January 16, 2017

TIGA, the network for games developers and digital publishers and the trade association representing the games industry, said that the UK video games industry would increase investment and expand employment in 2017. TIGA made the comments in its latest Business Opinion Survey 2017. The report was based on a survey of 50 games businesses including small, medium and large firms, developing games across mobile/tablet, VR, PC and console.

TIGA’s Business Opinion Survey 2017 includes the following key findings:

• employment: 88% of respondents plan to grow their organisation’s workforce over the next year (up from 72% a year ago);
• investment: 50% of respondents said that the outlook for investment in their business (for example, in R&D, training, new games development, etc) was more optimistic than compared to 12 months ago. 30% said that the outlook was unchanged;
• performance: 72% of respondents reported that their company was performing well. Just 6% reported that their company was performing badly;
• profits: 64% of respondents forecast that the trend in their company’s net profits over the next 12 months would be up;
• costs: 70% of respondents anticipate that their company’s costs are likely to increase over the next 12 months (up from 56% a year ago);
• prices: 40% of games businesses expect that their prices for customers will increase over the next 12 months. 60% expect that their prices will remain the same; and
• obstacles to success: 34% of respondents said that the principal obstacle holding back their businesses was limited access to finance. A further 34% cited discoverability as the biggest obstacle. 16% identified skills shortages and skills gaps. The remaining respondents identified various obstacles including: scaling business operations; lack of VR hardware; diversity; peaks and troughs in work; management capacity; and the challenge of localisation.

Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said: “The UK video games development and digital publishing sector is set to grow in 2017. Our survey shows that games businesses in mobile, VR, PC and console are planning to increase investment and employment. This growth is being driven by three factors.

“Firstly, the consumer market for games is big, broad and burgeoning. The UK is the sixth largest market for games in the world and 31.6 million people in the UK play games.

“Secondly, the spread of mobile and tablet devices, the new console generation, the popularity of PC games and the advent of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are prompting investment in games.

“Thirdly, Video Games Tax Relief, which TIGA played a decisive role in achieving, is fanning the flame of growth. Games Tax Relief effectively reduces the cost and risk of games development and it incentivises investment and job creation in the games industry. Games Tax Relief is predicted to create 2,800 new development jobs and £331 million in investment between 2016 and 2020”. To read TIGA’s press release in full and for a link to the survey, click here.