Side Acquires Boutique Art Studio Roboto Entertainment in Creative Services Push

Roboto Entertainment founder and industry veteran, Andrea Cordella, will lead Side's global art division and act as studio head for the new Chengdu site. His team will work closely with Side Shanghai as well as Side's wider network of art and co-development teams spread across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia.

"When half the titles at gamescom's Opening Night Live this year were made in China, the world notices. China has long been one of the most important markets for our industry, and I'm fiercely proud of the fact that our team there is hungry for more work, so we're going to grow." said Deborah Kirkham, CEO at Side.

While the games industry has reported a slowdown globally in recent years, the Chinese market is expected to grow by 4% in 2026 and hit $59.8B by 2030. It boasts some of the highest player engagement rates, esports engagement, player hours, and player spend, making the region an attractive space for developers.

"This acquisition is a double-down on a winning regional strategy. With Andrea as our Global Head of Art and a new studio in Chengdu, we now have some of the industry's best environment and world-building artistic talent," continued Kirkham.

Cordella founded Roboto Entertainment in 2014, specialising in environment and world building art for games. The Chengdu-based team has worked on AAA and AA releases across console and mobile games.

Andrea Cordella said, "I knew from the moment I met Deborah and the team at Side that the company aligned with the values my team and I hold dear. We strive for excellence and hold creativity close to our hearts – games are the only art medium where the consumer plays an equal role to the creator, and we will continue to deliver that creativity to every brief, now collaborating with teams across the world and supporting developers on a range of projects. It goes without saying, but I can't wait to get started."

Side's QA offering recently expanded through a partnership with leading AI QA platform, Modl.ai, announced at Gamescom earlier this year. Side, which provides Player Support, QA, Localisation, LQA, Datasets, Codev, Art and Audio, already offers its full suite of services to China-based developers.

The new studio, combined with new expertise in environment art through Andrea and his team, will allow the company to offer developers in China and beyond more than ever before.  

About Side: 

Side is a global video game development and services provider, offering technical and creative solutions to many of the largest developers and studios around the world. Founded in 2009, Side has grown from their Japanese roots to become a global force in the technology industry, with 15+ studios in over a dozen countries across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Their industry-leading services include art production, game development, audio production, quality assurance, localisation, localisation QA, player support, community management, and datasets. For more information, visit www.side.inc