MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
The UK games industry consists of 1,902 companies that have an economic value of 1.72bn.
That’s according to data from NESTA and UKIE and double the previous estimates of 2011 and 2012. The reason for the change in value has been driven by an alteration in how the industry is being measured, no-longer is it using official SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) data because so many games companies do not put themselves under the right codes. Instead, researched combed online product directors like MobyGames and Metacritic to create a list of companies.
The report also found that the majority of companies (around half) specialise in iOS games. There has been a 22 per cent increase in new games companies, and that there are 18 games industry clusters, including in areas such as Brighton, Cambridge, Cardiff, Dundee, Edinburgh, Guildford and Aldershot, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Rotherham, and Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon.
We know that the UK’s games sector is again becoming a real global success story and seeing Nesta’s estimates of there being over 1,900 games businesses in the UK, potentially generating 1.7bn in GVA, reinforces this more than ever," said UKIE CEO Jo Twist.
"It’s great to see such a wide geographical reach, with games clusters now existing across Britain. We now need to build on these statistics to help support these clusters and encourage more investment and support for the sector, to make the UK truly the best place in the world to make and sell games. That is what our policy manifesto framework aims to achieve.”
Juan Mateos-Garcia, lead author of the research for Nesta, adds: As many people – including the government – have suspected there isa big discrepancy between the official statistics and the actual size and shape of the UK games sector. This report should help address this data gap, allowing industry, policymakers, educators and investors to track the geography and evolution of the sector, and put in place smart actions to support it.”
