TIGA has welcomed the Creative Industries Sector Deal, which has been agreed by the Government and creative industries sector, through the Creative Industries Council (CIC). The deal intends to boost growth in the creative industries.
The Sector Deal will invest more than £150 million across the lifecycle of creative businesses, including:
- places of the future – by funding leading creative clusters to compete globally
- technologies and content of the future – via research into augmented reality and virtual reality
- creative skills of the future – via a careers programme that will open up creative jobs to people of every background
Immersive technologies such as virtual reality video games, interactive art shows and augmented reality experiences in tourism, will receive over £33 million of government funding.
The Government will also support the highly successful UK Games Fund with an additional £1.5 million over the next two years so that it can further boost young entrepreneurs and new product creation in the trailblazing games sector.
In addition, up to £2 million will be made available to kickstart an industry-led skills package, including a creative careers programme which will reach at least 2,000 schools and 600,000 pupils in two years. A new London Screen Academy, with places for up to 1000 students, will also open in 2019.
The Sector Deal acknowledges the importance of clusters like Dundee for the video games industry. With more than 40 established games firms and 350 employees, Dundee is one of the UK’s most significant video games clusters. It also praised the targeted funding and responsive higher education institutions have been pivotal in allowing Dundee to flourish.
The Creative Industries Sector Deal is available to download here
Dr Richard Wilson OBE, Chief Executive Officer of TIGA, stated:
“It is great to see the Sector Deal has recognised the importance of the video games industry. We welcome measures to develop a workforce with the right skills, encourage entrepreneurship and support developers working with virtual reality.
“However, there is more the Government can do to support the video games industry. Access to finance remains the most common challenge for many video games businesses, and this looks set to continue. Almost two-fifths of respondents to TIGA’s 2018 Business Opinion Survey said that access to finance was holding back their business.
“That is why TIGA has called for the Government to examine the case for introducing a Video Games Investment Fund, which would support the long-term growth of the industry. The video games sector currently adds £1.5 billion to GDP every year. If we can improve studios’ access to finance then our industry will create more jobs, invest more capital and make an even bigger contribution to UK GDP.”
About TIGA
TIGA is the network for games developers and digital publishers and the trade association representing the video games industry. Our core purpose is to strengthen the games development and digital publishing sector. We achieve this by campaigning for the industry in the corridors of power, championing the industry in the media and helping our members commercially.
TIGA is intent on building an enduring organisation which continually improves; a business that will make a significant impact on the games industry and so benefit our membership and the wider economy. Since 2010, TIGA has won 24 business awards, an achievement which reflects TIGA’s drive for improvement and to meet best practice.
For more information visit: www.tiga.org
Get in touch:
Tel: 0845 468 2330
Email: info@tiga.org
Web: www.tiga.org
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tigamovement
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TIGAMovement
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/tiga
For further information, you can also contact:
Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO at: richard.wilson@tiga.org
