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TIGA has today released ‘key findings’ from its recent ‘State of the UK Video Games Development Sector’ report indicating that the majority of UK-based indie studios self-publish their titles.
The latest findings focus on the UK indie sector and are based on a survey of 78 UK games development businesses, 94 per cent of which are independent. They found that 64 per cent of the developers surveyed self-publish.
Of those self-publishing studios, 52 per cent publish on iPhone, 38 per cent on PC, 36 per cent on PSN and 16 per cent on XBLA.
Further, of the 27 studios in the survey that do not currently self-publish, 70 per cent plan to do so in the future. 26 of those 27 studios cited lack of finance as the main reason for their not currently self-publishing.
Finally, the findings found that on average, 62 per cent of games created by UK studios surveyed are online or digital titles.
When broken down, this final figure showed a massive difference between publisher owned and indie studios. For independent developers the figure was 52 per cent, for self-publishing indies it was 72 per cent and for publisher owned firms the figure was only 1 per cent.
“This report shows the scale of the self-publishing among independent developers in the UK,” said TIGA CEO Dr. Richard Wilson.
“The UK boasts one of the most talented and creative games development workforces in the world and it is no surprise that UK developers are taking advantage of the new opportunities offered by self publishing.”
Wilson went on to point out the relative benefits of self-publishing for indie studios.
“Self-publishing offers developers the chance to produce a more diverse range of products at differing price points. It also offers the opportunity for developers to establish and maintain a direct connection with consumers,” he explained.
“At TIGA we encourage and support developers who wish to self publish by offering access to expert advice and a chance to network with other TIGA members who are already active in this area.”
