Kerb founder and games industry veteran join forces to launch next-generation games company

Jim McNiven, the founder of digital engagement agency Kerb, and video games veteran David Lau-Kee have joined forces to launch a company that will create and distribute games titles for the rapidly emerging Games 3.0 market.

Core Facts

Kerb Games will specialise in developing next-generation, persistent browser-based online games that move players from the traditional hardcore online gaming environment to networked and community-oriented, social-media aware settings.
This business focus will allow Kerb Games to position itself at the heart of the future online games market, which is being dubbed Games 3.0, and places a growing emphasis on user-generated content. It will also develop games for new and emerging platforms such as the iPhone.
Jim McNiven will lead the company as chief executive officer and will be responsible for strategic development and marketing. He will also continue to lead the Kerb agency as managing director. David Lau-Kee, as non-executive director, will provide business guidance and support the companys growth into the mainstream games industry.
Kerb Games will focus on the growing demand for community-engaged experiences to which men and women from a much wider age range are increasingly dedicating online time. For example, in one sector of the broad Games 3.0 environment - casual gaming the growth rate is 20 per cent annually and worth well in excess of £1.6 billion, according to the Casual Games Association.
The new company is working on a number of games slated for release in the next year that will tap the creativity of this growing games community by opening up the playing environments to user-generated content.
Jim McNiven founded digital engagement agency Kerb in 1996 and the company has been a pioneer of viral gaming. Kerb's Flash games have been played by in excess of 350 million users worldwide. Its clients include Sony PlayStation, Microsoft, Samsung and Channel 4.

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Quotes

We are developing Kerb Games alongside the Kerb agency to harness the creative skills and knowledge we have amassed over the past decade. Kerb has an unrivalled reputation for creating some of the best advertising games in the market. But it has also been at the forefront in the creation of persistent browser based MMORPGs.

Jim McNiven, CEO of Kerb Games

We currently run Project Rockstar, a game with a vibrant community of almost 200,000 music lovers managing over one million virtual bands. The game has exceeded 26 million page views in the space of a month and has a busy forum that regularly results in a single post getting thousands of replies.

Jim McNiven, CEO of Kerb Games

The games industry has for too long relied on either accident and circumstance or imported IPs and outrageous marketing spends to generate its hits user engagement is either random or paid-for. At Kerb games, were applying years of experience of web analytics, viral marketing and web community development to truly engage with our audience our games are ground-up designed for the web-connected, Games 3.0 generation.

David Lau-Kee

Company information

Kerb Games:

About Jim McNiven

CEO Jim McNiven is a lifelong early-adopter and technology pioneer. He founded the award-winning agency Kerb in 1996. The company combines design and technical expertise with strategic consultancy to deliver highly engaging online advertising campaigns for leading brands including Sony PlayStation 3, Disney, Pepsi, BBC, EA Games, Nokia, Vodafone, Orange, Sky, Channel 4, Five, Lego and Easy Group. www.kerb.co.uk

About David Lau-Kee

Non-executive director David Lau-Kee has more than 15 years of experience in the games industry. He was co-founder, president and CEO of Criterion Software Group, the worlds largest games middleware company and vice president of Electronic Arts. He is also non-executive chairman of games development tools company, Unity Technologies.

About Kerb

Kerb is a digital engagement agency connecting digital advertising with entertainment and brand experience, with offices in the UK and Japan.
The award-winning agency is redefining traditional online advertising through promoting exciting content that audiences want to engage with and share.
It combines design and technical expertise with strategic consultancy to deliver highly engaging online advertising campaigns for leading brands including Sony PlayStation 3, Disney, Pepsi, BBC, EA Games, Nokia, Vodafone, Orange, Sky, Channel 4, Five, Lego and Easy Group.
For more background on Kerb and examples of its work, visit the companys website at www.kerb.co.uk.

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