[ajb257]

Small hotspots appear where people leave companies, start their own and don't want to move.

Guildford is such a place for games in the UK. Yes, it's not too far from London but it's also fairly suburban. That sprung from Bullfrog/Lionhead, I guess. Hello Games, Criterion and Media Molecule are all based there.

The most famous example is the Seattle/Redmond area, where that hotspot sprung from Microsoft.

[mrkwse]

I expect with the likes of Guildford it's also something of an economic decision. Less expensive than being based in London, while being reasonably connected to potentially catch some of that workforce and being accessible enough for those travelling from overseas for business.

[thristian]

Redmond is also the home of Nintendo of America, which probably helps.