When it comes to videogames, Scotland has a lot to be proud of. From the early success of titles like Lemmings and GTA, to the recently released Silent Hill: Townfall and the ongoing juggernaut which is Minecraft, the consumer games market is getting more visibility than ever – and that’s before GTA6 is released.
Yet, treating ‘games’ solely as a (virtual) box on a retail shelf, an app on a smartphone misses a huge amount of true economic and societal potential of games as a transformative technology.
While Videogames are one of 16 sub-sectors of the creative industries in Scotland, game design and development are capable of far more than ‘mere’ entertainment. The tools, technologies, systems, and disciplines built by game creators – real-time 3D rendering, interactive simulation, behavioural loops, complex physics systems, and immersive spatial design – are already reshaping how modern organisations can design, distribute, educate, heal, build, and innovate.
At the same time, the global consumer games market is more challenging than ever for developers. Despite the ever-increasing value of the games market (which has already exceeded $213 billion in 2026), finding and keeping players, cutting through the competition and having a consumer ‘hit’ is becoming ever more challenging. The studio closures, mass layoffs and volatility of making games isn’t a wobble – this is our new normal.
To bridge this divide and unlock tangible new commercial opportunities across the wider economy, the Scottish Games Network is partnering with Glasgow City of Science and Innovation to deliver a dedicated More Than Games edition of their award-winning Art of Possible series.
Taking place on Thursday 29 October 2026 at the Glasgow Science Centre, this gathering is engineered to break down industry silos, bringing game-makers directly into the room with researchers, clinicians, educators, artists, and enterprise leaders.
The Unmapped Territory of Interactive Technology
Businesses and organisations across Scotland are grappling with complex challenges, from modernising healthcare delivery, revolutionising learning & development, building & visualising digital twins, or engaging audiences with cultural heritage.
Those challenges represent an untapped frontier for Scotland’s games ecosystem:
By failing to connect game developers with other sectors, Scotland is leaving a lot of commercial value, cross-sector research funding, and high-impact intellectual property on the table.
Pioneers at the Intersections
To demonstrate what is achievable when interactive design leaves its traditional boundary, we have assembled a panel of people whose work actively lives at these intersections:
- Simon Meek (Founder & Creative Director, Stacking Chairs): An internationally acclaimed digital artist and narrative director, Simon’s work bridges literature, visual art, and interactive play, demonstrating how game engines act as powerful new canvases for contemporary storytelling and cultural expression.
- Rachel Porteous (University of Glasgow Games and Gaming Lab): Operating at the intersection of academia and game development, Rachel’s research within the Games and Gaming Lab (GGL) explores the educational, historical, and civic applications of playful learning and interactive simulation.
- Lauren Hall (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland / Independent Developer): Working between traditional performance art and cutting-edge software, Lauren investigates how game systems, interactive mechanics, and spatial audio transform live theatrical performance and experimental media.
- Nick Lang (Co-Founder, Pure Purpose DTX): Nick’s work is at the forefront of digital therapeutics and immersive technologies for healthcare and wellbeing for neurodiverse people.
A Test Case for the National Games Action Plan
This partnership with Glasgow City of Science and Innovation is not just a fabulous afternoon out and networking afternoon. It is an active case study of the principles set out in Scotland’s National Games Action Plan.
In our blueprint presented to the Scottish Government, we argued that game technology is the ‘golden thread’ running through Scotland’s national innovation priorities – from advanced manufacturing and data science to digital health. To scale Scotland’s games output from £200m to £1bn in GVA, the sector has to diversify into adjacent multi-billion-pound industries.
Organisations like Glasgow City of Science and Innovation understand the power of collaboration. Over the last few years, Art of Possible has repeatedly proven that breakthrough innovation occurs when specialists from radically different domains come together to share, learn and explore new opportunities.
By bringing interactive game design into dialogue with health, science, and the arts, we want to demonstrate how Scottish studios can build resilient, diversified business models while solving genuine real-world problems.
Event Details & Registration
Join us to explore what other sectors can learn from the games industry, how interactive tools are solving complex challenges, and where Scotland’s interactive expertise goes next.
Admission is free, but places are limited, and tickets are going fast, so booking is essential.
- Date: Thursday 29 October 2026.
- Time: 15:00 – 17:00 BST.
- Venue: Glasgow Science Centre, 50 Pacific Quay, Glasgow, G51 1EA.
- Programme: Lightning talks, panel discussion, audience Q&A, and networking.
- Tickets: Free (registration required) via the official Art of Possible Booking Portal.