The nominations for the 2003 Develop Industry Excellence Awards have been announced, and International Hobo Ltd has been nominated for Best Outsourcing Company. In addition, its project Ghost Master (in association with Empire Interactive/Sick Puppies) has been nominated for Best New IP, and Sick Puppies themselves are up for a Creativity Award.

The nomination for Best Outsourcing Company represents the first time a game design and dialogue scripting company has been in line for a major industry award, and further secures International Hobo's position at the forefront of design-integrated narrative and external co-operative game design services.

Chris Bateman, the company's managing director says: "Of course we are delighted with this nomination. When we first set ourselves up to serve the games industry's game design and dialogue scripting needs it was a bold experiment, but we have succeeded both commercially and creatively. It's wonderful to have the industry honour us by nominating us for this award."

The award ceremony is on Wednesday August 27th at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London.