Ukie responds to Government Spending Review 2025

The UK video games industry is a major contributor to the UK economy, generating £6bn in Gross Value Added and supporting over 73,000 jobs. As a global leader in new intellectual property and emerging technologies, the industry fuses creativity, art, and technology to create games for both domestic and international audiences. However, the sector has been impacted by a global slowdown, leading to layoffs, studio closures, delayed projects, and heightened competition from neighbouring countries offering more attractive incentives. Labour mobility and skills shortages have also eroded the UK industry’s competitiveness.

To support continued innovation and growth, the UK must take ambitious action to ensure the video games industry remains competitive. Ukie is advocating for reforms to the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC), including introducing a ‘games growth’ rate of 53% for smaller projects and increasing the relief rate for larger projects to 39%, removing the current cap on qualifying expenditure. These changes would make the UK tax incentives the most competitive internationally, driving investment, creating an additional £479m in GVA annually, and generating nearly 6,000 new jobs. With a high return on investment, these reforms would also support the growth of new, smaller domestic studios and boost the UK’s export-led growth in the sector.