February 17, 2020

Ukie explains that its report “Think Global, Create Local” is a new analysis of the BFI’s Screen Business report, which measures the number of jobs and the amount of gross value added (GVA) the games industry contributes to the economies of towns, cities, regions and devolved nations of the UK.

Ukie says that it demonstrates for the first time the wide extent of the video games industry’s regional footprint, including:

• there are eight towns and cities in the country where the games industry generates over £60 million in GVA to the local economy (Edinburgh, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Leamington Spa, Crawley and Horsham, Manchester, Guildford, Slough and Heathrow, and London);
• as well as London and the South East, the games industry provides over 1,000 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) in development studio roles in each of the North West, East of England, West Midlands and Scotland;
• the Scottish video games industry generates £131 million in gross value add, making it the most economically productive of the devolved nations;
• there are 23 towns and cities across the UK that are home to more than 20 local game companies;
• £339 million in GVA is generated by micro-businesses of fewer than ten employees, representing 13.7% of the industry total, and employing 3,664 FTEs; and
• London is a billion pound video game cluster, generating £1.4 billion in GVA and supporting over 5,100 FTEs across the capital.

The report follows a commitment made in Ukie’s The Next Level Manifesto, released in December 2019, which asked the Government to help support the sector, local government and other organisations to further industry growth. To access the report, click here.