The issue of Brexit continues to be a hot topic in the UK as the exact terms of a potential new deal with the European Union remain uncertain.
What we do know now however is that the UK is leaning toward more of a Hard Brexit, bringing it out of the Single Market entirely.
Challenges ahead
With the issue of Brexit such a key point of debate, UKIE CEO Jo Twist led a panel of experts during PGC London 2017 to discuss what Brexit means for developers in the country.
Joining her was Space Ape COO Simon Had, Curve Digital Publishing Director Simon Byron, Scary Puppies CEO Gary Bracey and Sheridans Partner Alex Chapman.
"The government should be encouraging more investment into the creative industry," said Bracey, pointing to the Video Games Tax Relief as a good start that needs to be built on.
Exactly how much access the UK will have to development talent in Europe remains to be seen, but Byron warned that developers must remember not to ignore overseas job-seekers.
This was a point echoed largely by Revolution Software CEO Charles Cecil in his own talk on the state of the UK games industry, in which he expressed the importance of European talent and UK tax breaks that have helped spur on the industry’s growth over the years.
Another potential issue with limited access is the difficulty UK developers already have getting into countries like China, with Hade expressing concerns if EU states followed a somewhat similar model, it could make the UK a less desirable country to launch in.
Overseas investment
Of course, while there is uncertainty and lots of important questions remain, there are some positives.
Angry Birds developer Rovio announced its keynote at PGC London 2017 that it will be opening a new London studio, headed by Mark Sorrell.
The publisher remains undeterred by the prospect of Brexit, and has identified the UK, and London specifically, as a huge talent hub.
Sorrell said that the company employs 10% of Finland’s total games industry and London opens it up to a whole new host of talent in a tech hotspot that has a population greater than all of Finland.
It seems that the real impact on the UK games industry won’t be known for certain until negotiations begin by March 2017 (as expected) and the UK formally exits the EU on the planned date of 2019.