Regional Economic Impacts of the UK Games Industry

Gross Value Added

Gross value added (GVA) is the measure of the economic value of goods and services. This can be used to compare the economic impact of different sectors or compare the impact of the same sector in different geographic areas. All measures of GVA in this article relate to data originally from the BFI's Screen Business Report (October 2018). The methodology of this report explains how direct and total GVA figures are calculated.

Regions with the Highest GVA from Games Companies

Region	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£M)	Total GVA (£M)
London	588	5107	729.2	1390.2
South East	376	3266	197.3	356.3
North West	174	1315	89.9	157.3
Scotland	113	1156	75.0	131.2
West Midlands	134	1209	74.6	130.8
North East	52	518	56.7	99.9
East Midlands	95	906	42.3	74.1
East of England	166	1209	30.9	54.3
Yorkshire and the Humber	149	767	24.5	42.9
South West	152	423	18.5	32.5
Wales	54	172	8.2	14.4
Northern Ireland	35	77	3.2	5.6

Scotland

Location	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£)	Total GVA (£)
Dundee	33	306	17.6	30.9
Edinburgh	32	657	45.9	80.3
Glasgow	38	116	7.2	12.5
Scotland	133	1156	75.0	131.2

Game Development Meetups & Groups:

• Game Dev Ed (Edinburgh)
• IGDA Scotland (Scotland)
• Scottish Games (Scotland)
• InGAME (Dundee)

Key Facts:

• Around three quarters of Scottish games companies are based in Edinburgh, Dundee or Glasgow.
• There are however, small games companies throughout the rest of Scotland

Wales

Location	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£)	Total GVA (£)
Bridgend	5	53	3.0	5.2
Cardiff	26	66	2.7	4.8
Wales	54	172	8.2	14.4

Game Development Meetups & Groups:

• Games Wales

Key Facts:

• Around half of games companies in Wales are based in Cardiff, with the remaining other half operating throughout the rest of the country.
• Games companies provide a higher proportion of overall GVA in Bridgend than in any other Welsh town or city.

Northern Ireland

Location	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£)	Total GVA (£)
Belfast	21	48	2.0	3.5
Northern Ireland	35	77	3.2	5.6

Game Development Meetups & Groups:

• Games NI

Key Facts:

• 5 of Northern Ireland’s 6 counties have games companies operating in them.
• The majority of games companies in Northern Ireland are in Belfast

North West

Location	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£)	Total GVA (£)
Crewe	8	558	16.4	28.6
Liverpool	35	152	21.7	38.0
Manchester	82	369	37.7	66.1
North West	174	1315	89.9	157.3

Game Development Meetups & Groups:

• Gamedev Liverpool (Liverpool)
• Gameopolis (Greater Manchester)
• Liverpool Games Cluster (Liverpool)
• WA Games (Warrington)

Key Facts:

• Crewe, Liverpool and Manchester are hubs for games development.
• With around 1,300 games industry jobs in the north west, the region comes 3rd for number of games jobs
• The region also comes 3rd for total GVA from the industry

North East

Location	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£)	Total GVA (£)
Newcastle upon Tyne	20	372	48.6	85.8
Sunderland	12	84	3.0	5.3
North East	52	518	56.7	99.9

Game Development Meetups & Groups:

• Game Bridge (Middlesbrough)
• Women Making Games North East (North East)

Key Facts:

• Major international games companies have offices in Newcastle and Sunderland.
• The region also has a higher proportion of games companies with 5-24 employees than any other.
• The north east ranks 2nd only to London for productivity

Yorkshire and The Humber

Location	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£)	Total GVA (£)
Leeds	27	187	6.4	11.2
Sheffield	43	331	9.9	17.3
Wakefield and Castleford	7	92	1.6	2.8
York	14	30	1.2	2.0
Yorkshire and the Humber	149	767	24.5	42.9

Game Development Meetups & Groups:

• Badonkadonk (Bradford)
• Ga-Ma-Yo (Yorkshire)
• Game Republic (Yorkshire)
• HumberBundle (Hull)
• Leeds Games Toast (Leeds)
• Shindig (Sheffield)

Key Facts:

• Games companies employing large numbers of people operate in Leeds, Sheffield and Wakefield.
• Companies in Wakefield and Sheffield in particular provide major economic value when compared with other sectors

West Midlands

Location	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£)	Total GVA (£)
Birmingham	35	86	4.6	8.0
Leamington Spa	34	907	57.4	100.7
West Midlands	134	1209	74.6	130.8

Game Development Meetups & Groups:

• Brum Indies (Birmingham)
• Leamingston Spa: Arch Creatives (Leamington Spa)
• Leamington Unity Developers (Leamington Spa)

Key Facts:

• Games companies in Leamington Spa in particular provide major economic value to the West Midlands.
• The town is ranked 1st for economic contribution provided by games companies in proportion to other industries

East Midlands

Location	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£)	Total GVA (£)
Burton Upon Trent	8	113	9.7	17.0
Derby	11	46	2.6	4.6
Lincoln	8	328	15.3	26.7
Nottingham	31	194	10.6	18.5
East Midlands	95	906	42.3	74.1

Game Development Meetups & Groups:

• East Midlands Indies (Nottingham)

Key Facts:

• Large, prestigious games companies are operating in Twycross, Lincoln and Nottingham
• Around 900 games workers in total are employed in the East Midlands

East of England

Location	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£)	Total GVA (£)
Cambridge	47	853	16.4	28.7
Chelmsford	10	26	1.4	2.4
East of England	166	1209	30.9	54.3

Game Development Meetups & Groups:

• Cambridge Game Creators (Cambridge)
• Cambridge Indies (Cambridge)
• Norfolk Indie Game Developers (Norfolk)

Key Facts:

• There are around 1,200 games jobs in the East of England.
• Cambridge ranks 1st by number of game jobs per capita.

London

Location	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£)	Total GVA (£)
London	588	5107	729.2	1390.2

Game Development Meetups & Groups:

• Coven Club
• London Indies
• London Unreal Engine Meetup

Key Facts:

• There are over 580 active games companies in London
• The games industry in London contributes over £1.3bn of value to the economy
• Over 5,000 people in the capital work in games
• Around 2% of all creative sector workers in London work in games

South West

Location	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£)	Total GVA (£)
Falmouth	5	27	1.5	2.6
Bristol	46	139	5.5	9.7
South West	152	423	18.5	32.5

Game Development Meetups & Groups:

• Bristol Games Hub (Bristol)

Key Facts:

• Though there are no major multinational publishers or developers based in the South West, the region is still home to over 150 games companies

South East

Location	Games Companies	Full-Time Employees	Direct GVA (£)	Total GVA (£)
Basingstoke	12	88	1.3	2.2
Brighton	65	277	13.7	24.1
Crawley and Horsham	24	579	47.8	83.7
Guildford and Aldershot	64	855	36.6	64.0
Oxford	26	312	8.0	14.4
Medway	4	146	12.3	21.6
Milton Keynes	5	95	9.5	17.7
Reading	14	162	4.8	8.5
Slough and Heathrow	62	595	58.8	116.2
South East	376	3266	197.3	356.3

Game Development Meetups & Groups:

• Brighton Game Collective (Brighton)
• Brighton Indies (Brighton)
• Brighton Unity Group (Brighton)
• Guildford Game Developers (Guildford)
• Oxford Indies (Oxford)

Key Facts:

• There are over 370 active games companies in the South East
• Over 3,200 people in the South East are employed in the games industry.
• Locations such as Guildford, Oxford and Brighton have some of the largest games companies in the UK