Alice in Wonderland: UK Game Development Industry Shrinks and Expands at the Same Time

LONDON, June 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

TIGA, the network for game developers and digital publishers, today released new findings from its annual report into the state of the UK videogame industry Making Games in the UK Today: June 2014 which shows that the UK games development sector performed the apparently impossible feat of expanding and shrinking at the same time. This is because whilst the number of games studios in the UK surged from 448 to 620 in 2013, an increase of 38 per cent, there was a 9 per cent drop in the proportion of studios with more than four members of staff, falling from 50 per cent to 41 per cent in 2013.

Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said:

"In Alice in Wonderland fashion, the UK games development and digital publishing sector has achieved the apparently impossible feat of expanding and shrinking at the same time. On the one hand, the number of studios expanded from 448 in 2012 to 620 in 2013. On the other hand, the proportion of studios with more than five personnel shrunk from 50 per cent to 41 per cent over the same period. This is a direct consequence of the UK games industry increasing focus on mobile as the primary games platform.

"The surge in start-up studios is encouraging, but many of these will be vulnerable because of their size. TIGA's focus now is to help developers grow their businesses by ensuring that governments create a favourable environment for the industry and by providing quality networking events, professional business advice and access to partners, publishers and investors."

Jason Kingsley OBE, TIGA Chairman and CEO and Creative Director at Rebellion, said:

"This is a significant moment in the history of the UK video games industry. Micro studios and mobile now dominate the sector. The massive proliferation of new studios in the last two years has contributed to this rebalancing of our industry, and with the boost from Games Tax Relief coming into effect, the rise of the indie shows no signs of slowing down any time soon."

Notes to editors 

Research methodology 

Games Investor Consulting conducted four censuses concluding in July 2008, September 2010, November 2011 and December 2013 of all known British games companies (including developers, publishers, publisher studios, service companies and broadcasters with games divisions) by telephone and email, asking as many as possible extant studios for their development headcounts (excluding HR, admin, sales, marketing and commercial staff), growth expectations and freelancer count / usage.

Games Investor Consulting conducted a similar census concluding in December 2012 in conjunction with TIGA and Sustainability Unit, an independent survey company. Distribution, manufacturing, peripheral device, marketing and retail outlet companies were not profiled.

GIC takes the latest data on development headcount to scale total development expenditure, and then uses Oxford Economics' calculations to establish estimates of the development industry's GDP and tax impact.

About TIGA

TIGA is the trade association representing the UK video game industry. We help developers and digital publishers build successful studios, network with the right people, save money and access professional business advice. We also have traditional publishers, outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership.

TIGA is 90% funded by independent UK businesses. 80% of our board members are developers and/or from UK owned businesses, and 50% of our board are UK business owners themselves. Since 2010, TIGA has won 17 business awards.

TIGA focuses on three sets of activities:

• Political representation
• Media representation
• Business services

This enhances the competitiveness of our members by providing benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities. It also means our members' voices are heard in the corridors of power and positively represented in national, broadcast and UK video game trade media.

Get in touch:

Tel: 0845-468-2330
Email: info@tiga.org
Web: http://www.tiga.org
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tigamovement
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TIGAMovement
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/tiga  

For further information, you can also contact: 

Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on: +44(0)7875-939-643, or email: richard.wilson@tiga.org

Drew Field, TIGA Communications Director on: +44(0)7720-643-344, or email drew.field@tiga.org