BGFG creates more jobs, Manchester expands to challenge as UK’s gaming capital
By Gamers for Gamers, a Manchester gaming and tech company, has announced its intent to create another 30 jobs in the city, following significant fundraising.
In the Premier League era of English football, Manchester has been the dominant force, with United and City making the Greater Manchester metropolis famous for the sport.
Now, however, there’s a relatively new scene emerging across the UK, which Manchester looks to position itself at the forefront of.
The gaming industry has been around for decades, but it’s only over the last ten to 15 years that it has become a true goliath. It’s now the most valuable entertainment medium globally, connecting to people via computers, consoles, and smartphones, with more and more companies piling into the action each year. Manchester’s gaming scene has been bustling for a long time, and it too continues to expand.
Most recently, By Gamers for Gamers, a Manchester gaming and tech company, announced its intent to create another 30 jobs in the city, following significant fundraising.
Looking to bring the top talents of the UK to the northern city, BGFC will be further contributing to Manchester’s momentum, continually growing into a digital hub of the UK. Already, it seems, as far as gaming hubs in the UK go, there’s certainly a lot about Manchester which suggests that ‘Cottonopolis’ is already a national leader for everything gaming.
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Going out to enjoy the gaming culture of Manchester
The city boasts a diverse gaming community which goes much further than there just being a console or gaming PC in several homes. Thanks to the incredibly high demand, Manchester has become a hot spot for gaming bars and games venues, used as the centrepiece of a night out. The retro games-laden Hold Fast, NQ64, and secret 80s arcade bar 17 Below offer game-centric ways to socialise at the bar. It’s not just the more classic titles and arcade machines that have been introduced to Manchester, though, with the less-night out experience venue of Virtual Hideout making its mark. Standing as the city’s virtual reality gaming centre, there is a website with mobile slots free spins, over 100 games to experience as a single player or in a team of up to four people.
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Manchester is becoming increasingly tied to perhaps the most famous gaming destination in the world: Las Vegas. Most recently, one of the city’s start-up companies, Gamer Wager, signed into a joint venture with SCCG Management of Nevada, who will utilise their peer-to-peer game wagering tech in the United States. Coming the other way, of course, the games that Las Vegas is famous for have found a vibrant audience in Manchester. While not in the form of a towering themed casino, the online library at VegasSlotsOnline contains all of the top slots from Sin City. The likes of 50 Lions, Triple Diamond, and Bier Haus continue to be the most popular of the Vegas selection. With these games available online, gaming in-person in a Vegas-like setting is also available, with Manchester235 being a part of the Caesars Rewards programme.
Giving a grand stage to gaming in Manchester
In the United States, annual conventions have become incredibly popular across entertainment mediums that were once considered niche. Comic-Con, for example, is a major driver of the comic industry and have morphed into a geek national holiday of sorts. Manchester has long sought to give gaming such a stage, with efforts proving to be very popular. In 2019, the Manchester Gaming Market presented attendees and collectors with a huge range of retro video games and consoles to snap up. On a much larger, more modern scale, there’s also the epic Play Expo event. The city’s crown jewel of annual gaming events shall return on 8 and 9 May in 2021, with over 1000 gaming hardware units set to be available across the show floor.
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The gaming business of Manchester
For anywhere in the UK to truly be hailed as a gaming hub, it needs to corral the nation’s creative force to the area. BGFG, the business behind WePC, PC Guide, Esports Verdict, and Gaming Verdict, continues to expand and offer more reasons for savvy gaming professionals to come up north. Aiming to facilitate such moves is Gameopolis, whose sole purpose is to network and promote links between the video games industry and Manchester. On the development side of the industry, the city is also home to mobile-facing devs Smashmouth Games, as well as the indie creators of The Lost Bear and The Persistence, Fabrik Games. Then, there’re the steps to further promote the ever-growing eSports scene, with Manchester United and City having eSports teams set-up, and Manchester University running several programmes and events.
Manchester has a tremendous amount of momentum right now, from the population’s overall interest in gaming to businesses looking to establish the city in the industry at large. As more companies like BGFG make positive moves to increase the allure of Manchester in gaming, it’ll grow further as the nation’s games hub.
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Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”