TIGA, the network for game developers and digital publishers, and trade association representing the UK video games industry, released new findings today which show that employment in the Scottish video games development sector grew by 9 per cent in 2014.
This increase is broadly in line with the rest of the UK, and is accompanied by growth in the number of Scottish game development studios as well as a rise in Scottish games industry investment.
The findings come from TIGA’s definitive annual report into the state and health of the UK videogame industry Making Games in the UK Today: 2015 which is based on a rigorous and extensive survey of UK games businesses, with analysis by Games Investor Consulting.
TIGA’s research shows that for Scotland’s games industry, between December 2013 and December 2014:
- the number of game development studios grew from 94 to 97, an increase of 3.2 per cent;
- the number of creative staff in studios grew from 964 to 1,050, an increase of 8.9 per cent;
- the number of jobs indirectly supported by studios rose from 1,762 to 1,920, an increase of 9 per cent;
- combined direct and indirect tax revenues generated by the sector for the Treasury increased from £41 million to £44 million, an increase of 8.9 per cent;
- annual investment by studios rose from £45 million to £49 million, an increase of 8.9 per cent; and
- the games development sector’s contribution to UK GDP increased from £99 million to nearly £108 million, an increase of 9.1 per cent.
This means that Scotland now represents 11.1 per cent of the UK’s total games companies. This compares to 11.4 per cent in 2013 and 8.8 per cent in 2012.
Scotland also represents 9.7 per cent of the UK’s total developer headcount, which is unchanged from 2013, and up from 9 per cent in 2012.
Games Tax Relief in Scotland
Following TIGA’s eight-year campaign for Games Tax Relief (GTR), the EU Commission finally authorised the measure in the UK in March 2014. GTR has since been rolled out and, as at April 2015, 19 games had received final certification and 48 games had received interim certification[1] from the British Film Institute having received the cultural approval necessary for GTR eligibility[2].
New research from TIGA and Games Investor Consulting indicates the impact of GTR in Scotland. Over five years, GTR in Scotland:
- should create over 260 new studio jobs and safeguard over 140 existing studio jobs;
- should create over 400 indirect jobs and protect nearly 260 indirect jobs that risk being lost if Games Tax Relief is repealed;
- GTR should therefore create and protect 1,060 direct and indirect jobs
- GTR should continue to increase investment from games development companies by over £34m and protect investment by £4m that could be under threat without GTR;
- it should raise tax receipts by £44m and protect an additional £16m if GTR is not delivered;
- GTR should increase the Scottish games industry’s GDP contribution by £108m and protect an additional £39m that could result from a decline scenario without GTR.
Dr Richard Wilson, CEO, TIGA, said:
“The Scottish games development sector grew strongly in 2014 and is set for further growth, thanks to Games Tax Relief, the Prototype Fund promised in the last UK Government’s Budget and the work of Scotland’s excellent higher education institutions and agencies such as Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprise.
“Yet we can still do more to enable Scotland’s games development sector to achieve its potential. TIGA proposes the establishment of a Creative Content Fund to co-fund new content development and IP generation; and designating dedicated games development incubators in universities to promote high technology video games clusters in Scotland and around the rest of the UK. If adopted, these measures would support start-ups and further strengthen the games development sector.”
Morgan Petrie, Senior Creative Industries Executive (Digital) at Creative Scotland, added:
“This is great news for the Scottish games sector. It’s also extremely encouraging to see the benefits of Games Tax Relief starting to come into effect. We’ll continue to work with TIGA and our other key partners to keep Scottish games companies in the spotlight as an important part of our creative industries.”
Professor Gregor White, Head of School of Arts, Media and Computer Games, Abertay University added:
“Achieving 9% growth in employment and contribution to UK GDP is no mean feat, especially in an industry as globally competitive as video games. While this is welcome news, we must not lose sight of how much work there is left to do – across Scotland and the wider UK we still need more of a joined-up approach to fulfil the potential of of our sector.
“The measures proposed by TIGA, such as the establishment of a Creative Content Fund to support content and IP development and designating dedicated games development incubators in universities – like Abertay – to promote high technology video games clusters, will go a long way towards sustaining games and tech start-ups, helping them become sustainable and scalable UK businesses.”
Colin Anderson, MD of Dundee based Denki, said:
“As a longstanding member of both TIGA and the Scottish game development community, it’s great to see our sector going from strength to strength. This is just reward for an incredibly hard-working industry that’s been through so many tough years. TIGA’s research clearly shows that the Scottish video games business is going places once again, and as such, is well worth investing in – with regard to public and private funding. If that happens, we can all look forward to a brighter future, and Scotland’s continuing and important contribution to one of the world’s most exciting and competitive industries.”
Grant Alexander, Commercial Director of Dundee based Beartrap Games, said:
“It’s welcome news that Scotland’s video games industry is continuing to grow in terms of employment, investment and its contribution to Scotland and the UK’s economy. That said, access to funding is still a real issue for many start up and small studios, so I hope these important findings from TIGA’s latest annual report increase investor’s confidence as much as they should. There’s a lot more we can do to alleviate the challenges developers and digital publishers face, and help more Scottish games businesses not only survive, but thrive.”
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Notes to editors
Research methodology
The data used in Making Games in the UK Today: May 2015 is the product of six censuses undertaken over the last seven years. Games Investor Consulting conducted four censuses concluding in July 2008, September 2010, November 2011, December 2013 of all known British games companies (including developers, publishers, publisher studios, service companies and broadcasters with games divisions) by telephone and email, asking as many as possible extant studios for their development headcounts (excluding HR, admin, sales, marketing and commercial staff), growth expectations and freelancer count / usage. GIC conducted similar censuses concluding in December 2012 and, most recently, December 2014 in conjunction with TIGA and third party researchers. Distribution, manufacturing, peripheral device, marketing and retail companies were not profiled.
GIC takes the latest data on development headcount to scale total development expenditure, and then uses Oxford Economics’ calculations from their report, “The economic contribution of the UK Games Development industry”, to establish estimates of the development industry’s GDP and tax impact.
About TIGA TIGA is the trade association representing the UK video game industry. We help developers and digital publishers build successful studios, network with the right people, save money and access professional business advice. We also have traditional publishers, outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership. TIGA is 90% funded by independent UK businesses. 80% of our board members are developers and/or from UK owned businesses, and 50% of our board are UK business owners themselves. Since 2010, TIGA has won 24 business awards and commendations. TIGA focuses on three sets of activities:
- Political representation
- Media representation
- Business services
This enhances the competitiveness of our members by providing benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities. It also means our members’ voices are heard in the corridors of power and positively represented in national, broadcast and UK video game trade media. Get in touch: Tel: 0845 468 2330 Email: info@tiga.org Web: www.tiga.org Twitter: www.twitter.com/tigamovement Facebook: www.facebook.com/TIGAMovement LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/tiga For further information, you can also contact: Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on: 07875 939 643, or email: richard.wilson@tiga.org
About Creative Scotland
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com. Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland
[1] http://www.develop-online.net/news/14m-to-be-spent-making-first-wave-of-uk-tax-breaks-games/0205806. See also: http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-british-film-high-end-television-animation-programmes-video-games-certification-q1-2015-04-23.pdf
[2] To qualify for GTR, games must first pass a test to determine how culturally British they are. This test is administered by the BFI and focuses on the location of development, the nationalities of the staff involved and the nature of the content being developed.