Serbian studio Nordeus has fired the starting gun on an era of expansion, with the studio – which is behind football management sim Top Eleven – opening up a new office in Dublin.

The firm's new Irish base will focus on customer relations, business and marketing operations, with Nordeus opening up 15 new positions to fuel its new venture.

Game incentives

Indeed, given the Irish development scene's current drive to attract more investment, news of a studio founding a new office in the country's capital - bring jobs in the process - can only be a good thing.

Along with the operations of IDA Ireland – a body responsible for attracting foreign investment - recent years have seen the Irish government actively courting the videogame industry with tax incentives and R&D grants.

"We chose Dublin because of the city’s vibrant start-up scene, great support from IDA Ireland and, of course, the opportunity to attract top class professionals in the gaming industry," said Nordeus CEO, Branko Milutinovic, of the move.

"We will be building an experienced customer relations team to focus on providing the best support for our projects and millions of players worldwide."

Irish Growth

For IDA Ireland CEO Barry O'Leary, Nordeus' decision helps highlight Dublin's new found position as a "growing hub of games companies."

"The talent pool in Dublin is extremely diverse and passionate, and we are very excited to cultivate and foster new talent to join the Nordeus team," he concluded.

Nordeus hasn't been the only benefactor from the IDA's drive, of course.

Incentives have helped created a number of small start-ups in the region, as well as attracting a number of major companies. These include EA, who in September of last year, expanded its Galway based Bioware call centre with the addition of 300 jobs.

Conversely, while there is a lot of buzz around Celtic call-centres, you do have to wonder if by "top class professionals in the gaming industry", Milutinovic was referring to the 96 employees PopCap let go in Dublin during the EA studio's round of restructuring last year.