MD of Game Republic Jamie Sefton has welcomed the announcement today by Minister Ian Murray that £30 million will be invested in the games industry.
Speaking from the London Games Festival launch today Jamie said “I would encourage game developers to apply for a share of a new £28.5 million pot of funding that goes live tomorrow. This announcement marks a doubling in funding for the sector and will undoubtedly result in some exciting new games being made, as well as new jobs and opportunities.”
The funding is an example of The Government putting the Creative Industries Sector Plan into action. These targeted investments are expected to pay dividends to the taxpayer by driving economic growth and creating jobs. Applications for funding will open from 14 April.
The UK is already an international powerhouse in gaming, having created global hits like Grand Theft Auto, Fable, PowerWash Simulator and No Man’s Sky. Across the UK, there are more than 2,000 gaming companies, employing tens of thousands of people recognised globally for their talent and creativity.
Jamie adds “In The North, we have a resilient industry with a strong ecosystem with some of the biggest global hits being made in The North of England – this is a welcome announcement to support game studios across the UK to invest in new games. On 21st May we will see 47 new games on show from across The North, an example of the fantastic and prolific innovative work going on in the games industry. This support can only boost the efforts of these brilliant new developers.”
Through the Games Growth Package, the government will support newly-formed and expanding developers to turn blueprints for games into reality, enabling them to sell their product both in the UK and around the world.
Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray said:
“Video games are not only great fun, they are big business – and for too long their value to the British economy has been overlooked.
That is why the government has thrown its full support behind the sector with £30 million of new funding. This will turbocharge the careers of some of our most talented game developers, creating more jobs and economic growth right across the country as their ideas come to fruition.”
The video game market is bigger than ever before, with £8.8 billion being spent by gamers per year, meaning there are excellent expansion prospects for our world-class sector. This new funding will empower developers to take advantage of these opportunities, creating jobs and driving economic growth.
Grants from the UK Games Fund will be split into three categories:
- An Entry Track, with grants of up to £20,000 available to newly formed companies with limited track records but strong potential for growth.
- An Emergent Track, with grants of up to £100,000 for prototyping new games.
- An Expansion Track, with grants of up to £250,000 – the largest ever provided by the Fund – available to take games forward to completion and enable studios to scale up.
Paul Durrant, UK Games Talent and Finance CIC Founder and Director, said:
“We welcome this strong reinforcement of government support for the UK video games development sector. The three track funding approach will ensure that support is provided across the broadest level of the UK sector.”
For more information visit the UK Games Fund website
Full Government announcement here
If you like this post, please help us by sharing it!