Made in Sheffield

Gremlin Rising

With such a rich heritage and talent in videogame making over four decades, some of the most popular and commercially successful games have been made right here in the steel city.

1984 saw the beginnings of Gremlin Graphics. Working mostly in the home computer market their early success came from games like Wanted: Monty Mole and Thing on a Spring. A slight rebrand in 1994 saw them renamed as Gremlin Interactive as they moved into creating 16-bit games. They enjoyed huge success with platformer Zool, while a move into football game development saw their Actua Soccer series rival EA’s FIFA for years.

Despite closing in 2003 after being acquired by French studio Infogrames, their legacy paved the way for new studios to carry the Sheffield game making torch.

A New Heavyweight Enters the Ring

Co-founded by former members of Gremlin Interactive (later Sheffield Infogrames), 2003 saw the birth of a new Sheffield based studio – Sumo Digital. While titles like Super Rub ‘a’ Dub (2007) and Snake Pass (2017) show the studios’ talent for experimentation with game mechanic, they are best known for working on IP’s such as Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing), Virtua Tennis and Little BigPlanet. Their hard work was recognised with a BAFTA Award in 2020 for platformer Sackboy: A Big Adventure.

While Sheffield is also home to the super popular multiplayer beat ’em up game, Gang Beasts (created by Boneloaf), a new fighting title, Undisputed, from developer Steel City Interactive releases October 2024. Boasting 70 licensed fighters to choose from, visitors to the NVM will be able to play an exclusive beta version of the upcoming boxing title.