TIGA, the network for games developers and digital publishers and the trade association representing the UK video games industry, has published new data showing that almost 80 per cent of all games development staff in the UK are employed outside of London in a range of different regions. TIGA’s research reveals the following information:
UK regions2020 percentage share of UK development workforce*
South East 22.4%
London 21.3%
North West 11.8%
Scotland 10.7%
West Midlands 9.1%
East of England 6.9%
East Midlands 5.4%
Yorkshire & Humber 5.2%
North East 4.2%
South West 2%
Wales 0.6%
Northern Ireland 0.5%
*Percentages have been rounded up.
Dr Richard Wilson, OBE, TIGA CEO, said:
“Almost 80 per cent of all games development staff in the UK are employed outside of London. While just over a fifth of development staff are located in the South East of England, the third and fourth largest centres of games development by headcount are the North West of England and Scotland, respectively. Many of the UK’s games development clusters boast excellent universities and a strong tradition of games development.
“The video games industry can play an important role in levelling up the economy. The sector provides high skilled employment in clusters throughout the UK. We need to strengthen local, regional and national games clusters across the UK by enhancing Video Games Tax Relief, introducing a Video Games Investment Fund and augmenting the UK Games Fund to improve access to finance, enhance access to high skilled developers, strengthen industry-university links and encourage more universities to achieve TIGA University Accreditation in order to nurture and promote local, regional and national games centres.”
Jason Kingsley OBE, TIGA Chairman and CEO and Creative Director at Rebellion, said:
“This data highlights how important the video games industry will be to the Government’s levelling up agenda. By maintaining and enhancing Video Games Tax Relief, improving access to finance and upskilling the UK’s employees, we can strengthen the UK’s video games clusters and therefore contribute to the UK’s overall economic growth.”