UK Sees 31% Rise in Games Companies Since 2016

The UK's trade body for the gaming industry, UKIE, has unveiled an updated version of its interactive UK Games Map. This new edition reveals a significant 31% increase in the number of active games companies in the UK since September 2016. Currently, there are 2,555 active firms, comprising 2,202 games companies, including 83 publishers, 213 service providers, and 140 academic institutions offering games-related courses. The majority, 2,001, of these UK games companies are based in England, with the rest distributed across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In terms of city breakdown, London leads with 713 games companies, followed by Manchester, Brighton, Guildford, and Slough. The UK Games Map, initially launched in 2016, has been revamped in collaboration with The Nursery research agency and software developer Kieran Darcy, with academic data provided by Discover Uni and business updates sourced from the Companies House database. The update process involved identifying new organizations by their standard industrial classification code and then utilizing machine learning to pinpoint genuine games companies. Users can now create an account to suggest edits or claim ownership of their company for direct editing, with instructions available on the UKIE website.