Wales Interactive Limited is a Welsh independent video game developer and publisher established in 2011 and based in Pencoed, Wales. The studio, best known for Late Shift, The Bunker, Don't Knock Twice and The Shapeshifting Detective, have published over 20 video game titles across 10 platforms. They are a multi award winning studio, accolades achieved include BAFTA Cymru Games Award 2012 & 2018, Appster's Award for Best Indie Game Developer 2014, GREAT Face of British Business Winner 2015, South Wales Business of the Year 2014 & 2016, and Wales Technology Award Winner 2017 & 2018. The studio supports PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Wii U and Microsoft Windows as well as all the latest virtual reality devices including HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR. Wales Interactive develop and publish their own original IP as well as third-party titles. Wales Interactive is noted for being part of the mid-2010s revival of the genre of FMV games, i.e. their titles The Bunker, Late Shift and others all substitute traditional game mechanics with live action footage.
History
The company was formed in 2012 by co-founders David Banner MBE and Richard Pring. Both founders previously co-managed GamesLab Wales together under University of Glamorgan. David Banner, a former employee of Pivotal Games and Eidos Interactive, also founded the Wales Games Development Show. Wales Interactive was formed with an aim to create original games that entertain the world as well as put Wales on the video games map. The studio began and remains as a tenant of the Sony UK Technology Centre in Pencoed, Bridgend. Most of Wales Interactive's early work consisted of mobile apps and games as well as a series of Welsh e-books which were supported by S4C's digital fund. In 2013, they shifted development to focus on PC and consoles with their title, Gravity Badgers, and the psychological horror, Master Reboot. The development team then released Infinity Runner with Oculus Rift support, a first for the company. Infinity Runner went on to being the first ever PlayStation 4 and Xbox One game to be made entirely in Wales. The studio gained a major publication feature in a studio profile for Edge which coincided with the Early access development stages of their Science fictionAdventure game, Soul Axiom. In 2015, Wales Interactive established their third-party publishing label. They partnered with UK independent developers, Milky Tea, to bring their title, Coffin Dodgers, to Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Since then, the studio continues to develop their label by co-developing and publishing the FMV horror video game, The Bunker. In July 2020, Wales Interactive announced a new FMV title called Gamer Girl which will be released on PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One in September 2020. In the game, the player is a moderator for a popular female streamer named Abicake99 who helps control her chat and stream content as well as make personal decisions for her. The game is being touted as the first "improvised" FMV game.The game's trailer received ridicule from the wider community, with many people calling it Simp Simulator.
