£30M Games Growth Pack by UK Government
New investment package aims to strengthen the UK games industry and close talent gaps.
Source: PocketGamer.biz
The UK Government has introduced a £30 million Games Growth Package to enhance the global competitiveness of the country’s video games sector.
The initiative includes £10 million annually for three years to support early-stage studios, primarily through an expanded UK Games Fund that will assist emerging developers in bringing their games to market.
A new UK Video Games Council, composed of industry leaders, will be established to improve collaboration between the sector and policymakers. This council will work closely with the Creative Industries Council to foster long-term growth.
Addressing Skills Shortages
The strategy also includes efforts to tackle industry-wide skills shortages. A UK Games Skills Network will be launched to create a comprehensive plan to bridge skills gaps and establish new talent pipelines into the industry.
The London Games Festival is set to benefit as well, with ambitions to double its annual investment output to £30 million.
This initiative forms part of the UK Government’s broader Plan for Change, which allocates £380 million to the creative industries, including £150 million for regional support, potentially boosting the games sector beyond the dedicated £30 million.
A Major UK Success Story
The UK’s creative industries are a major UK success story, being worth over £124 billion per year and supporting thousands of jobs across the country.
UKIE CEO Nick Poole praised the government’s commitment, calling the announcement a major opportunity for the UK games sector to showcase its global leadership.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy described the initiative as a move to accelerate the creative industries, calling the games sector a “national success story.” She noted that this funding will help turn bold ideas into games, create skilled jobs, and ensure that future iconic titles are developed in the UK.
Richard Wilson added that the funding would help small studios scale up and emphasized the importance of events like the London Games Festival in reinforcing London’s status as a leading European games hub.
More?
Let’s hear TIGA.
The UK video games industry is one of the sectors that the Government should aim to promote over the years ahead.
- As of May 2024, the UK video games industry employed over 25,419 full-time equivalent development roles in 1,697 studios.
- Our industry provides high-skilled employment: over 80 per cent of the development workforce in many studios are qualified to degree level or above. This compares to 42% of workers or job seekers in England & Wales.
- The industry supports economic growth in clusters throughout the UK: approximately 80 per cent of the workforce is based outside of London.
- Games development is export-focused: 95 per cent of games development studios export at least some of their content. This compares to 12 per cent of UK firms in general.
- In addition, our video games development sector is supported by 278 companies that provide it with key services, including QA, localisation, music, audio, script, art, and animation. As of May 2024, these companies employed 3,289 highly skilled people.
Top Publishers?
2025 Data, how it looks so far.
Let’s see how top studios over there, like ‘Tripledot Studios, Kwalee, First Touch Games Ltd., Matchingham Games, Hutch, Jagex, Fusebox Games, Space Ape Games, Trailmix Games, Marmalade Game Studio‘, will benefit from this pack.
