TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, has welcomed a £25 million cash injection for the creative industries which was announced in yesterday's Budget
The creative industries as a whole were given the money to help contribute to economic growth. It breaks down as £5m extra per year for the Skills Investment Fund over the next two years, with government match-funding for voluntary industry contributions.
A further £15m has been committed to the design and launch of a new competition, led by the Technology Strategy Board.
It comes on top of the £6m announced by Chancellor George Osborne in 2012’s Autumn Statement. The extra funding is for SIF, administered by Creative Skillset and it will support skills development in the UK digital content sectors.
Not all of the money will be handed to videogaming but it will be one of the beneficiaries.
Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said:
“The increase in the Skills Investment Fund is positive news. TIGA board members on the Video Games Skills Council will work with partners to ensure that this match funding money is easy to apply for and applicable for a wide range of important training needs. The £15 million digital competition for new digital content production could also provide a great opportunity to the video games sector, depending on the details governing the scheme.”
TIGA board members including Giselle Stewart from Ubisoft Reflections and Nick Brown from Boss Level are represented on the Video Games Skills Council and so they will be able to advise on the distribution of some of this money.
About TIGA:
TIGA is the trade association representing the UK’s games industry. The majority of our members are either independent games developers or in-house publisher owned developers. We also have games publishers, outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership. Since 2010, TIGA has won 14 business awards and has been nominated a finalist for 16 other awards.
TIGA's vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business. We focus on three sets of activities: political representation, generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the competitiveness of our members. This means that TIGA members are effectively represented in the corridors of power, their voice is heard in the media and they receive benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities.
For further information, please contact Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on: 07875 939 643, or email: richard.wilson@tiga.org.