The government has fired the first shot in a £30 million raid aimed at Britain’s video games industry, urging developers with ambitions to create the next blockbuster title to come forward for a share of the pot.
The centerpiece of the package is the £28.5 million UK Games fund, which doubles previous public investment in the industry. Applications are open from 14 April, and the grants are divided into three categories designed to support studios at all stages of growth, from new properties with a strong concept to established developers ready to take a game to market.
The entry track offers £20,000 to start-up companies that show real potential. The outgoing track provides £100,000 for prototyping, while the expansion track, which holds grants of up to £250,000, the largest fund ever awarded, is aimed at studios looking to complete a title and scale their operations.
The remaining £1.5 million has been earmarked for the London Games over the next three years, with the stated aim of strengthening investor relations and doubling the number of private investment deals transacted at the event to £30 million per year.
Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray was tight-lipped about the reason. He went on to say that the sports sector has been undervalued despite its great economic growth. The British games market now generates £8.8 billion in consumer spending each year, and the country is home to more than 2,000 game franchises, from Grand Theft Auto and Tomb Raider to PowerWash Simulator and No Man’s Sky, which have defined genres and built global audiences.
For small and medium-sized studios, financing is as important as the title count. Access to finance has long been an ongoing challenge for the industry, especially for independents working outside of the mainstream publishers. Dr Richard Wilson OBE, chief executive of trade association TIGA, noted that the organization has repeatedly called for more funding for prototypes and content to help studios bridge the gap between concept and commercial product.
The geographical spread of the industry adds another dimension. While London remains an important centre, the games have deep roots in Dundee, Leamington Spa and Guildford, among other places. The Tay Cities region has already received £20 million of government funding to develop creative technologies including games and virtual reality, a sign that ministers see the sector as a real vehicle for regional economic development rather than a big city concern.
The Games Growth Package forms the central plank of the Games Growth Package, a £380 million plan published earlier this year. It sits alongside enhanced support from the British Business Bank, UK Research and Innovation, and the existing tax relief regime for games, which is one of the most effective interventions for the creative industries since its launch.
The pack received a positive response from across the industry. Nick Poole OBE, chief executive of Ukie, described it as a strong vote of confidence in British games, while Nick Button-Brown, chairman of the UK Video Games Council, called it “a fantastic statement of intent” about the government’s long-term commitment.
Apart from subsidies, the government is also turning its attention to the consumer side of the market. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute has been tasked with developing guidance clarifying the rights of gamers who purchase digital content, with consultation expected in the coming months. Ministers will also discuss the newly established UK Esports Advisory Panel, a forum led by Ukie aimed at keeping Britain competitive in the fast-growing competitive esports scene.
For the thousands of small studios and independent developers that form the backbone of Britain’s games industry, the active question now is whether money can flow quickly enough and flexibly enough to make a material difference. The three-pronged framework suggests that the government should at least listen to the sector’s complaints about affordability. Whether it shows enough to keep British talent from being lured away by better-funded rivals remains to be seen.
