First Minister John Swinney has appointed Alyn Smith MSP as the Scottish Government’s new Minister for Innovation, Technology and Tertiary Education. This is a role which is central to the future of Scotland’s games ecosystem and the adoption of the national Games Action Plan.
Smith succeeds Ben Macpherson MSP, who stepped down from the ministerial role last week. A former Member of the European Parliament and Westminster MP who was elected to Holyrood earlier this year, Smith brings extensive parliamentary and international policy experience to a portfolio central to Scotland’s knowledge economy.
Key Responsibilities and Strategic Priorities
The ministerial remit spans higher and further education, science, research, digital technology, and national innovation strategy. Smith takes on the portfolio at a pivotal moment, with the Scottish Government recently reaffirming data and digital technologies alongside advanced manufacturing as core national innovation priorities within its recently-announced Programme for Government (post incoming on that topic).
Key areas under the ministerial brief include:
- Leading the tertiary education and post-school agenda, encompassing university research funding, college sustainability, and modern apprenticeships (which aligns with SGN’s Hello World! events).
- Strengthening research-to-business commercialisation links between academic institutions and high-growth digital sectors (which aligns with our More Than Games programme).
- Overseeing national innovation policy, tech startup incubation, and regional economic cluster development (aligns perfectly with the launch of Scotland’s Games Action Plan).
A Crucial Moment for Scotland’s Games Sector
For Scotland’s interactive media and game development community, this ministerial brief sits at the intersection of several critical operational pipelines.
With world-leading games programmes across Scottish universities and colleges feeding talent directly into studios, the portfolio directly impacts graduate retention, high-level technical skills development, and research partnerships. Furthermore, with the sector increasingly demonstrating how real-time 3D, simulation, and interactive technologies drive value across the wider digital economy, the ministerial focus on technology transfer and innovation infrastructure will be central to building sustainable domestic capacity.
An Urgent Call to Action: The Blueprint is Waiting
The appointment comes on the heels of a major investigation published by Holyrood magazine: State of play: The challenges facing Scotland’s gaming industry, which laid bare the growing frustration across Scotland’s developer community. Despite delivering over £150,000 in Gross Value Added (GVA) per head – more than double the national average – and competing internationally on creativity, Scottish studios face severe structural bottlenecks in early-stage investment, talent retention, and fragmented public policy support. While nations like Finland turn a similar population base into a £2bn video games powerhouse, Scotland’s output hovers around £200m due to a persistent lack of joined-up strategy.
The Scottish Games Network would like to issue an invitation to both Minister Alyn Smith and Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport Stephen Flynn: Following the incredible cross-party support at the parliamentary debate in February, we would be happy to meet with ministers to review and discuss the adoption of the National Games Action Plan.
Published in January 2026, the Level Up Scotland action plan provides a comprehensive, de-risked blueprint to transform Scotland’s games sector into a £1 billion economic supercluster by 2030.
- No New Legislation Required: The plan is designed entirely around existing devolved powers and existing enterprise agencies – including Techscaler, Scottish Enterprise, and Creative Scotland.
- Decisive Recommendations: It outlines immediate, practical interventions, including the appointment of an interim Chief Games Officer, a dedicated pilot co-investment fund to unlock private capital, and the creation of a National Games Innovation Centre.
- Breaking the Policy Deadlock: Games technology is the golden thread running through Scotland’s wider tech, data, and advanced manufacturing ambitions. It can no longer be treated as a policy afterthought or bounced between cultural and economic briefs.
With ministerial responsibilities now settled, the Scottish Games Network urges Stephen Flynn and Alyn Smith to break the inertia, engage directly with the sector, and back the action plan to secure Scotland’s place as a global leader in the interactive digital economy.
Further details regarding the ministerial responsibilities can be tracked directly via the official Scottish Government portal.