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This is a press release posted in addition to our usual editorial content.
Award-winning studio Just Add Water has announced that they are moving to a new Leeds HQ designed for ‘post-Covid working’ in the city’s Platform development.
The company, whose co-development partners include Rebellion, Sony, and Codemasters, has appointed ex-Rockstar games designer Ben Hinchliffe into a leading design role. Ben brings a vast wealth of experience to Just Add Water’s design team, having worked on titles like Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2. Joining Ben is Nadine Rendell-Green, who comes into the team as a Junior Designer with a degree in Games and
Interactive Media Design under her belt.
The announcements follow March’s appointment of a new senior management team following the death of the company’s well-loved co-founder Stewart Gilray.
“The new office space and talent like Ben and Nadine add to the renewed energy we are all feeling at Just Add Water,” said Director Bec Gilray. “The past few months have been unbelievably hard, but Stew would not have wanted the studio to stall. Thanks to the ever-supportive and resourceful people at Just Add Water and our senior team, Joel (Benton) and Viktorya (Hollings), along with studio management from Les (Ellis), who has kept everything together during our hardest times, we now have the drive and energy to take the studio to even greater heights,” Bec continued.
Next month, the team moves into new office space in Leeds’ ‘Platform’ development. The building is the only dedicated tech hub in the city and is located next to the train station. Its contemporary spaces will accommodate Just Add Water’s new hybrid working policy as the company returns to the workplace after Covid. The company is recruiting right now and plans to reach 60 people in the next 12 months.
A closed-doors memorial service for Stewart Gilray will take place at The Tetley in Leeds on 15th June. The service will be live-streamed and posted on YouTube for those wanting to pay their respects.
