Virtuos Bolsters European Presence with its New Lyon Studio

SINGAPORE – Media
OutReach – 12 October 2021 – Virtuos, a leading global video
game development company, today announced the establishment of a new studio in
Lyon, France’s second major video game development center after Paris. This
expansion is a key part of Virtuos’ buy-and-build strategy to increase its
global footprint, as well as its proximity to clients.

The studio’s founding team of 12 experienced
programmers will be led by Aurélien Kerbeci and Domenico Albani.

Aurélien Kerbeci, Studio Director, will
oversee Virtuos Lyon’s studio operations. Aurélien has over 17 years of video
game industry experience, including a team lead role at ELB Games and his
subsequent founding of Agharta Studio, where he developed original game
franchises for mobile, desktop, and PlayStation platforms.

Domenico Albani, Technical Director, will lead
the studio’s game development team. Domenico, who was the former co-founder of
OSome Studio, brings with him close to 20 years of experience across gameplay,
tech programming and engineering, as well as software architecture at leading
video game development companies such as Eden Games.

“We’re excited to welcome Aurélien, Domenico,
and the rest of the talented founding team at Lyon to the Virtuos family. Not
only is the team culturally aligned with Virtuos, they are also equipped with
the deep engineering and domain expertise that will play a critical role in
ensuring our continued success. With this expansion, we are well-positioned to
accelerate our growth to meet and exceed the demands from our clients,” said
Christophe Gandon, Head of Game Division at Virtuos.

“As we continue to collectively chart new
territories in the gaming sector, Virtuos’ keen focus on upskilling its
workforce ensures that employees remain at the forefront of new techniques and
technologies. We are invested in continuous talent development, and in line
with our growth trajectory, are always on the lookout for people to join our
teams,” said Aurélien Kerbeci, Studio Director, Virtuos Lyon.

“It’s an honour to join a company as esteemed
as Virtuos, and together, we look forward to pushing the envelope in our
industry, where cutting-edge technology is concerned. We’re excited to share
our knowledge with the wider team and to closely collaborate with our
colleagues in Paris and across the world to deliver the best gaming solutions
to our partners,” said Domenico Albani, Technical Director, Virtuos Lyon.

Virtuos’ opening of its Lyon studio comes on
the back of a USD150 million investment from Baring Private Equity Asia in
September to finance its buy-and-build strategy in different geographies and
fast track investments across its global studio network.