Moving to a new level: Double Eleven

www.double11.com | YouTube: Double Eleven

If you’ve visited Middlesbrough recently, then chances are you’ll have seen Double Eleven’s grand headquarters.

Also known as the Boho X building, it towers over the town’s Boho Zone development.

It includes a new addition to Teesside’s skyline – a striking Egyptian symbol, known as the Eye of Horus, carefully chosen to keep a watchful eye and offer protection, health and prosperity over all its surveys.

Inside the building, every centimetre of every floor has been meticulously considered to create a workspace like no other.

Six storeys high, the 70,000 sq ft studio has been built with creativity and wellbeing at its heart.

There is a gamers’ paradise with nearly 10,000 plants and advanced air and water filtration.

There is a subsidised ground-floor market hall, a 24/7 gym, a rooftop terrace, and a 200-seater auditorium and classroom.

The latter is planned to support community initiatives and local youngsters on their career journeys.

Most of Double Eleven’s UK team has been based here since March 2024.

A further 80 staff are based out of the company’s growing Kuala Lumpur studio.

“This place is close to my heart,” says co-chief executive Mark South, who led on the development plans for its Middlesbrough headquarters.

He adds: “We spent about three years designing the fit-out; it was all-consuming, but so worthwhile.”

“We are building for the future, and our ambition was always to build a workplace experience for our people that was second-to-none.”

“I remember the first time I got to come into the building when it was finished, and it was a real moment.”

“I almost didn’t want to leave,” says Mark, who was appointed to his present role alongside Kimberley Turner late last year.

Founder – and Kimberley’s brother – Lee Hutchinson stepped up to fulfil the role of chair at Double Eleven parent company Pneuma Group in its full capacity.

Having outgrown its first offices in the same area, Double Eleven was looking across the entire region for a new home before then Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston intervened.

Co-chief executive Kimberley says: “Over time in our original Boho One offices, we’d moved into one room, then taken another and another and another.”

“Whenever anything became free, we took it.”

“We had most of the building and one at the back of here too, but it was never going to be enough.”

Mark adds: “We always wanted to be in Teesside, it was part of our journey from the start through our connection with Teesside University.”

“But there was nothing that matched our growing needs or long-term vision.”

“We also didn’t really want to ask our people to commute.”

“And then Andy came along and said, ‘we’re creating this building – it could be right for you.’”

“He made the introductions and wanted to help us find an office here,” says Canada-raised founding chief operating officer Mark, who undertook postgraduate studies at Durham University.

He adds: “We did a good deal; it was ours before it was built and we committed a seven-figure investment to transform what was an empty shell into a new Teesside landmark.”

“A space which exemplifies our continued investment in our people and culture.”

Kimberley, the firm’s former chief financial officer and commercial director, says: “If we were going to do it, like everything we do, we had to do it properly.”

“We were never going to do half a job. That’s not the Double Eleven way.”

“Moving into this building was a really big spade-in-the-ground moment for us.”

You can see Double Eleven’s original offices in Boho One from Kimberley and Mark’s fifth-floor office.

In fact, you can see most of Teesside and beyond.

Today it is a multi-million-pound business, but it began in a humble Durham bedroom.

Kimberley and brother Lee were regular gamers as youngsters in Belmont, on the outskirts of Durham City.

Lee developed his passion at Teesside University, turned it into good jobs in the industry, earned some money and set up his own company, which turned over £50 million last year.

“My mam always told Lee he should get a role in a more conventional industry,” says Kimberley.

“He proved her wrong.”

Double Eleven goes beyond commercial success, though, with its achievements underpinned by a strong sense of purpose.

Kimberley says: “We always wanted to create an environment which allowed people to follow their dreams and deliver their passion in making great games.”

“Without having to sacrifice time spent with family and friends, or having to relocate to a major city – like Lee had to at the beginning.”

“A good work/life balance wasn’t something you typically saw in the games industry, and we were determined to do things differently.”

Lee founded Double Eleven in 2009, taking up residence in Middlesbrough a year later.

He initially asked his chartered accountant sister to run the books in her spare time before officially joining the company from Hargreaves Services.

Since those early days, the company has grown from a small independent studio into an internationally respected developer and publisher.

It now partners with the likes of Rockstar Games, Mojang Studios, Bethesda Game Studios and Obsidian Entertainment to re-imagine, re-create and re-think renowned titles for console, PC and mobile users.

It supports and maintains vast, complex multi-player games, like Fallout 76, as a core co-development partner, contributing significantly to new expansions, seasons and technical updates.

It manages the entire live service for Rust Console Edition, rolling out new content and nurturing a vast community of hundreds of thousands of players across the world.

Furthermore, it has helped bring massive franchises to new platforms, including the successful porting of the original Red Dead Redemption to Xbox Series X|S, PS5 and Switch 2 in collaboration with Rockstar Games.

It has also launched titles like RimWorld Console Edition and Grounded on various platforms.

Kimberley says: “We moved to Middlesbrough in 2010; it was me, Lee, another programmer and an IT guy.”

“We also had a couple of people that worked remotely from Leeds.”

“The plan was just to be a video games developer and work on some good games.”

“I think we surpassed that quite a long time ago.”

“We started with a director’s loan and have gone through three significant stages of growth, where we’ve either adapted or changed shape.”

“That has cemented the size of the company and the revenue we generate.”

“When we started, if we got some work, we’d do the job, finish the job, hand it back and then be looking for the next job.”

“However, the landscape is now very different.”

Kimberley adds: “The way video games are built and played has changed – they go on forever.”

“There is no end to a lot of them.”

“We’ve built teams who are still working on games they were working on in 2018.”

“We’re on a different path now.”

“We have spent 16 years quietly committed to delivering excellence for our partners, which has earned us the reputation we carry today.”

“Over the years, we have continued to secure big games, big titles, big IPs that exist in the world, and we get to work on all of that in Middlesbrough, as well as our studio in Kuala Lumpur.”

“We want to do more, and we’re putting all our efforts into building on what we’ve already created.”

Mark adds: “The trust our partners place in us hasn’t been earned overnight, and we are never complacent when it comes to the value of those relationships.”

“We evolve with their needs while growing our teams as new work comes in.”

“Quality, consistency and continuous reflection is central to the strength of our partnerships and the long-term health of our business.”

Central to all of Double Eleven’s successes and achievements, says Kimberley, is an unrelenting confidence that continues to drive it forward.

She says: “We’ve always believed we would find success.”

“We’ve worked extremely hard, always made the right decisions together, always tried to look after people and never made decisions that have put jobs at risk.”

“It has been a wonderful journey, and there is so much more to come.”

“It has definitely surpassed everybody’s expectations.”

“Even Lee, with his beautiful mind, could never have imagined we’d be where we are.”

“We have a great portfolio of kick-ass titles and IPs that have prime series attached to them; I still have to pinch myself sometimes that this is where we are today.”

“These big IPs are why I feel so grateful to be where we are; everything we did from the beginning led to the next big thing and the next big thing.”

“Having so many amazing titles in our armoury is what is keeping us in a strong position.”

And with those new games comes a new chapter for Double Eleven.

Mark says: “We’re not immune to what is happening in the industry; many companies have closed studios, but we’ve weathered the storm really well.”

“We should be really proud of that.”

“We’ve always taken a long-term view, especially with respect to risk, and that has put us in good stead.”

“Our structures are the strongest we’ve ever had.”

“But we’re never complacent: there is always more to do.”

“We have some really talented people at senior leadership and product direction level; we have heavyweight talent in the business.”

He adds: “Our goal was always to take on work and over-deliver.”

“And people continue to come to us because we hold ourselves to the highest of standards, and our partners entrust us to deliver their vision.”

“That trust is something we hold dear.”

“We constantly seek excellence in our delivery and focus on building long-term relationships that make some of the best games in the world.”

“There is no shortcut to success.”

“You have to do a good job – and that is what we do.”