Games Industry - Biggest Sector in UK Creative Industries
In a recent Press Release from the Department for Culture Media and Sport it has been revealed that the software and computer games sector are the biggest sectors and contribute the most growth among creative industries in the UK. Creative industries contribute £60 billion to the UK economy according to the report and the software and computer games sectors contribute massively to this.
Software and computer games comprise the biggest sector and contribute most to growth, accounting for over 50per cent of turnover growth between 1995 and 2005.
The report which can be found here also indicates that NCSoft, the company behind games such as Guild Wars and City of Heroes, has signed an agreement to help provide 5,000 formal apprenticeships by 2013 from the entire creative sector.
In a related report entitled Creative Britain: New Talents for the New Economy a Centre of Excellence for Computer Games is due to be set up. The report also details that there are over 100 further education courses in the UK dealing with computer games, it goes on to say that University courses dealing with computer games are looking for students with a mix of Maths and Art A Levels. This is an unusual mix and the Government plans to increase awareness of the skills required to University computer games courses.
Further the report says that;
The Government will also increase awareness of the current R&D tax credit scheme and investigate how to make it more user friendly for small business, with a particular focus on the computer games industry.
These are two very interesting reports, it will be very intriguing to see if they have any effect on the Byron Report. For now, we must wait and see what the next few weeks and months bring in what is sure to be a crucial time for the games industry in the UK.
Tags: Creative Industries, Games Industry, UK
February 28th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
“Software and computer games” are rather different things, in the statistics. Software can run from accountancy, ITC office networking, through huge quasi-government arms such as Civitas who deal with new ITC for local government and hospitals, via all branches of Currys and similar retailers who sell software, through British Rail’s timetable system, and much more. For the government to try to “pull the wool…” by calling all that lot “creative” is spin of the first order.
So far as I am aware, the “current R&D tax credit scheme” is not easily open to games developers. They may want to raise awareness of it, but they may have to out into place a new version of the scheme. When and if that will happen, we’ll have to see.