Video game designer turned chief executive aims to propel his company into the elite
As a Star Wars and science fiction enthusiast famous for co-authoring a “seminal” video game in the 1980s, it is perhaps unsurprising that David Braben does not come across as a typical chief executive.
Sitting tie-less in the City offices of investment bank Numis on the morning of a trading update, the founder of Frontier Developments looks somewhat out of place.
Since floating the company in 2013, such visits have become a necessity for Braben, who lives and works in Cambridge, near to where he founded Frontier from a farmhouse in 1994.
“I remember when I first left university, talking to my brother, who said ‘oh, you’ve got to live in London’,” he says. “Oh no, [I said,] it’s horrible and dirty and smelly. I like London, but I like to come to London and then go home.”
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For the love of gaming
Braben, who is still known in gaming circles for co-authoring Elite in 1982, remains a “technical person at heart”. And while, like any chief executive, he wants his company to grow for business reasons, he is also clearly still motivated by his passion for gaming.
“I still sit in amongst the team, making games,” he says. “I don’t do any programming any more, but I’m in all of the design meetings, planning meetings. And I love it, absolutely love it.”
He adds: “It means I get to do the things that I want to do, and the whole City thing I just see as part of that process.”
Frontier’s games include Elite: Dangerous, Zoo Tycoon, Lost Winds, Kinectimals, Rollercoaster Tycoon and Thrillville.
An explanation of what defines a Frontier game will probably be lost on those whose gaming experience is either non-existent or confined to casually playing lad favourite Fifa. Essentially, though, Braben aims for his games to be immersive and transport users into a virtual universe (and not always with virtual reality equipment).
“I was a huge fan of science fiction when I was a kid and would avidly read it,” says Braben. “And I never saw what I was reading as a story. I saw it as immersing myself in a world.
“And I remember at some point my dad saying about Star Wars: ‘Oh, that’s just a rescue the princess story.’ I remember getting very angry, saying: ‘No, it’s not. It’s about a world that is consistent. And the fact they’re rescuing a princess is almost a sideline to that.’”
He adds: “I thought: that’s the sort of thing I want to do. I want to create these worlds.”
A growing industry
Braben believes his company has a big potential because of the increasing mainstream popularity of gaming.
Don’t just take his word for it. EMarketer last week released its first ever UK online gaming forecast, predicting that by 2019 half of internet users will be playing games digitally at least once a month. Last year, Sky launched the UK’s first 24-hour eSports TV channel, where viewers watch others playing games.
“I think we are the industry that has changed the most, bar none [in recent years],” Braben says. “I think we are bigger than ever, but we’re continuing to grow… The bigger, and more subtle change, is the wider acceptance of interactive entertainment to a wider group.”
While Braben speaks with enthusiasm about his own children playing video games, there remain others who would bemoan the increasing number of people whiling away their hours on consoles.
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“It’s always been a criticism, and in my day it was books and television,” Braben says. “I was criticised for reading a book and not running around.
“I actually would much rather see someone doing something that’s interactive, because your mind is very active. You are engaging, you are puzzle-solving.”
Frontier last week reported revenues of £18.1m for the six months to 30 November, up from £10.9m, and profits after tax of £3.6m, up from £0.4m. Since floating on the Alternative Investment Market in 2013, the company’s share price has risen 72 per cent to 288p.
How big can Frontier be? “Size isn’t the goal here,” says Braben.
“The goal here is to be one of the best entertainment companies in the world. I think in 10 years’ time there is scope for maybe a dozen big entertainment companies. And I want us in some way, and it will probably look completely different to where things are now, to be one of those.”