Mapping agency Ordnance Survey (OS) has awarded London based studio Preloaded a £6 million contract to develop, deploy, support and manage a new augmented reality app based game.
The game, described by Preloaded as “world scale”, will use OS mapping and geospatial data to connect families with the outdoors. It will be launched in early 2022 as a complementary service to OS Maps, the agency’s existing online mapping service that includes a mobile app and has more than 3.5 million users.
Preloaded describes itself as a specialist in geospatial technologies. Its work includes a virtual reality game for the Victoria and Albert museum supporting an exhibition on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland stories and a Happy Meal game for fast food seller McDonald’s aimed at 5-8 year-olds.
OS received eight tenders for the seven-year deal, which it awarded on 12 April with the work starting on 1 May. As well as supporting and maintaining the game when live, Preloaded will provide a ‘live ops’ service, which involves attracting and retaining players.
The deal follows a smaller £300,000 contract between the mapping agency and Preloaded awarded in November 2020 for computer game software development services. The procurement notice for the earlier contract said: “The western world has an activity crisis… Using our geospatial expertise and your gaming knowledge we believe we can create something truly unique and really disrupt the market, encouraging everyone to ‘Get Outside’ more often.”
Image from Preloaded
