BBC to launch a range of games for iPlayer

Rumour suggests "serious" games coming soon

6 August 2007 13:44 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Reports are coming in that the BBC may be about to make a "significant" move into the videogames market.

Apparently the BBC's "new media" man Simon Nelson will reveal the Beeb's gaming plans at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival next week.

Nelson has a good history in introducing innovations to the BBC - he is the person responsible for the popular BBC podcasts.

The BBC currently offers a range of games, mainly aimed at children, through its CBBC and Blast operations.

It has also created downloadable games linked to TV shows such as Doctor Who.

"Industry sources" say that the announcement about the new gaming offerings will "beef" up the BBC's gaming presence and will be taken seriously in the gaming community.

The suggestion is that the new games could be offered via the BBC's recently launched iPlayer download service.

This service has experienced severe criticism, and has been the target of a government e-petition, for its Windows XP-only compatibility.

If the Beeb does go ahead and launch games titles, but only offers them via the iPlayer, it will only provoke more anger from campaigners who want the software to be open to all operating systems.

We will keep you informed.