![\"Sky](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/skynews_2018-small.png\")
\n <\/p>\n\n When we talk about the value of the video games industry in the UK, it’s usually in terms of money.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
The industry brought \u00a38.8bn to the British economy last year; it generates twice as much revenue as film and TV; it employs 73,000 workers around the country.<\/p>\n
They’re big numbers and they’re often rolled out because to a lot of people, gaming can still feel niche; the domain of teenage boys in fusty bedrooms.<\/p>\n
Sure, it inspires devotees; we watched this weekend as tens of thousands of elaborately costumed fans poured into MCM Comic Con in London.<\/p>\n
But that’s not the whole story; the majority of adults (65%) now play video games.<\/p>\n
(If you’re thinking, ‘Not me or my friends’ – phone games like Candy Crush and Farmville are video games.)<\/p>\n
Those working on our games argue there’s a huge cultural value to British gaming too.<\/p>\n
“I always think of the money, but the cultural impact of games is phenomenal,” said Harvey Elliott, founder of games publisher Playstack and board member of Ukie, the industry’s trade body.<\/p>\n
“We know that this generation of kids growing up are growing up as gaming as their main entertainment platform.”<\/p>\n
Another publisher, James Schall of Secret Mode games, believes video games are becoming a way of showing off British culture to the world.<\/p>\n
Four of the companies’ games, based in glamorous locations like Scarborough and a Scottish oil rig in the ’70s, have had a surprising amount of international success.<\/p>\n
“You may think some of these games are only for British audiences but actually audiences in America, in Germany, in China adore these stories,” said Mr Schall.<\/p>\n
“The output is so strong, not just financially, but also culturally in selling Great Britain as a destination and as a brand,” he said.<\/p>\n
But change is coming, and difficult decisions are on the horizon.<\/p>\n
“The video games market, in terms of console and PC, reached maturity,” said George E Osborn, author of Power Play: Video Games, Politics and the Battle for Global Influence.<\/p>\n
“That means growth is tailing off here, but it’s continuing to grow the industry at large in places like China.”<\/p>\n
Naturally, that means money and talent is heading east to where the growth is; China has overtaken the US in terms of dominance in video games, its market is worth more than $50bn.<\/p>\n
With all that change afoot, the people who make our video games here in the UK are having to reassess.<\/p>\n
“You’re having to change a lot of fundamentals about how you do business, who you trade with, and whether you have to make some difficult decisions like ‘Do I want to do things like censor my video game to get access to the Chinese market?’,” said Mr Osborn.<\/p>\n
“These are big, complicated decisions.”<\/p>\n
Read more from Sky News:
Rape case in which teenage boys spared jail ‘appalling’, PM says
Body found in search for boy, 15, missing after entering lake<\/p>\n
The last thing you need during a period of instability like that\u2026 is instability at home.<\/p>\n
The turbulent landscape in Westminster, with a Labour leadership race looming, has the potential to rock an already unstable – and highly valuable – industry.<\/p>\n
Watch the video at the top to find out why Westminster’s troubles could impact the games we play.<\/p>\n
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