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In 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU, which naturally brings a lot of new variables to the Games Industry. The UK Games Industry “exports heavily but also recruits internationally,” according to an article on Wired by Matt Kamen. Due to Brexit, new trade agreements will need to be made, which may affect the oversea markets.
Because of the changes, Ukie, the main trader body of the UK Games Industry, have made it their mission over the past few years to support all those in the Games Industry, and to help prepare them for the drastic change that may take place. TIGA, the UK’s Games Industry trade associate, discussed how the creation of new indie companies in the area of Cornwall may be disrupted because of Brexit.
Technology also continues to advance at increasing speeds, which means this new decade will bring forth more growth in this area. New game engines will be created, new gaming mediums will be manufactured, and with this, new companies will be given the opportunity to rise up. The increase in technology means that video games are far more accessible to the consumers, as app games can be downloaded easily onto phones.
The growing amount of consoles means that there is a richer variety of the types of games being produced, and in turn the number of companies in the UK. Another point to address is that the Animation Industry have been turning to game engines to render out their animations, and with every new one created with this in mind, both creative industries will benefit. Companies such as Blue Zoo have rendered animations with Unreal Engine, which was developed by Epic Games.
Due to Covid-19, no industry has remained unaffected. With nothing else to do, many people in lockdown turned to video games as a source of entertainment. This meant sales of video games were up during the first quarantine.
In April of 2020, games companies all across the UK united to launch ‘Games for Carers,’ an initiative to give frontline NHS workers a free game to play in their free-time. Games are still being created despite Covid-19. In lockdown, some of the most popular games allowed others to connect and play together. More and more games have had co-op mechanics, which help people feel more connected in times such as lockdowns. In an age where the majority have access to the internet and video games, this is a mechanic that will continue to be implemented into modern games.
As of 2021, the UK has officially left the EU. According to Tiga, “95 per cent of UK games development studios export at least some of their games,” which means that the majority of revenue comes from oversea sales. Because of this, many larger companies in the UK have started to open oversea headquarters. Mediatonic, for example, originated in London, but has since opened offices in Brighton and Madrid. New offices also mean more staff, and therefore more people available to help create new games.
To link this back to my point on the UK’s 2021 trade agreements, new agreements will need to be made to ensure future exports, which are still very much in demand. The new technology this decade will bring also gives more opportunity for new ways to connect through games, with features that allow players to spend time with others during periods of time when we feel so isolated. And with more and more games being downloadable, the accessibility of gaming has already risen, generating more profit and funds to further advance this sky rocketing industry.
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https://www.jomec.co.uk/altcardiff/no-logo/in-depth-welsh-video-games-industry-continues-to-struggle
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