UK announces £30 million funding package and tax breaks as it aims to be the ‘best place in the world to make games’
by zrkillerbush
UK announces £30 million funding package and tax breaks as it aims to be the ‘best place in the world to make games’
by zrkillerbush
19 comments
[deleted]
They should have blocked CMA from allowing EA to take over code master as that was one of the most beloved uk devs at least we still have rebellion studios.
Good news. Kind of frustrating all the attention in this country seems to go to supporting 70 year old blast furnaces, or fishermen who consciously chose to sell off their own fishing rights.
There are a range of very high value, very profitable sectors across the arts and sciences that the UK absolutely excels at, video games being one of them. It would be real nice for once if we had a bit more recognition of that on the national level and were in a place where people were equally invested and demanding equal support for these areas as they do for these other ancient low-value sectors that hold so much political sway.
That’s good news! Tbh too late and too little, but still better than nothing.
I’ve been in the game industry for 15 years and right now it’s a bit grim in the UK: a lot of big companies have stopped hiring or are closing down offices, there aren’t many job openings, the salary and cost of living aren’t attractive to global talent and there are only a few local studios left. 🫠
Brilliant idea, games are literally a bigger industry than movies (hollywood), music and TV, its insane how they’re seemingly overlooked, and there isnt really a ‘hollywood’ of games
Probably should have done this before they let american companies buy and then shut down most of the big studios.
If you want to be the best place to make games, then Stop Killing Games.
An industry that’s famously not exploitative and doesn’t hoard profits from tax cuts. /s
Its good cash is being pumped in:
but the board theyve put together is almost exclusivley AAA in or near london. If you want to make the UK “the best place” you need to
– support mid-size companies. Giving cash to microsoft or other AAA studios doesnt really change much as theyll still flow to whever is most advantageous and have no links to the UK, happily hiring and firing whoever, whenever. AAA generally has access to capital, but a small 15-40 man studio absolutley is what struggles, and has actual roots in the UK, and the potential to grow to be the next lucid, codemasters,playground,ect.
– realize the fact that a lot of the UKGI is now focused on outsourcing. Companies like lucid, keywords and sumo are now more stable tentpoles of the UK games sector than places like CIG or Playground: which are betting absolutley everything on a big hit, and will either fold or have massive job cuts if they dont
– Support the industry outside of london. liverpool, manchester birmingham and edinburgh all are becoming their own hubs. and diversifying the UK economy off london is always good.
Also a contraversial opinion but all this “we’ll train folk up to make great games” is a double edged sword. the UK currently has a lot more games grads than there are games jobs, and a lot of the programs are less than worthless. Saying theyll train up more people simply doesnt work if there isnt jobs or cash avalible. Employment chances with a BSC in games is more akin to a BSC in fine art or latin history than a CS degree.
To make this a success, we need to make sure that takeover bids are not attractive for home grown gaming studios. Look what happened to Rock Star games. They were making hit after hit, the owner, WB, interfered, and they ended up losing an absolute fortune on a game they never wanted to make (nor were suited to making). It’s future is now in doubt and the original founders have gone and founded their own studio
They’ll need more than £30m for that. That’s a splash in the ocean compared to the revenue games generate here.
I am pleased we’re making investment but £30m will barely make a scratch.
I’ve been gaming since 1986, and over the last decade, it’s clear to me that indie games,not AAA titles have kept the spirit of gaming alive. While AAA studios have often focused on corporate trends and identity politics, indie developers have continued to create games driven by personal passion, innovation, and what players actually want to experience.
Canada’s DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) initiatives, combined with significant funding through programs like USAID, have in some cases led to the hiring of activists in creative industries. [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wv8ckDqlk3U](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wv8ckDqlk3U)
Unfortunately, this has mostly resulted in storytelling and production choices that feel more focused on ideological messaging than on quality entertainment. This trend has been noticeable in both games and film, where narrative depth and gameplay quality have suffered.
My concern is that the UK’s £30 million funding package could be misused in a similar way
benefiting a small group pushing political narratives rather than supporting genuine talent and creativity. If this funding reaches passionate indie devs, those who want to build great games for the joy of gaming, it could be a huge win for the industry. But if it becomes another tool for social engineering, it risks doing more harm than good.
We should absolutely support diversity and inclusion when it comes from a place of authenticity and storytelling depth, not as a forced checklist that compromises artistic freedom or player experience like activists like Kim Belair want to push.
Whilst it’s racked up an impressive amount of sales and is a fun game all round, claiming powerwash simulator as a shining example of games to come out of the UK doesn’t really carry the same gravitas as the juggernaut that is GTA.
OSA and all the other new barriers need to be removed to make it attractive. I’m not sure why companies would want to invest in anything Internet related with somewhere that is making it harder to operate. And this is only the beginning
Thought they already did all this anyway?
Rockstar North got given £70 million for “creating” GTA V in the UK and “not” making any profit.
Film makers get massive tax relief as well for having one small scene in the UK or uses a UK actor.
“we want to be the best place in the world to make games”
“we’re also going to implement the great firewall of the Yookay via the online safety
Labour are doing so much good stuff, shame it’s just completely lost in all the negative noise.
With the OSA in effect? Good luck with that. Any forum or user interaction would need ID to be uploaded. Why would anyone risk doing this in the UK when the fines are so great
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