Plans are being drawn up to build a major new international games design studio in the heart of Dundee’s £1 billion waterfront development.

It is hoped the multi-million-pound ‘studiotel’ project – which would combine state-of-the-art digital facilities with on-site accommodation to provide games designers with a fully immersive live-in experience – will enhance Dundee’s reputation as an international games design hub and attract creative talent from around the UK and overseas to live and work in the city.

The Courier reports that the new facility is being slated for development site 17 at the central waterfront, a narrow site between the new SUDS ponds on South Commercial Street and the car park of the Apex City Quay Hotel.

The concept for the building is being developed by the UK Games Talent and Finance CIC, the Dundee-based group which manages the government-backed UK Games Fund which provides early stage funding to games developers.

“The creation of this studiotel in Dundee would see the Tay Cities region pioneer a world-first facility,” UK Games Talent and Finance CIC chief executive, Paul Durrant told the paper.

“As a UK and international-facing organisation, we have been actively seeking a home for this concept, with a number of games clusters at home and abroad representing potential.

“However, because of our links with the city and our roots, it would be fantastic to see this happen in Dundee.

“We want to grow the volume of original digital intellectual property created and marketed from within the Tay Cities region and attract money and talent to support our growing wealth of creativity.”

The bulk of the funding for the £15.5 million build would come from a private sector developer, with a further £2m contribution sought from the Tay Cities Deal process.

The project has passed the outline stage of approvals under the Tay Cities Deal umbrella, and a strategic case has now been put forward for consideration.