GOA, the online games unit of mobile phone company Orange, which is owned by France Telecom, today announced that it has established a Multilingual Customer & Operations Support Centre in Dublin creating a significant number of new jobs, with the support of Government through IDA Ireland. Up to 400 jobs may be created over five years.

GOA is the online games department of Orange’s Content Division. In 2006 GOA signed an exclusive contract with Mythic Entertainment, a leading developer of online computer games, to support the hugely anticipated game: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR). GOA’s office in Dublin will support Warhammer Online and its portfolio of other games across all of Europe in 5 languages (English, French, German, Italian and Spanish).

Speaking from GOA’s new offices in Dublin’s Digital Hub, the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan said today: “This is a terrific announcement for Dublin and demonstrates the changing nature of our increasingly knowledge-based economy. This powerful shift in our economic basis enables us to target investments at the cutting-edge of technology and it is for these very reasons the Government welcomes a company of this calibre and highly innovative nature.”

“GOA is a superb addition to the thriving games industry in Ireland. It is a market leader in multiplayer online role-playing games, which are growing in popularity across the world. The games industry is a strategic target for inward investment into Ireland. Interactive entertainment is one of the fastest-growing and most popular recreational sectors globally, and this demand is creating new opportunities for Ireland and a substantial amount of sustainable, high value added employment in a cutting edge industry,” she added.

David Ryan, Managing Director of GOA in Dublin said that Dublin was the perfect location to establish its Multilingual Customer and Engineering Support Centre as it offers a highly educated and skilled workforce. “Ireland has a strong internet infrastructure and a young, educated and creative population. Ireland is the ideal location to gather a highly educated, multilingual team to provide the best services and support to our very large customer base, partners and customers across Europe.”

Commenting on today’s announcement, Dermot Clohessy, IDA Executive Director of Business Development and Marketing said, "IDA Ireland welcomes today’s announcement as part of our ongoing drive to further develop and grow the media and entertainment sector in Ireland. GOA’s European, multilingual ase in Dublin is a significant addition to service industries in this country. IDA looks forward to encouraging further digital media companies, with similar high levels of technical expertise, to locate in Ireland in the future."