Startup game-developer takes root in downtown

Rogue Gaming Studio is the latest addition to the cadre of downtown Reno companies that develop gambling software.

The company is recruiting graduates of the University of Nevada, Reno, and views the downtown location as a part of its talent-development strategy, says Patrick Crawford, managing partner of Rouge Gaming Studio.

The company, which employs five people, leased 6,600 square feet in a building owned by Basin Street Properties at 50 W. Liberty St.

Crawford, a former executive with GameTech International in Reno, said the company develops video gambling software for niche markets in the domestic and international gaming market.

He said fierce competition among gaming properties increases the demand for new game content, and he said larger game-development firms in Reno increasingly outsource some software and design work so they can get new products into the market more quickly.

"This is yet another tech-based industry that is exceptionally well-suited for Reno and attracted to our downtown corridor," Crawford said. "Reno is still a good place to be for companies servicing the gaming industry."

He said the company has had good luck recruiting skilled employees from nearby UNR, partly because of its downtown location close to urban amenities.

"Hiring UNR graduates was a very positive experience and is definitely an avenue we look forward to utilizing as our employee base grows," Crawford said.

He said the company expects to add employees and office space as it lands more contracts.

Among others in the game-development business in central Reno are game developers 3G Studios and Spin Games, Radical Blue Gaming, which develops compliance-testing programs for casino games, and a host of smaller companies, some of which operate solely out of the laptop computer of a software writer who works in a coffee shop.

"Rogue Gaming Studio not only represents a new face of gaming but perfectly fits the mold of an increasing number of technology businesses that are reshaping and redefining our downtown region." said Scott Stranzl, vice president of leasing for Basin Street Properties.

Representing Rogue Gaming Studio its lease was Brian Egan of Egan Commercial, with Chase Whittemore of NAI Alliance representing Basin Street Properties.