April 3, 2017

Ukie says that it has learnt a lot about the scope of the gaming industry’s concerns since the referendum on 23 June 2016. Access to global talent, data flows and uncertainty about future trading relationships have all been raised as priority areas of concern, alongside the opportunities the coming negotiations present for the creative tech sector in the UK.

Ukie says that it is looking forward to working with the Government to help inform what “Brexit” really means and to shape a favourable post-EU landscape for our world-leading games and interactive entertainment businesses.

At the start of the month, Ukie launched its new report State of Play: The UK games industry’s priorities for the EU negotiations. It is a result of an extensive consultation conducted by Ukie between September 2016 to February 2017, including capturing detailed information from over 75 UK games studios, publishers and games service companies, and an eleven-date roundtable tour of the UK, talking directly with over 70 games businesses and legal experts. Ukie says that it will use this report to bolster its requests during the Brexit negotiations throughout the next two years.

The key findings of the report centre around four main topics:

• Talent: this is the number one priority for games businesses. The UK’s departure from the EU is seen as an opportunity to redefine the UK’s immigration laws to position the UK as home to the best technological and creative international talent;
• Access to markets: games businesses were clear that it is vital that they retain the ease of trade for digital services and physical goods that they currently enjoy through membership of the European single market;
• Data: this is of fundamental importance to the games industry. It is therefore critical that the Government ensures there is a robust legal basis in place following departure from the EU for cross-border data transfers between the UK and EU to continue, and that any future changes to data protection laws do not hinder this flow of data; and
• Funding: departure from the EU was seen as an opportunity to review the UK’s existing public funding structures to see more targeted funding that will unlock the long-term cultural and commercial potential of the UK games industry.

Ukie says that it looks forward to “rolling up our sleeves and getting stuck into the debate to make sure the UK remains the best place in the world to develop and publish games and interactive entertainment”. To read Ukie’s press release in full, click here.