While Louisiana’s business landscape has long been defined by energy, tourism and agriculture, local leaders and creatives have been working to establish the state as a premier destination for digital innovation and game development.
Since 2004, international companies like France’s Gameloft and Silicon Valley’s inXile Entertainment have turned to the Crescent City to tap into its growing pool of creative talent, benefit from the state’s generous tax incentives for digital media and leverage the region’s unique cultural influences to develop story-driven games. New Orleans is home to several prominent game development studios, including Treyarch’s New Orleans studio, which contributes to the Call of Duty franchise, as well as Pixel Dash Studios and Vermilion Games.
The industry is composed not just of companies and talent that have relocated to New Orleans, but also those that are native to the region. Entrepreneurs like independent designer and programmer “Yutsi” — a native of St. Charles Parish — have used their home state for inspiration in their work. Yutsi created a point-and-click game called
“NORCO,” which takes place in a futuristic dystopian world of St. Charles Parish. The game was developed by a Louisiana game studio called Geography of Robots and published by Raw Fury out of Sweden.
“NORCO originally grew out of a small oral history project after Hurricane Katrina,” he explained. “Louisiana’s character and landscape were central to the game’s development from the start.”
Released in 2022 for multiple platforms, including macOS, Windows and major consoles, the game was widely praised for its compelling art, storytelling and worldbuilding. It garnered several award nominations and won the Long Form Award at A MAZE / Berlin.
Yutsi said he has high hopes for the burgeoning industry in his home state.
“The region offers so much creative inspiration,” he added. “I imagine it’ll leave a significant imprint on the industry as it matures here.”
DAQA Win
In November 2024, GNO, Inc., celebrated the arrival of a gaming quality assurance branch from DAQA, a Bay Area tech company known for its player-centric testing, live quality operations and in-depth game research. The new testing center in New Orleans will provide custom, technology-driven solutions to game studios, further cementing the city’s growing role in the gaming industry.
Louisiana’s Digital Media Incentive Program, established in 2003, has played a pivotal role in attracting digital media companies to the state. The program, which offers tax credits of up to 35% on qualifying expenditures, helped draw companies like Gameloft, a global mobile game developer and publisher, to New Orleans in 2004. However, the closure of Gameloft’s local studio in 2015 raised questions about the long-term benefits of such incentives, with critics noting that the company did not provide sustained job creation or significant lasting economic impact.
Devin Seto, managing partner of DAQA, said the company was drawn to New Orleans for several reasons.
“We had been looking at other venues,” he said, “and the combination of excellent local talent, location and time zone, and ease of doing business made New Orleans the best choice for us. The support provided by GNO, Inc., and other business entities made our move a lot easier than we expected. We had everything we needed to set up our office and establish our business in the area from the very beginning.”
DAQA’s New Orleans center is expected to create 15 to 20 new jobs initially, spanning software development, game testing and quality assurance. The company plans to expand its workforce as demand grows, focusing on attracting local talent and creating a sustainable pipeline for future leaders in the gaming industry.
Matt Wolfe, VP of communications at GNO, Inc., is optimistic about the industry’s impact on New Orleans, particularly on the education sector. He points to the University of New Orleans, where the DAQA hub is located, as a key resource in developing a talent pipeline.
“Being located at UNO — adjacent to a fully functioning game development program —provides [DAQA] with access to a talent pipeline of current students, future graduates and alumni,” he noted. Wolfe also highlighted Tulane’s digital design program in game art and animation, as well as programs at Louisiana State University, Delgado and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, all of which have strong animation departments.
While many may see jobs in the gaming industry as focused on programmers and developers, the industry has a wide variety of opportunities that may not be as well known, including quality assurance.
“I definitely believe quality assurance is a good jumping off point for a career in games,” explained Seto. “My business partner, Ben Wibberley, and I both started our careers in games QA and we’ve (each) been at it for over 25 years each. More importantly, I see service companies such as DAQA providing opportunities for individuals to get their foot in the door of the industry and acquire professional game quality skills.”
Veronika Lee Claghorn is the associate news editor of BizNewOrleans.com. She may be reached via email at Veronika@BizNewOrleans.com.
