Shanghai, China, December 1, 2011 – Virtuos is pleased to announce that the China game-industry veteran Frank Feng (Feng Yu Hui) has joined the company as General Manager of Virtuos Academy. (www.virtuosacademy.com)

Mr. Feng co-founded the Shanghai game development studio Gamestar in 2002, which was acquired by Disney Interactive Studios in 2008. Prior to that he was one of the first Art Leads at Ubisoft Shanghai in 1997, and has a long history of experience in the education of 3D artists.

“Frank is a seasoned industry veteran who has a deep understanding of the game development business and the training requirements of artists,” said Virtuos CEO Gilles Langourieux. “His considerable expertise and vision will enable the Virtuos Academy to define a new standard of professional education for digital entertainment industry in China.”

Mr. Feng’s former 3D art students include members of Virtuos’ current Art Director team – the highest level of artists in the company.

“I am excited to be taking on new challenges with Virtuos Academy, and to be working alongside some of the great Virtuos artists who I first met as students more than a decade ago,” said Mr. Feng. “I look forward to further evolving the Virtuos Academy and expanding to new cities in the near future.”

The Virtuos Academy was established in 2010, with a mission to train the most promising digital entertainment talents on the framework of how to deliver real games and movies, through intense training programs based on real-life production scenarios, workflows and technologies.

Activision’s DreamWorks® Super Star Kartz(TM) Video Game Speeds Into Stores Today!

For the first time ever, race to the finish line with your favorite characters from DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek, Madagascar, How To Train Your Dragon and Monsters vs. Aliens!

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Rev your engines because Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard Inc., ATVI +0.00%  announced today that DreamWorks Super Star Kartz is now available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Wii(TM) system from Nintendo and the Nintendo DS(TM) and Nintendo 3DS(TM) hand-held systems.

DreamWorks Super Star Kartz brings everyone’s favorite DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. DWA +0.18%  characters together in one game for the first time, including Shrek, Donkey, Alex, King Julien, Hiccup, B.O.B. and many more!

In DreamWorks Super Star Kartz, you will race on wacky, wild and wondrous tracks from your favorite movie locations; such as Shrek’s swamp, the zoo in New York City’s Central Park and the Island of Berk. Use each character’s unique abilities as you speed, jump, power-up and boost your way past the competition and capture the checkered flag.

You can dominate the driver’s seat in multiple game modes, including Quick Races, Circuit Mode and Challenge Mode, with platform specific match-ups such as head-to-head Battle Mode for Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 system and Wii. Challenge up to three friends on the Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 and Wii in hilariously fun multi-player action, or compete with up to four friends wirelessly in multi-card play on the Nintendo DS.

DreamWorks Super Star Kartz is now available for Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 system, Wii(TM) and Nintendo 3DS(TM) at $29.99, and for Nintendo DS(TM) at $19.99. This game is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB. For more information, please visit www.activision.com .

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com .

SANTA MONICA, Nov. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –The nanite threat is mounting and it’s up to you to save the world in Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Cartoon Network Enterprises’ Generator Rex: Agent of Providence, a new video game based on the wildly popular Generator Rex television series.  The game, which combines classic combat and action gameplay was developed by Virtuos for Nintendo DS™ and Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held systems, Wii™ system from Nintendo, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Generator Rex: Agent of Providence allows players to step into the shoes of Rex Salazar, the hero of Cartoon Network’s original action-adventure television series. Rex controls mutation-inducing “Nanites” that make him a valuable member of Providence, a worldwide force that reins in out-of-control E.V.O.s (Exponentially Variegated Organisms). Whether he is crafting “Builds” or curing the dangerous mutations of others, Rex’s powers are truly amazing!

As Rex’s abilities evolve he unlocks awe-inspiring “Omega Builds”. With this newfound power he must leap into action to take on terrifying bosses, including the diabolical Van Kleiss! Players will also meet Rex’s allies Bobo Haha, Agent Six and Providence’s leader, the White Knight. Throughout the game, Rex faces enemies in environments such as the underwater world of Aquania and the private dimension of the nefarious Breach. In addition to the main campaign, gamers will engage in time trials and a variety of level-specific challenges. For an agent of Providence with powers matched by no one else, there’s always more adventure to be had!

Generator Rex: Agent of Providence is available now on Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 system and Nintendo 3DS for $39.99 and on Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ at $29.99. This game is rated “E10+ for Everyone 10 and older” by the ESRB. For more info, please visit www.activision.com and www.generator-rex.com.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision Publishing maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

About Virtuos

Virtuos is one of the largest providers of outsourced digital entertainment content production services, specializing in 3D Art and game software development.  With locations in Shanghai, Chengdu, Vancouver, Saigon, Paris and Tokyo, Virtuos has more than 800 employees representing 15 nationalities. Virtuos’ clients include 15 of the top 20 digital entertainment companies worldwide as well as renowned independent studios. For more information, please refer to: www.virtuosgames.com

The LeapPad Explorer tablet is a personalized learning tablet designed for kids ages four and up, with downloadable apps and cartridge-based apps including games, interactive books and more. Virtuos developed a series of reading apps for this new platform that are receiving praise from Wall Street Journal columnist Katherine Boehret.

Wall Street Journal: A Tablet Children Can Grow Into

My favorite app was the Ultra eBook, “Cars 2: Project Undercover.” LeapFrog’s ultra eBooks are like eBooks on steroids. They let kids record themselves reading an entire book and play it back. They’re animated and have six built-in comprehension activities and three games. They offer stories written at three text levels and they use a visual dictionary for vocabulary development.

Via Wall Street Journal

‘Igor’ production company re-sparks with former team

Shanghai, China, September 14, 2011 – Virtuos today announced that it has acquired the assets and core team of VFX and animation company Sparx*, reopening the company’s Vietnam studio. This deal allows Virtuos to further expand and to consolidate its services offering to clients in the movie industry under the Sparx brand.

Sparx is an animation and VFX company for feature films, most famous for being the animation company behind the 2008 feature film “Igor” starring John Cusack and Steve Buscemi.

Virtuos is one of the largest providers of digital entertainment production services, and has played a role in blockbuster movies since 2008, creating high-quality 3D models for films including this year’s hit film Rango.

“Virtuos is very well known in the gaming sector, and may also be the best-kept secret in Hollywood. We are very happy to partner with them, and add our specialized talents to their 800-strong team,” said Sparx General Manager Didier Montarou.

“Our origins in HD game production have afforded us the talents to create extremely high-quality assets, including digital doubles, for the movie industry. Bringing together Virtuos’ art production infrastructure with Sparx expertise in film-quality animation, cinematics and VFX, we will be able to offer a more fully integrated solution for all our clients,” said Gilles Langourieux, CEO, Virtuos.

The teams in Shanghai and Vietnam have already begun working together on new projects.  After moving into new facilities in November, Sparx Vietnam will be expanded back to its original size of over 100 staff in 2012. Sparx currently employs over 100 animation professionals in Saigon and Shanghai and aims to employ over 200 by the end of 2012.

For more information about Virtuos and Sparx 3D Animation, please visit www.virtuos-sparx.com

About Virtuos

Virtuos is one of the largest providers of outsourced digital entertainment content production services, specializing in 3D Art and game software development.  With locations in Shanghai, Chengdu, Vancouver, Saigon, Paris and Tokyo, Virtuos has more than 800 employees representing 15 nationalities. Virtuos’ clients include 15 of the top 20 digital entertainment companies worldwide as well as renowned independent studios. For more information, please refer to: www.virtuosgames.com

First round of classes to include experts with experience from Pixar, Blizzard, Insomniac Games and SCEE

Shanghai, China, August 22, 2011 – Connection Events and Virtuos Academy have announced a new partnership to bring Connection Events’ Master Classes professional training sessions to China. The first round of training sessions will be held in Shanghai on August 28-29, 2011.

“China has already emerged as one of the largest and most important regions in the world for the digital entertainment industry, and we are excited to offer sessions led by some of the world’s leading experts in their fields,” said Pierre Carde, CEO of Connection Events.

“The Shanghai Master Classes will provide an excellent opportunity for the rapidly developing Chinese talent base to improve their skills by learning from the best in the business,” said Virtuos Ltd. CEO Gilles Langourieux.  “Virtuos Academy is proud to partner with Connection Events, and to host experts who bring experiences from Pixar, Blizzard, Insomniac Games and SCEE.”

The first round of Shanghai Master Classes will include:

• Lighting Techniques for Movies and Animation

Wen-Chin Hsu, Lighting Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios

• Special Effects Pipelines and Visual Techniques

Slim Ghariani, World of Warcraft FX Technical Artist at Blizzard Entertainment

• Multi-Core and Multi-Threading Design Optimization Patterns

Mike Acton, Engine Director at Insomniac Games

• How to Write Fast Code for Consoles

Tony Albrecht, Former SCEE Technical Consultant

The Shanghai Master Classes will last 7 hours a day for 2 days for an audience of no more than 20 attendees, and will be translated in Chinese. This limit of people per class means that the experience is highly engaging, and enables attendees to ask detailed questions and build their practical knowledge directly with the Master.

Digital entertainment professionals who are interested in attending the event are invited to visit http://shanghai.gameconnectionmasterclasses.com for more information.

About Game Connection Master Classes:

Connection Events is a service provider based in France. It specializes in designing services geared towards gaming professionals, from online and in person solutions for business meetings to expert-led training sessions and online resources. It is the organizer of one of the leading business events in the video game industry: Game Connection. For any additional questions, please contact Giulia Palmieri, at gpalmieri(at)connection-events.com

About Virtuos Academy

Virtuos Academy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Virtuos Ltd, and is the first internationally owned and managed game training center to be officially licensed by the Shanghai government. It offers higher education to those who would like to pursue studies and careers in the videogame industry and it covers all game development stages. For more information, please refer to: www.virtuosacademy.com For any additional questions, please contact Orion Richardson at orion(at)virtuosgames.com

Shanghai, China, August 17, 2011 – Virtuos today announced that it has reached 800 employees. In conjunction with the announcement, Virtuos revealed that it has signed a work-for-hire development agreement with Tencent Holdings Limited (00700.HK), one of the largest providers of Internet, mobile and telecommunication value-added services in China, aimed at online games platforms.

“Virtuos has been quietly at the forefront of the social games phenomenon, having contributed content to many of the top-10 games on the Facebook charts, since 2009,” said Virtuos CEO Gilles Langourieux. “It is a natural extension to leverage Virtuos’ engineering and game design capabilities for developing full games and we are honored to work with one of the most successful companies in China,” added Gilles Langourieux.

Virtuos added 200 staff in the first half of 2011. Two market trends are behind this growth which further validates the game-outsourcing business model. First, console game publishers are investing in bigger games for high-definition platforms, requiring larger teams integrating specialized skillsets such as level design. Second, the multiplication of online and handheld platforms is generating a demand for more small to medium titles. This has led Virtuos to grow its programming team by 50% to support the new platforms and technologies required by its clients.

Thanks to its increased resources, this year Virtuos will complete games on almost every major platform including PS3, Xbox 360, PSN, XBLA, Wii, 3DS, Facebook, iOS, and LeapFrog’s new LeapPad tablet for kids.

About Virtuos
Virtuos is one of the largest providers of outsourced digital entertainment content production services, specializing in 3D Art and game software development. With locations in Shanghai, Chengdu, Vancouver, Paris and Tokyo, Virtuos has more than 800 employees representing 15 nationalities. Virtuos’ clients include 15 of the top 20 digital entertainment publishers worldwide as well as renowned developers.

Shanghai, July 31, 2011 – Production Director and Founding Member of Virtuos Pan Feng spoke on a panel at the China Game Outsourcing Conference 2011.

The panel, titled: Chinese Online Game Production and Outsourcing, was moderated by DoNews Chief Editor Wang Le. In addition to Pan Feng, other panelists included Leon Liang, Kingsoft’s Director of Business Development for China and Charles Song, Sales Director of Greater China for Indian IT company Zensar.

Drawing on Virtuos’ experience with clients including 4 of the top 5 Chinese game operators, Pan Feng discussed how major game publishers and developers are steadily building their investments with distributed development partners, which are increasingly becoming essential parts of major games’ development cycles.
“As the game industry in China matures, outsourcing is becoming more common among Chinese publishers and developers,” said Pan Feng. “We are seeing more publishers and developers develop strong processes and communication practices which enable them to better take advantage of external development resources.”

The panelists agreed that outsourcing will continue to be an increasingly indispensable asset for game makers in China, as the industry sees growth in both the volume, and the scope of outsourcing projects.

Pan Feng has previously spoken at CGOC 2010, GDC China in Chengdu, and the China Comics Games (CCG) Expo.

About Virtuos
Virtuos is one of the largest providers of digital entertainment offshore production services, specializing in 3D Art and Co-development. With locations in Shanghai, Chengdu, Vancouver, Paris and Tokyo, Virtuos has more than 800 employees representing 15 nationalities. Virtuos’ clients include 15 of the top 20 game publishers worldwide as well as renowned developers. www.virtuosgames.com

Ludia & FremantleMedia Announce Hole In The Wall for Kinect

June 15, 2011, MONTREAL, CANADA – Interactive entertainment company Ludia Inc. and FremantleMedia Enterprises announced today that Hole In The Wall® will be available worldwide exclusively for Kinect^TM on the Microsoft Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system. Based on the global television game show phenomenon, Hole In The Wall is one of the trickiest, fastest and funniest games on the planet where agility and a hearty sense of humor are essential tools to survive. Players must contort their bodies to fit through bizarrely shaped holes in themed moving walls hurtling towards them. Competitors attempt to clear the walls in order to boost their scores, or risk being swept away into a pool of water. Hole In The Wall will also incorporate online play, single and multiplayer game modes, as well as image captures of the outlandish player movements performed within the game and hilarious bonus videos from the TV show.

“Ludia is thrilled to create an immersive, controller-free Hole In The Wall game play experience that is perfectly suited to leverage Microsoft Kinect technology,” said Alex Thabet, Founder and CEO of Ludia Inc. “This first title is just the beginning of Ludia games for Kinect on Xbox 360, and serves to further reinforce our multiplatform game strategy.”

“The Hole In The Wall television show has been highly successful in dozens of countries worldwide, so we are very pleased to work with Ludia to extend the franchise to Microsoft’s Xbox 360,” said Olivier Delfosse, VP, Interactive,Mobile & Digital Content, FremantleMedia Enterprises, licensor for Hole In The Wall. “We are sure that fans of the show and wider audiences alike will enjoy partaking in a fresh and exciting new Hole In The Wall experience.”

The first Hole In The Wall game was released in August 2011 on Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE Arcade and a Deluxe Edition came out in November on the Kinect^TM for Xbox 360®

About Ludia Inc.

Ludia creates and distributes cross-platform interactive entertainment with mass consumer appeal. Located in Montreal and founded by experienced industry players, Ludia’s innovative and high-quality product portfolio consists of original and branded properties including The Amazing Race™, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?®, The Bachelor & The Bachelorette, Family Feud®, Hell’s Kitchen™, Hole In The Wall™, Hollywood Squares™, Press Your Luck, The Price Is Right™, Pyramid, Where’s Waldo?® and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

www.ludia.com

ABOUT FREMANTLEMEDIA ENTERPRISES & FREMANTLEMEDIA

FremantleMedia is one of the leading creators and producers of entertainment brands in the world. FremantleMedia is part of the RTL Group, Europe’s largest television and radio broadcast company, which is in turn 90 percent owned by Bertelsmann AG, one of the world’s major media and entertainment companies. FremantleMedia’s worldwide production arm is responsible for many of the world’s highest rated prime time entertainment, drama, serial drama and factual entertainment programmes. FremantleMedia Enterprises is the brand extension arm of FremantleMedia, offering a one-stop-shop for all Licensing, Distribution and Home Entertainment around the world. The FremantleMedia Group (which includes FremantleMedia North America, UFA, talkbackTHAMES, FremantleMedia Australia and Original Productions amongst others) has operations in 22 countries, one of the most comprehensive global networks, creating nearly 10,000 hours of programming a year, rolling out more than 60 formats and managing over 300 individual titles. FremantleMedia has some of the world’s most sought after and long running formats in its catalogue, and globally, produces such programmes as: Idols (co-produced with 19 Productions in the US), Hole In The Wall, Got Talent (co-produced with Syco in the UK and the US), The X Factor (co-produced with Syco in the UK), Take Me Out, Family Feud, The Price is Right, Farmer Wants A Wife, Gute Zeiten Schlechte Zeiten, and Neighbours.

About FREMANTLEMEDIA North America

FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is the U.S. production division of global media giant FremantleMedia.  Based in Burbank, California, FMNA produces entertaining and innovative programs for network, cable, syndicated and online platforms, including the Emmy-nominated musical/reality phenomenon “American Idol” (FOX), “America’s Got Talent” (NBC), “What Chilli Wants” (VH1), “Kirstie Alley’s BIG LIFE” (Lifetime), “Hole In The Wall” (Cartoon Network), “The Hasselhoffs” (A&E), “Jump City” (G4), “Let’s Make A Deal” (CBS), “Family Feud” (syn), “The Price Is Right” (CBS), and the much-anticipated “The X Factor” (FOX) for Fall 2011.

Trademarks belong to their respective owners.

About Virtuos

Virtuos is one of the largest providers of outsourced digital entertainment content production services, specializing in 3D Art and game software development.  With locations in Shanghai, Chengdu, Vancouver, Saigon, Paris and Tokyo, Virtuos has more than 800 employees representing 15 nationalities. Virtuos’ clients include 15 of the top 20 digital entertainment companies worldwide as well as renowned independent studios. For more information, please refer to: www.virtuosgames.com

Shanghai, April 4th, 2011 – Gamasutra has published an in-depth interview between Virtuos CEO Gilles Langourieux and Gamasutra Features Director Christian Nutt.

Held during GDC China 2010, the interview discusses the scale and composition of Virtuos’ workforce, the benefits of Virtuos’ no-IP-creation strategy, and more.

“With scale, we were able to specialize our teams of artists. And we have 60 artists who do only characters, we have 100 artists who work only on environment, and we have 30 artists who produce only vehicles. And within those categories, we even have different leads who have different styles attached to them. That only comes with scale.” As of the date of the interview, Virtuos total staff topped 600.

The interview also discusses the possibilities and potential of offshore programming services in the game industry. “[Code outsourcing] is something that we’ve been strong proponents of from day one,” he said. “You can outsource much more than art, including code, given the proper setups.”

Gamasutra’s Simon Carless previously visited Virtuos in 2006, interviewing Langourieux for a report on offshore game production.

Via Gamasutra: Virtuos: Setting the Record Straight on Outsourcing