The last time Scotland’s videogames industry had any sort of national profile in MCV, the industry trade journal, it was 2011/12. That’s a long time ago – especially in a sector which moves as quickly and evolves so rapidly as gaming.
At that point Realtime Worlds was still the talk of the town, Outplay was just a fledgling studio, taking its first steps and Denki had just published its hundredth and something game. GTA V was merely a rumour, Minecraft was still in early access and Abertay had yet to be voted the best place to study games in Europe – even once!
(It also – strangely – coincided with my last period of self employment and focus on PR)
Clearly we needed an update.
So we’re delighted that MCV/Develop has a country-wide profile in its April 2021 edition, which pulls together input from some of the country’s largest studios, to let the world see what Scotland has to offer.
Spotlight Scotland
The profile also offers a quick snapshot of our very own industry mapping project, which aims to capture a snapshot of the sector in 2020/21 and pull together a more in-depth and accurate reflection of Scotland’s videogames ecosystem than we’ve ever had.
I also contributed fairly heavily in terms of context, background and insight into the sector as a whole, just to make sure the piece was based on up-to-date and (hopefully) accurate info.
How Many Games Companies??
So before the official announcement of the industry mapping project, you can get a quick-n-dirty version here. From the number of startups over the last 10 years, through to the size of the various companies and – more importantly – the city stakes (where lies the beating heart of Scotland’s videogames industry?), you’ll find a good thumbnail throughout the article.
The article also focuses upon the ongoing support for the sector in Scotland from government and the public sector, as well as asking the key question: Why in the name of boiling hell don’t we ever see stories from Scotland’s videogames companies in the games media/national press/sites which are not scottishgames.net.
The answers may startle and surprise you.
Universities & New Talent
There’s also an excellent section which looks specifically at the universities which are producing games graduates and the future of Scotland’s gaming talent pipeline.
You can read the whole spotlight online and download the entire issue for free and future reading on the MCV/Develop website.
Find Scotland’s Videogames Industry profile here.
Enjoy.
