The UK government has today announced an additional £8 million funding to be made available over the next three years to support the UK’s early stage independent video games development sector, through the UK Games Fund and the Tranzfuser programme.
As part of the UK Government’s new package of £50 million in funding for the creative industries. £21 million will be allocated to the three-year UK Global Screen Fund to promote British films overseas, while £8 million will be allocated to the UK Games Fund, based in Dundee.
The government will also invest £18 million in the Creative Scale Up Programme, which provides finance and business support to firms in the creative industries. This investment aims to support creative firms outside of London as they seek to create new economic opportunities in their areas. However, it’s not yet clear if this fund will be open to businesses in Scotland.
UK Games Fund
Launched in 2015, the UK Games Fund has supported nearly 200 early stage game developers in the UK with grants for the development of their own new intellectual property (IP). In addition, Tranzfuser – the annual graduate game development enterprise competition – has supported hundreds of new creators take their first steps into careers in industry.
Recent success stories from across the portfolio of funded companies include the UK-based investment in Ant Workshop, the acquisition of Roll7 by Take Two subsidiary Private Division, the acquisition of Auroch Digital by UK-based Sumo Group along many studios across the fund’s portfolio achieving ongoing growth and scale.
Tranzfuser
Tranzfuser is an annual competition open to graduates from UK universities which supports them as individuals, or new businesses to start their careers in the games industry.
Since the competition launched, it has helped 469 participants to explplore their future in the games ecosystem, as well as helping 20 new studios get off the ground.
Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of Ukie, said:
UKIE has consistently called for the invaluable UK Games Fund to be extended and this is a welcome vote of confidence in our thriving games industry. The UK sector is a global success story that is both a critical exporter and a source of extensive inward investment. This support will help the next generation of businesses access the finance they need to build the games to do that, while creating high value jobs across the whole country.
Paul Durrant OBE, Director and CEO at UK Games Talent and Finance, said:
It’s a massive honour to be able to continue our work. Our community has already demonstrated their amazing creative capacity and given the UK’s early stage games dev ecosystem a massive boost. Now we can do a whole lot more.
UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said:
The creative industries in the UK are truly world class and I am committed to doing everything I can to support their innovative work as they continue to thrive.
