On Tuesday 4th March, members of the national videogames body Ukie – including Game Republic – descended upon the London Museum near the Barbican in London for the annual Members Day. The event consists of special guests and talks, and an opportunity to catch up with friends in the games industry.
Business Growth in The Games Industry
The event featured CEO Nick Poole outlining Ukie’s strategy for the coming year, including supercharging the industry with initiatives including an impact for business growth and to ensure everyone benefits from the social, cultural and educational power of videogames. Ukie has also outlined the submission to the 2025 Spending Review consultation including a 53% Games Growth Relief for projects up to £10m, increasing VGEC on larger projects to 39% and removing the 80% cap on expenditures – which could unlock a potential £479m GVA and up to 6000 additional jobs over the next 5 years. Other initiatives included a games sector skills network.
Maria Sayans, CEO of ustwo Games and Chair of Ukie then gave a positive welcome address, followed by Warrington MP Charlotte Nichols, who is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Video Games and Interactive Entertainment, and talked about her love of games since the days of the Nintendo N64 and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and how the industry should think beyond influencing just the the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to other areas of government such as education.
Changes in the Games Industry
The rest of the day featured discussions and talks, and a panel featuring Ukie Hall of Fame winners Sir Ian Livingstone CBE (ex-Eidos and now Hiro Capital) and Charles Cecil OBE, from Revolution Software in York talking about changes in the industry including the massively-improved perception of games by government. Another vital panel featured investment and funding insights from Nick Button-Brown (The Games Angels), Aaron Ludlow (PlayStack), Peter King (Green Man Gaming), Nataliia Kinschak (Darkmath Games) and Susan Cummings (10six Games). Useful advice to developers looking for funding included: developers should do their homework before pitching and showing they have engaged with their community; demonstrating they have a solid business that will last beyond the launch of a game; and being honest – if a previous game didn’t do well, explain why it didn’t work and what was learned from the experience.
Final tips included don’t give up, get to events, meet the right people, have a great pitch deck and demo, show research in the market, show you can learn and possibly pivot if needed and from Nick Button-Brown, don’t be modest.
The Ukie Members Day concluded with the Ukie Awards, which included wins for Yorkshire Games Festival guest Coal Supper with Game of the Year for Thank Goodness You’re Here!
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