We are excited to announce that d3t alongside our sister studio Coconut Lizard, have been recognised as a GamesIndustry.biz Best Place to Work for 2024!
The award highlights the best games studios to work for in the UK, and 2024 marks the sixth consecutive year in a row that d3t has won the award and the seventh time in our history.
However, what makes this award all the more special for us is that it is voted for primarily by our team, with 80% of a studios score coming from an anonymous employee survey and the final 20% via an in-depth company questionnaire.
Speaking on the announcement, our Head of Studio, Richard Badger, said: “I am overjoyed that both d3t and Coconut Lizard have been announced as two of the best games studios in the UK to work for. This is now the second that Coconut Lizard has been recognised, but it is also the seventh time that d3t has received the award – 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and now 2024.
“We are proud to be people-focused co-development studios that have not slowed down over the past 12-18 months. This is despite a range of challenges – rising cost-of-living, inflation, and the turbulent games industry job losses. Instead, both our studios have seen strong growth over this period including our team size which now stands at over 200 strong.
“Crucially for our studios, this growth has been achieved by ensuring that above else, our people remain our top priority. In doing so, we are pleased that despite the current industry challenges surrounding both job losses and project cancellations, d3t and Coconut Lizard remain in a strong position.
“However, we are in a strong position, because of one key thing. Our team. And put simply without our team’s incredible talent and passion for all things games, we would not be where we are today. So, a massive thank you goes to every single of them as they have and continue to make our studios great places to work.”
This award comes off the back of the studios being nominated as a Best Studio finalist, at the Develop:Star Awards, alongside the likes of Remedy Entertainment, Playground Games, and Larian Studios. In addition to being nominated as a Co-Development Studio of the Year finalist at the MCV/Develop Awards.
Following on from our work on EA SPORTS FC 24, where our team helped bring the first EA SPORTS FC game in the series powered by the Frostbite engine to players on Nintendo Switch, we again worked alongside EA SPORTS to provide developmental support on the latest instalment in the EA SPORTS FC™ series, EA SPORTS FC 25.
Our team of dedicated and experienced Programmers, Artists, Producers, and Quality Assurers have been working alongside our partners at EA Vancouver and EA Romania to bring EA SPORTS FC 25 to players across all platforms.
The end result allows players to experience unrivalled authenticity in EA SPORTS FC 25 with the most true-to-life experience of football’s biggest competitions, clubs and stars, with 19,000+ players across 700+ teams in more than 120 stadiums and over 30 leagues.
EA SPORTS FC 25 will be available to play as part of early access on September 20, 2024 through the Ultimate Edition, with the Standard Edition launching on September 27. EA SPORTS FC 25 will launch on PlayStation®5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch™.
For more information about EA SPORTS FC 25, click here, or view the reveal trailer below on YouTube:
New office joins the studios in Cheshire and Newcastle
The UK-based game developer, d3t has opened a new studio in Madrid.
The award-winning work-for-hire, co-development studio, which is owned by Keywords Studios, currently has over 200 developers working across its multiple projects, and the new studio in Madrid is set to boost its capabilities by expanding its talent pool and reach.
The news follows on from d3t forming closer ties with its sister studio, Coconut Lizard in Gateshead, Newcastle.
Headquartered in Daresbury, Cheshire, d3t is credited on titles including, EA SPORTS FC 25 ™, Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Alan Wake Remastered, and a variety of other projects.
Its new Madrid studio is to be led by, associate art director, Paula Sanchez-Ferrero Ruiz, who has worked on a range of titles, including Call of Duty: Vanguard, Metro Exodus, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and Call of Duty: WWII.
Speaking on the launch of the new studio, Paula said: “We are delighted to expand d3t’s presence in Europe. Spain is an excellent hub of game development, thanks to a combination of great innovation and talent within the country. These factors made our decision to open a Madrid studio an easy one due to their desirability, which in turn will only further d3t’s ability to provide and deliver world-class services to our global clients.”
d3t’s head of studio, Richard Badger, added: “Opening a third studio is an important milestone for our studio, and we are excited for Madrid to be the location of this landmark event. Over the past 14 years, we as a studio have grown to now over 200 members of the team, and our service offering has also expanded to all areas of the game development cycle covering; art, design, production, programming, and QA. Our new Madrid studio is next natural step in our evolution, which will enable us to offer more of our award-winning services to our clients.”
The Index, which is a benchmark of best policy and practice, is designed to celebrate the good work that employers do to promote and support positive mental health, and to provide key recommendations on the specific areas where there is room for improvement. Across the 55 employers participating in the 23/24 Index, almost 19,000 employees were surveyed.
This year was the third time that we have participated in the Index and builds on the success of last year’s Silver recognition, and 2021’s Bronze recognition.
Speaking on the announcement, Production Manager at d3t, Jane Mcloughlin said: “d3t and Coconut Lizard continue to be game studios that put the wellbeing of its team at the forefront of what they do. The gradual progression that we have made within the Index over the last three years demonstrates our commitment to the mental health and wellbeing of our team, and I am really pleased that this is a sentiment that is also echoed by our teams, based on the results of the staff survey carried out by Mind.
“Achieving Gold recognition is a fantastic achievement for our studios, and we are incredibly happy with this as it validates all the work that we are doing, however we know that we cannot rest on our laurels as there is always more that we can do to improve our mental health policies and practices.
“I continue to look forward to seeing where both studios are in 12 months’ time and how these improvements will be reflected within the next Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index.
For further details on the Workplace Wellbeing Index, click here.
We are happy to announce that we have been working with Sharkmob on their recently revealed game Exoborne. Stay tuned for more information on our involvement in the future.
For more information about Exoborne, check out the official page here or view the trailer below.
d3t’s sister studio Coconut Lizard is proud to announce their involvement on Dead Island 2, which launches today on Xbox Series X and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment systems from Microsoft, PlayStation®5 and PlayStation®4 computer entertainment systems and the Epic Games Store for PC.
Set in the iconic, gore-drenched setting of Los Angeles. Players can expect to slay countless foes in exquisitely bloody detail and evolve to become the ultimate zombie slayer!
Commenting on the launch, Daniella-Zelli-Lim, Producer at Coconut Lizard, said: “Working with the team at Deep Silver Dambuster Studios on Dead Island 2 has been a great experience for us all at Coconut Lizard. Particularly our team of Engineers who have been working hard on various aspects of the game alongside the Internal Game Code Team.
“As fans of the Dead Island series, we were overwhelmed to be brought on board, and we look forward to seeing fans experience all that Dead Island 2 has in store for them.”
For more information about the launch of Dead Island 2, check out the official page here, or view the full trailer below.
Tell us a bit of information about your experience/career background?
I completed a master’s degree in computer games development at UCLan, where I had my first role in the games industry during my final summer. This was an internship at BossAlien. After then graduating, I joined d3t for the first time, where I had the opportunity to work on some incredible titles alongside an amazing team.
I then went on to spend three years at an indie studio working on a sandbox engineering game called Rawbots. When that project came to an end, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to return to d3t.
Why d3t?
d3t is full of talented programmers and I’m eager to return to carry on learning from all the amazing people here. The atmosphere was great, and I loved working on the incredible projects I was assigned to. It’s safe to say that I can’t wait to get stuck in again!
What do you love about games?
The thing I like the most about games is thinking about how the game mechanics work and how I would go about implementing it myself. When I first got into games development, I would always try to copy the games I played!
What games are you currently playing, and what is your favourite game?
Currently, I am not actually playing any games and wouldn’t consider myself a serious gamer. However, I do like to play social games with my friends like Jackbox and Overcooked.
Do you have any fun facts or hobbies?
Last year, I got back into competitive swimming after a 10-year break. Alongside this, I run and weight lift. I also occasionally compete in Rubik’s Cube competitions.
Tell us a bit of information about your experience/career background?
I’ve been working in the games industry since 2014. I first started out working for a small indie studio that wanted to make a game similar to Sea of Thieves in Unity. During my time there I worked on implementing multiplayer features and naval combat mechanics.
After that I moved through different companies and have worked on numerous projects, including a VR visualization / simulation project in UE4 for the automotive industry.
My latest experience was working for Tequila Works in Madrid on an Unannounced Project. During my time there I was part of the core technology team which was responsible for helping develop team wide plugins, components and tools to help our projects work faster and share knowledge across teams.
Why d3t?
I first heard about d3t from a friend who had many positive things to say about the people, company, and projects. Co-development has also drawn me in because of the variety of projects I could potentially work on and the different people I could work with. Since I first started the process to join d3t, every person I’ve spoken with and got to meet has been great and very welcoming. I’m looking forward to getting to know the rest of the team and to start working on the projects with them.
What do you love about games?
I love how games can take you to unknown places, make you part of the stories and allow you to have an impact on people. I also love the different sides of games, such as online multiplayer games, which can bring people together, have them compete or collaborate towards a goal and share their experiences together. Creating those experiences for others to enjoy is incredible.
What games are you currently playing, and what is your favourite game?
Currently I’m mostly playing multiplayer games with friends. Games like; Hell Let Loose, Lethal Company or League of Legends. I can’t really say I have one single favourite game, however some of my favourites are World of Warcraft, Gears of War 2 and a more recent contender is Sifu.
Do you have any fun facts or hobbies?
I’ve had many hobbies over the years, surfing, skateboarding and soft combat. Also, other than some pet projects, I’m looking to get into airsoft and possibly Warhammer.
“We are proud to be people-focused co-development studios that have not slowed down over the past 12-18 months. This is despite a range of challenges – rising cost-of-living, inflation, and the turbulent games industry job losses. Instead, both our studios have seen strong growth over this period including our team size which now stands at over 200 strong. 
“Achieving Gold recognition is a fantastic achievement for our studios, and we are incredibly happy with this as it validates all the work that we are doing, however we know that we cannot rest on our laurels as there is always more that we can do to improve our mental health policies and practices. 
