Local games development legend Chris van der Kuyl has been a name in the industry since Dundee began to make its mark in the global gaming industry.

The Dundee-based entrepreneur studied computer science. A trip to Silicon Valley early on in his career made him think that there was no reason he couldn’t start his own business in Scotland, and that “lit the blue touch paper” to begin.

From early success with State of Emergency, in 2005, along with school friend Paddy Burns, he co-founded games development business 4J Studios. The name highlights Dundee’s “jute, jam and journalism” motto, with joysticks representing the fourth ‘J’.

4J is best known for developing Minecraft for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo games consoles. The studio is part of a globally recognised Scottish gaming scene, which is also home to companies like Dundee-born Grand Theft Auto designers Rockstar North.

Van der Kuyl says more people are coming to Scotland to develop games, meaning there's more competition for talent.

He adds that the games industry is now “by a significant factor, the largest entertainment industry in the world... in the next decade, it's going to exponentially grow again, so Scotland will have its part in that, for sure.”

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