UK Government Unveils Major New Support for Games: A Launchpad for Scotland’s Supercluster Ambition

This week has been a landmark moment for the UK’s video games industry. The UK Government has published its new Modern Industrial Strategy, which includes a significant and dedicated package of support designed to fuel growth, innovation, and talent across the UK’s Creative Industries – which includes a great deal of good news for the UK’s games sector.

For Scotland, this is more than just welcome news; it is a catalyst. This new modern industrial strategy provides a golden opportunity for us to build upon – and realise our ambition to become the UK’s leading games supercluster.

Beyond the games-specific package, the strategy has a major focus on driving growth outside of London. It commits £200 million for investment in regional ‘Creative Clusters’ and makes clear that the UK government will work in direct partnership with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to boost these hubs. This is a clear and direct invitation for collaboration, placing Scotland’s established and emerging creative hubs in a prime position to attract new investment and support.

What’s New for the UK Games Sector?

At the heart of the announcement is a new £30 million Games Growth Package. This funding is targeted at three key areas that will have a direct impact on developers and studios across the country:

• Expanded UK Games Fund: A significant boost for the UK’s flagship early-stage funding body. This means more financial support will be available for independent studios and start-ups to create prototypes, develop new intellectual property, and de-risk the initial stages of game development.
• A New UK Games Skills Network: An industry-led body will be established to tackle persistent skills gaps. Its focus will be on creating clearer career pathways and ensuring the UK’s talent pipeline is world-class, directly benefiting our students, universities, and colleges.
• A UK Video Games Council: A formal council will be created to provide the industry with a powerful, unified voice and a direct line to government, ensuring the sector’s needs are understood and addressed at the highest level of policy-making.

Modern Industrial Strategy: The Opportunity for Scotland

This package of national support within the Modern Industrial Strategy is a powerful foundation. Our immediate oppotunity is to build upon it and use the unique position Scotland has to position us as the leading games cluster (what the hell, let’s say ‘supercluster’) in the UK.

Scotland, is uniquely positioned to leverage these new initiatives thanks to our devolved powers, our world-class educational institutions, and our highly collaborative industry ecosystem.

The Scottish Games Action Plan, which we are working so hard to create, provides the perfect starting point. It will now be updated to align with these new national structures, ensuring we can strategically target this funding and place Scotland at the forefront of this new era of growth. This is our chance to cement our position as the most attractive place in the UK to create, invest in, and study video games.

Our Plan is Coming

This is a pivotal moment, and we must act decisively (and collectively, this cannot be me alone).

I am already working on a detailed strategy to turn this opportunity into a reality for Scotland. This plan will outline how we update the action plan, engage with these new bodies and leverage these funds to ensure Scotland is not merely a participant, but a leader across all of these new opportunities.

Stay tuned – I will announce the full details of these new plans in the next few days.

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