« Back to News

What’s big, bright and was worth £5.11bn in 2017?

What’s big, bright and was worth £5.11bn in 2017?... Interactive entertainment in the UK.

The focus of national days can vary from baked beans to celebrated three-day bank holiday weekends. They come and they go, but some are dearer to us than others. National Video Games Day brings feeling of excitement in the air at Ukie, so we thought it was the perfect opportunity to shout about what makes this sector so great. Every day we see the innovative work the UK games sector achieves in the name of creating games, but sometimes we forget to realise that not everyone notices.

The UK games industry is continuously responsible for supporting or facilitating inspiration charities, cultural events, and positively educating consumers – all in the name of video games! This isn’t even mentioning that in 2017, it was worth £5.11bn with 2,261 active games companies employing 12,100 full-time employees in the UK contributing to the monumental number. This proves that games are not just good for culture, but good for the UK economy.

Games can combat mental health issues, console hardware is always being designed to be as accessible to as many people as possible and has networks that can connect millions of people from around the world – Games are culture.

So, don’t just see your controller or mouse as a tool, but as another example of what this great sector is capable of. Celebrate this wonderous day. Happy National Video Games Day from everyone here at Ukie.