Wales Interactive and Serious Games Intl wins place in British business award finals

Two games developers have earned a place in the national finals of the Great Faces of British Business competition.

The contest is part of the government’s ‘Britain is GREAT’ campaign and is designed to highlight the thriving businesses that have been set up on these shores in order to encourage more companies to begin trading in the UK.

The regional finals have now concluded, and both Wales Interactive and Serious Games International are in the running for a prize of £30,000 – albeit in different categories.

Wales Interactive won a place in the Most Innovative Small Business category. The triumph follows the news that its forthcoming game Soul Axiom is one of the first games to be approved for UK games tax relief.

Meanwhile, Serious Games International – which specialises in games-based learning, simulation titles and ‘3D intelligent avatars’ – won a place in the national finals for Best Growth Story.

"We’re thrilled to have been selected as a regional winner in the Great Faces of British Business competition," MD David Banner told Develop. "There’s a wealth of innovative small and medium-sized businesses out there and it’s great to see an indie games company like ourselves being recognised in the competition.

"I’d like to wish all the finalists the best of luck in the National Award and we are really looking forward to the ceremony in March. Obviously it would be a great boost for our company to win this accolade and we’d really appreciate games industry support by voting for us."

You can vote by heading to www.competition.greatbusiness.gov.uk – Wales Interactive is under Most Innovative small business, while Serious Games International can be found under Best Growth Story.