Comment & Opinion

UKIE's Jo Twist: "The UK games industry is one to be proud of, and despite the current challenges facing it"

We caught up with Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of the UK's trade body, to get a feeling for how the sector is doing

UKIE's Jo Twist: "The UK games industry is one to be proud of, and despite the current challenges facing it"

As part of PCGamesInsider.biz's and PocketGamer.biz's 2018 Review and UK Special, the CEO of UK video games trade body UKIE Dr Jo Twist OBE shares the state of play in one of the global industry's most important markets.

The UK games industry is one to be proud of, and despite the current challenges facing it, the UK continues to be a world-leader in making and selling what billions enjoy globally.

Our economic contribution is to be celebrated, with recent figures showing that in 2016, our sector supported 47,000 jobs across development, publishing, esports, events, retail, contributing £2.87bn to the economy.

The Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR) remains an important incentive for UK-based development and continues to be a key driver for locating creativity here as well as enabling businesses to open up new routes to financing with confidence. No matter what your budget size, team size, whatever your business model or platform of choice, the VGTR is designed to be flexible and accessible so that anyone making their game in the UK with British or European themes can benefit.

In the last year alone over £100m in VGTR was paid out to over 345 UK games companies. Every £1 invested into the games industry via VGTR generated an additional £4 back into the economy.

New government backing and investment in clusters across the UK, research and development in what future audiences might be enjoying in immersive, cross reality experiences, as well as the continued government support in helping small and medium-sized companies access international marketplaces are all healthy signs for growth and our continued competitiveness.

We have also seen a rise in co-working hubs and spaces where small companies across the country can learn from each other and access critical support networks as well as talent, which all makes for a positive foundation for our ecosystem. Workplace culture, diversity done right, mental health, have all been front and centre of UKIE’s minds over the last 12 months too.

Our sister-site PCGamesInsider.biz has further details.


PocketGamer.biz regularly posts content from a variety of guest writers across the games industry. These encompass a wide range of topics and people from different backgrounds and diversities, sharing their opinion on the hottest trending topics, undiscovered gems and what the future of the business holds.