North Carolina has maintained its ranking among the top states in the country for the video gaming industry.
This state has ranked among the top six video gaming hubs for the past five years, said Dan Hewitt of the Entertainment Software Association in Washington, DC.
According to the trade association's new survey issued today, North Carolina's gaming industry directly and indirectly employs more than 2,300 people employed in the industry, up from about 1,500 in 2005.
The Triangle region accounts for about half the gaming industry's employee base.
The state's roster of 30-plus companies in this state includes Epic Games, Insomniac Games and Electronic Arts.
The industry hubs include Texas, California, Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington state.
John Murawski has been a full-time newspaper reporter since 1991, with stints at Legal Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (both in Washington, DC), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Palm Beach Post (in South Florida) before arriving at the N&O in December 2004. At the N&O he covers energy (nuclear, coal, renewable, efficiency), hydralic fracturing (or "fracking"), public utilities (both electric and natural gas) and health care. His beat includes Progress Energy, PSNC Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, PowerSecure International, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Biogen Idec and others. You can reach him at 919-829-8932 or