90% of UK game studios employ less than 10 people
British scientists have calculated the number of workers in the country’s gaming industry and their contribution to the economy. They also named the largest British cities by the number of gaming companies.
An important point: this is data for 2016. Nevertheless, its authors assure that the picture of the industry presented in the report is relevant even now. As noted by Gameisindustry.biz, by 2020, the picture has changed slightly: a large number of new studios have appeared in Brighton, a number of companies in Cambridge have expanded. However, the distribution of employees by company and the largest game development centers remained the same.
The report was presented by the British Film Institute (BFI) and the British Interactive Entertainment Association (UKIE).
The overall picture of the market
- Four years ago, Gamedev’s contribution to the British economy reached £1.35 billion ($1.75 billion).
- There were more than 2,000 companies in the country’s gaming industry. They employed 16 thousand people.
- 99.5% of gaming companies had fewer than 250 employees. In about 1.8 thousand studios, the staff did not exceed 10 people.
- Only 9 companies were named large (with a team of over 250 people). Among them are Creative Assembly, Sumo Digital and Rockstar North. They employed a quarter of all employees from the British industry.
- 86% of industry employees are game developers, 14% are publishers. Of the big publishers in the UK, there are also Sega, Xbox and Activision Blizzard.
Distribution by city
- The largest number of gaming companies — 588 — were located in London. But they accounted for only 28% of industry workers.
- In London and the cities closest to it, 45% of the British game development is concentrated.
- After London, the south-eastern and north-western parts of the country are considered major centers of industry.
- Scotland is in fourth place. It consists of three cities where a large number of gaming companies are concentrated: Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow. The Abertay University, the most prestigious gaming university in Europe, is also located there.
- We should also add that 91% of publishers in the UK are located in London and the South-East. The developers are distributed throughout the country. Regional and creative diversity, according to the authors of the report, is the main reason for the success of the British industry.
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