TIGA: UK Video Games Industry on Course for Growth in 2020

LONDON, Jan. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- TIGA, the trade association representing the video games industry, released a Business Opinion Survey today which shows that the industry is on course for growth. 75 per cent of respondents plan to grow their organisation's workforce during 2020.   

TIGA's research was carried out at the end of 2019. The survey is based upon a representative sample of 57 games businesses including small, medium and large firms, developing games across mobile/tablet, VR, PC and console. 

TIGA's Business Opinion Survey 2020 includes the following key findings:

• Employment: 75 per cent of respondents plan to grow their organisation's workforce over the next year. 21 per cent expect to keep their organisation's workforce at current levels.  4 per cent think that their organisation's workforce will diminish.
• Economic environment: 65 per cent of respondents believe that the economic and business environment in the UK is favourable to the video games industry. 25 per cent consider that the environment is neither favourable nor unfavourable.  11 per cent feel that the environment is unfavourable.
• Performance: 61 per cent of respondents reported that their company was performing 'well'. 32 per cent said that their company was performing 'neither well nor badly'. 7 per cent reported that their company was performing 'badly'.
• Prospects: 37 per cent of respondents said that they were more optimistic about their company's prospects compared to 12 months ago. 40 per cent reported that they were neither more nor less optimistic. 21 per cent said that they were less optimistic.  2 per cent did not know.
• Obstacles to success: 39 per cent of the respondents to the TIGA survey said that the principal obstacle holding back their businesses was limited access to finance.  36 per cent cited discoverability as the biggest obstacle. 20 per cent identified skills shortages and skills gaps.  Other respondents referred to factors including competition and the slow growth of the virtual reality market.

Dr Richard Wilson OBE, TIGA CEO, said: "The UK video games industry is on course for growth. The Government can strengthen the sector by taking three actions. Firstly, retain  Video Games Tax Relief to fuel growth in the sector. Secondly, introduce a Games Investment Fund to improve studios' access to finance. Thirdly, increase the supply of well-educated graduates who are able to work in the games industry and enable our employers to recruit highly skilled people from abroad."

About TIGA  

TIGA is the network for games developers and digital publishers and the trade association representing the video games industry. For more information visit: www.tiga.org

Video Games Tax Relief, a measure TIGA was instrumental in achieving, has been available to UK games companies since August 2014 and has driven growth in the sector. See:  https://tiga.org/news/tiga-calls-for-a-video-games-investment-fund-to-complement-successful-video-games-tax-relief

For more information on TIGA's proposal for a Video Games Investment Fund, see: https://tiga.org/policy-and-public-affairs/video-games-investment-fund

Percentages are rounded throughout this report and so do not always add up to 100 per cent.

Get in touch:

Web: www.tiga.org 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tigamovement 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TIGAMovement 
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/tiga