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40% of UK-based games companies are considering relocating to another country post-Brexit

Ukie surveys games studios on their Brexit thoughts

40% of UK-based games companies are considering relocating to another country post-Brexit

40% of UK-based games companies are considering relocating their business to another country following the apparent negative impact Brexit will have on the industry.

This is according to a survey by trade organisation Ukie, which collated a report on the UK games industry's attitudes towards Brexit from 76 studios in the country.

While 51% said that they will stay in the UK, 40% said that they would consider relocating their business to another country.

23% of companies said that they had already been approached by other countries from around the world to relocate there.

38% of UK games companies said that they saw a negative impact on their ability to attract and retain new talent from overseas. Only 2% of respondents claimed to have seen a positive impact in this regard.

Lack of talent

This could be an issue for employers, especially given 57% of respondents said that they employ staff from the EU. On average, EU staff members make up 34% of these companies.

One of the issues is a lack of talent available in the UK. 87% of games companies said that they hired from outside the UK because local applicants didn't have the skills available for the role.

Companies are also worried about losing the ability to easily share data between the UK and the EU. 59% of respondents claimed to rely on the ability to process data from users outside the UK, while 63% stated that having to separate the data they hold on UK players would incur significant costs.

You can read the full report on Ukie's findings by downloading it for free on its website.


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Ric is the Editor of PocketGamer.biz, having started out as a Staff Writer on the site back in 2015. He received an honourable mention in both the MCV and Develop 30 Under 30 lists in 2016 and refuses to let anyone forget about it.