Dundee’s Cobra Mobile Closes After 20 Years
It is with great sadness that we report that Cobra Mobile, one of Dundee’s pioneering mobile game studios, is being liquidated after 20 years of business. The closure has resulted in the redundancy of its eight staff members.
Founded in 2005 by Mark Ettle, Cobra Mobile was one of the first studios in Dundee to recognise and embrace the potential of the mobile games market. Over two decades, the company became a cornerstone of the city’s games community, developing a rich catalogue of original games and earning both commercial success and critical acclaim. The studio was known for hit titles including the iBomber series (iBomber Defense may be my favourite and best tower defence series *ever*!) and Storm In A Teacup, releasing games across the App Store, Google Play, Steam, and Nintendo platforms.
Throughout its history, Cobra Mobile garnered multiple awards, including a European Games Award, and received five BAFTA nominations for its work.
Speaking to The Courier, founder and CEO Mark Ettle cited a “cascading waterfall of bad outcomes” leading to the closure. These included clients’ bankruptcy, the passing of chairman Peter Mackintosh last year, and the broader downturn currently affecting the global games industry.
“It is really sad, but it has been a fun ride too for the last 20 years,” Ettle told The Courier. “We have made a ton of great games. And we’ve won lots of awards and been nominated for loads more… But there are things in business you simply don’t control and events you cannot foresee.”
The closure marks a sad day for the Scottish games industry, and our immediate thoughts are with the talented and experienced team of eight who have been made redundant.
A Call to the Scottish Games Community
The Scottish Games Network is issuing a call to all studios, particularly those in Dundee, Tayside, and across Scotland, who are currently recruiting. If you have open roles for experienced developers, artists, producers, or other disciplines, please get in touch. We will do everything we can to connect the team from Cobra Mobile with new opportunities across Scotland.
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