By Sagar Mankar 
The UK gaming industry has demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of global economic headwinds, according to the latest research from TIGA, the UK’s video games trade association.
Their comprehensive report “Making Games in the UK 2024” reveals several interesting trends that shaped the industry between April 2023 and May 2024. (Thanks GameDevReports)
Growth Amid Turbulence
Despite the challenging global gaming market, the UK gaming sector achieved a 4.8% growth rate. While this represents the lowest annual growth since 2012, it’s particularly impressive given the broader industry downturn.
The sector now employs over 28,500 gaming professionals, marking a 13.9% increase in the workforce, as per TIGA survey data.
Workforce Dynamics
- 13.9% increase in total employment
- Freelancer workforce exploded from 1,102 to 3,625 (over 3x growth)
Top Gaming Clusters
- London: 23% of the workforce (5,931 staff, 584 companies)
- South East: 18.7% of workforce
- North West: 12.3% of workforce
- North East: 6.3% of workforce
Regions Experiencing Workforce Reduction
- East of England
- South East
- East Midlands
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland
Total gaming companies: 2,148 (down from 2,175)
- 1,697 game studios
- 60 publisher studios
- 109 publishers
- 4 broadcasters
- 278 service companies
Company Dynamics
- 248 companies closed (10.4% of total gaming companies)
- 166 new startups launched (compared to 251 in previous period)
International Presence
- 62% of the workforce employed by foreign-owned studios
- Foreign-owned studios: 12,743 full-time staff
- Domestically owned studios: 7,854 full-time staff
Looking Ahead
Dr. Richard Wilson OBE, TIGA’s CEO, emphasizes the industry’s resilience: “Our sector is weathering the storm. This is a remarkable achievement.” He advocates for maintaining and enhancing the Video Games Expenditure Credit to sustain growth and create more high-skilled jobs.
Jason Kingsley CBE, TIGA Chairman and Rebellion CEO, acknowledges the challenges while remaining optimistic: “TIGA’s report is reflective of what is currently a challenging environment for some parts of the games industry. However, it also highlights that UK games development is faring better than certain areas of the global games industry.”
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