The global games market in 2026 is more crowded, volatile, and competitive than ever before. For independent studios and established developers alike, relying solely on consumer retail success is becoming an ever-riskier strategy. That is why I am headed to Brighton this July to deliver a session on how developers can unlock entirely new, sustainable revenue streams by applying their creative and technical superpowers outside the entertainment sector and the consumer games market.
I will be speaking at Develop: Brighton on Wednesday 15 July at 3:00pm in Room 3 as part of the business track. My talk, titled More Than Games: Unlocking New Funding & Creative Opportunities Outside the Consumer Market, will lay out a practical, strategic roadmap for senior leaders and developers to diversify their portfolios and access non-traditional commercial sectors.
The £1.3 Billion Spillover Opportunity
For years, the games industry has operated within a self-imposed silo, focusing almost exclusively on selling products to players. Given the huge and constantly growing consumer market, that made perfect sense. More people playing means more games are played (well, more or less…) As long as the consumer market grew, game companies rarely had to look beyond their players, chosen genres and methodologies. It was business as usual.
But the core value of our sector is far greater than that enormous consumer bottom line. Across the UK, games technology and real-time 3D skills generate an estimated £1.3 billion (Ukie 2024) in ‘spillover’ GVA in fields like healthcare, film, education, space data, travel/tourism, advanced manufacturing, cultural heritage and more.
This is not a theoretical opportunity; it is a massive, underserved B2B and government/public market actively looking for the interactive expertise that game developers possess. From virtual-reality clinical training tools to digital twins for environmental planning, the systems we use to build and design games are the exact tools needed to solve real-world problems.
During my session, I will focus on the practical steps required to bridge the gap between these two worlds:
- Identifying Opportunities: How to pinpoint high-growth, non-consumer markets that are actively seeking real-time 3D and interactive design capabilities.
- Translating the Language: How to strip away game-development jargon and speak in a professional, mission-oriented vocabulary that builds trust with corporate and public-sector partners.
- Structuring Collaborations: How to pitch, contract, and deliver B2B projects that yield reliable, sustainable revenue without distracting from your core creative goals.
- Accessing Alternative Funding: How to position your studio’s technical skills to qualify for innovation grants, public funding, and research partnerships.
Taking the Scottish Strategy National
This presentation is the direct evolution of the work I have been doing with the Level Up Scotland Games Action Plan and our upcoming Project Pathfinder initiative. In Scotland, we have proven that the games industry is a vital national asset and a force multiplier for the wider economy. By taking this message to Brighton, my goal is to show the broader UK ecosystem how to break out of the consumer-only mindset.
We need to stop viewing our skills as locked inside a single entertainment vertical. The technical agility, systems thinking, and user-experience design found in our studios are valuable commodities. If we can learn to leverage them in other sectors, we can build more resilient, diversified businesses that are insulated from the turbulent shifts of the global retail market – and use games as a driver for the national innovation agenda.
Join Me in Brighton
Whether you are a solo developer trying to fund your passion project or a studio director looking to stabilise your monthly cash flow, this session is designed to provide you with an actionable process for business growth.
I look forward to connecting with friends, allies, and new partners in Brighton to discuss how we can collectively build a more integrated, creative-tech economy.
Session Details:
- Date: Wednesday 15 July 2026
- Time: 3:00pm – 3:45pm
- Location: Room 3, Hilton Brighton Metropole
- Track: Business
Find out more about the conference and book tickets: Develop: Brighton 2026