuel the growth of the games companies that Game Booster will create, completely fits with our mission.”
Game Boosters founder and CEO Fernando Ortega added: “Engine Shed brings us an enormous opportunity to start our business in the UK. We know there’s a lot of talented developers that need help with the marketing, PR and publishing for their games and we want to help them with our incubation services and also give them better knowledge of different areas related with videogame development through our workshops and mentorship programs.
“Engine Shed provides business knowledge and awesome facilities for us – and for developers – to succeed.”
Boomsatsuma co-founder and creative director Mark Curtis said: “Working with Engine Shed has given us the perfect opportunity to meet the aspirations of young people by placing them at the heart of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, growing as the area develops – providing real opportunity and commercial immersion to inform their subsequent career choices.”
