Image Metrics Inc. a leading provider of facial animation technology and services for the entertainment industry has announced that it has joined TIGA, the United Kingdom's leading games industry trade association. Through its membership in TIGA, Image Metrics plans to foster new relationships with UK-based independent games developers, in-house publisher-owned developers, outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities interested in creating more believable characters through responsive yet affordable facial animation.

"TIGA is recognized as an essential resource for the UK video games industry, and Image Metrics is excited to join in support of the UK games development community at the grassroots level," said Brian Waddle, Executive Vice President of Image Metrics. "As a company with deep ties to its Manchester roots, it's only natural for Image Metrics to be an active member of the TIGA community."

Image Metrics recently launched FACEWARE, a unique facial animation technology platform that is easily integrated into any development pipeline and game engine, substantially enhancing the animation process and providing game developers with increased facial believability, creative control, efficiency, and production speed. The technology behind FACEWARE has been used to achieve outstanding results with dozens of games, including NBA 2K10, Assassin's Creed II and God of War III. Image Metrics also recently completed a round of financing that is enabling the Company to accelerate its research and development activities on advanced facial animation tools and pursue new opportunities in worldwide game development.

"Image Metrics' unique facial animation software and impressive body of work in the games industry make the Company a natural addition to our growing community," said Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA. "We believe that our respective resources will be mutually beneficial as Image Metrics deepens its ties with the UK games marketplace and helps drive improvements in the quality of faces in games."