Virtuos expands engineering capabilities with new Prague studio

gamedeveloper.com:

Global development company Virtuos has opened a new studio in Prague to expand its engineering capabilities.

Virtuos Labs Prague has become the fourth studio in the company's "Labs" network and will focus on delivering networking, UI, mobile, and optimization solutions.

The company said partners will be able to lean on the nascent studio for support in online services, software development and operations, UI implementation in games, co-development of mobile games and porting, and CPU and GPU performance optimization.

The studio will be overseen by Jan Herodes, who has amassed over 15 years of experience in mobile game production and live ops working at companies including Disney Interactive Studio and Bohemia Interactive.

"Czechia is a rising global game development hub and Prague is at the center of its growth. This is supported by a rapidly growing talent pool, thanks to game development-focused programs at local universities," said Herodes in a press release.

"I am certain that Virtuos Labs Prague can benefit from and contribute to the young and capable talent pool, and provide outstanding technical services to our valued clients."

Virtuos Labs Prague is currently staffing up and hopes to expand to 20 employees by the end of 2023. It will contribute to a range of projects alongside Virtuos' other Labs studios in Lyon, Montpellier, and Warsaw, including the development of a performance tracking and automated testing platform and a bespoke procedural cinematics tool.

The news comes a few months after Virtuos, best known as support studio, revealed it will be developing its own titles under the Virtuos Originals banner.

Speaking to Game Developer back in June, Virtuos said the initiative will allow its teams to begin creating