UK video video games trade commerce affiliation TIGA is looking on the UK Authorities to answer what it calls the “sharpest recorded decline” within the nation’s recreation improvement sector.
In keeping with TIGA’s newest Making Video games within the UK report, employment is falling on the quickest fee ever measured, and start-up exercise has dropped to a 15-year low.
The report finds that within the yr as much as September 2025, the UK recreation improvement sector misplaced 1,537 jobs, leading to a 4.5 drop – the quickest fee of decline ever recorded, and the primary time since 2011 that the quantity has declined as an alternative of grown.
Between Could 2024 and September 2025 the full UK video games improvement workforce dropped from 28,516 to 27,347, regardless of progress within the freelancing sector (which had greater than 4,245 contractors).
TIGA additionally discovered that the variety of new studios fashioned within the final yr fell by over 30% for the third yr in a row, and in whole the variety of UK recreation improvement corporations now sits at 2,110, down from a peak of two,175 in 2023.
In the course of the survey interval, 206 corporations both closed down or exited the video games trade – the second highest quantity on file, after 2024.
The affiliation has known as on the UK Authorities to reinforce the Video Video games Expenditure Credit score (VGEC) coverage, which presently lets corporations declare again 34% on 80% of their whole qualifying prices throughout improvement.
TIGA has known as on the Authorities to broaden the speed to 53% for tasks as much as £23.5 million. It estimates that this could create 6,952 jobs, which means whereas the elevated fee would value His Majesty’s Income & Customs £135 million, it will generate £156.4 million in tax income.
It additionally asks the Authorities to contemplate altering the qualifying prices from 80% to 100%, which it says may generate 10,551 jobs together with 1,292 builders.
In an announcement, TIGA CEO Dr Richard Wilson OBE mentioned: “The UK video video games trade is the biggest in Europe, has world-class expertise, studios and universities, and former TIGA analysis with the College of Portsmouth reveals that the sector generates £12 billion in GVA.
“Nonetheless, after 14 years of uninterrupted progress, we at the moment are seeing a decline of unprecedented scale and pace. With out decisive coverage intervention, the UK dangers shedding 1000’s of extremely expert jobs and ceding floor to better-supported worldwide opponents. Enhancing the VGEC may create 1000’s of improvement jobs, enhance studios’ monetary strengths, allow the event of recent IP and put the sector again on the trail of progress.”
