Representatives of companies that have invested in the UK games industry met with the Minister for Investment, Lord Grimstone on Monday 10th January as part of ongoing efforts to support the long term growth of the sector.
The round table was for Lord Grimstone and the Department of International Trade to hear from games companies why they consider the UK a key market for the sector, as well as understand what further support is needed to encourage further investment in the UK games industry.
The meeting, which was convened by Ukie, saw a range of companies in attendance. Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard King, Tencent, Sumo Digital, Curve Games, Hello Games, Sharkmob and Ubisoft all joined the call, ensuring that both international and UK-based companies were represented in the discussion.
Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of Ukie began by describing how the industry is primed to facilitate economic recovery. It has proven to be resilient during the coronavirus pandemic with productivity remaining high - even during the most restrictive lockdowns.
In addition to this, we explained how the industry is a high-growth, export-driven and highly productive sector which spreads these benefits into all regions of the UK thanks to the sector’s regional make up
Games industry attendees outlined the significance of the Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR), which successfully reversed a ‘brain drain’ of talent to other territories in the 2000s,as one of the main reasons why UK is considered one of the best places to make games, and thus to invest in,The UK’s stable regulatory environment and its vibrant talent pool were also indicated to be crucial points of attraction for investment.
However, it was said that all three of these benefits were at risk of becoming uncompetitive in the face of progress being made in other territories. These include developments in countries such as Australia and Ireland, where new tax reliefs aimed at video games businesses are proving more competitive than those currently on offer in the UK.
If you’d like to speak to the policy team about our political engagement work, or find out more about our Trade and Investment work, please contact Grace Shin for more information.