TEHRAN – Shahriar Az’harianfar, the developer of the acclaimed android game “Amirza”, has warned cultural officials of the immigration of young talents in the game industry from the country to work for companies such as Google and Microsoft.

“Persons who were geniuses at game developing in Iran and had good experiences in the industry have left the country over the past few years and have been employed by companies such as Google and Microsoft,” he told the Persian service of IRNA on Monday.

He said that a member of the team involved in developing the games ‘Quest of Persia: Nader’s Blade’, ‘Quest of Persia: The End of Innocence’ and ‘Quest of Persia: Lotfali Khan Zand’ is now working at Microsoft.

He also added that the writer of Iran’s first motor game is now working for Google as a middle manager and some people have also been employed at Santa Monica Studio, an American video game developer, and at several other overseas companies.

“We do not have many persons in the country that have enough knowledge of game development,” Az’harianfar lamented and asked the authorities to consider other game developing talents who have chosen to remain in the country.   

He called the huge government bureaucracy the biggest obstacle in the way of game developers trying to obtain a license for their products.  

Governmental filters to prevent online businesses and lack of investors are other major problems facing game developers, he added.

Az’harianfar pointed to the entrepreneurial side of game developing and noted the industry has the potential to create thousands of jobs even in unrelated fields.

Photo: Game developer Shahriar Az’harianfar in an undated photo.

MMS/YAW