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Ukie and Tencent Games team up to launch Video Games Growth Programme

Ukie are pleased to launch the 2024 Video Games Growth Programme in partnership with Tencent Games. The programme is widely recognised as the gold standard for business accelerator programmes, and this year it aims to help up to 40 video games developers meet their growth ambition by equipping them with the coaching, skills and expertise needed to scale.

The Video Games Growth Programme is targeted at promising founders, CEOs and leaders of UK video games developers and aims to provide them with access to the expertise they need to grow and scale their games businesses. Alongside 1:1 expert advice, they will learn from their cohort and the wider network available to them and create connections that will sustain them through their next phase of growth.

The UK video game industry is worth over £6bn with consumers spending £7.82 billion on video games in 2023. The Video Games Growth Programme has therefore been designed to support the growth and development of the industry and take advantage of the opportunities available to them right here in the UK.

Businesses who join the programme will receive over 40 hours of expert advice on business strategy, funding and finance, business models, people management, pitching and being a global business.

Applications will open on Tuesday 14th May 2024 for a four-week period to recruit a cohort of 20 founders, CEOs and leaders of the UK’s most innovative and entrepreneurial video games developers for the Scale Up Programme, and a further 20 for the Accelerator Programme. They will join a community of industry leaders equipped to deliver the latest expert advice on business development.

Ukie CEO, Nick Poole said: “We are delighted to be continuing our flagship Video Games Growth Programme to nurture the next generation of the UK video game business leaders. The video games industry has the potential to supercharge economic growth by bridging the UK’s creative and technology sectors, and our programme has a proven track record in helping video games businesses achieve their growth ambitions. It is also fantastic to team up with Tencent Games for this year’s programme, which has been in the UK for over a decade and brings a wealth of experience and support to these businesses.”

Mark Maslowicz, Vice President, Partnerships, Tencent Games said: “The Video Games Growth Programme is a fantastic initiative, and we are proud to be able to support it and Ukie, an organisation that is providing such valuable support to aspiring gaming companies in the UK. Tencent supports the UK’s most exciting, innovative gaming companies, and this programme allows us to share our expertise and network more widely to help ambitious founders, CEOs and leaders of UK mobile studios scale their businesses.”

For more information, or to apply for the Video Games Growth Programme, visit: Video Games Growth Programme.