A new report has revealed that the UK Games Fund (UKFG) is expected to generate £30 to £58 million ($40.6 to $78.5 million) in productivity benefits for the UK economy.
The Evaluation of the UK Games Fund report, published on July 18, is an independent evaluation commissioned by Alma Economics and evaluates the economics and impact of the non-profit organisation, which aims to support the UK’s early-stage games development.
Based on a cost-benefit analysis of funding, the report states that the current three-year iteration of the UKGF (established in 2015) could generate in the range of £30 million to £58 million ($40.6 to $78.5 million) in productivity benefits for the UK economy due to salary uplifts for supported video game developers.
According to the report, against the costs of delivery, this represents a benefit-cost ratio of between 3.8 and 7.3, with a central estimate of 4.8.
In addition, the evaluation found that the non-profit organisation increased the number of jobs in the UK’s video game industry.
Analysis found that the UKGF generated an additional 0.3 FTE employees after one year of funding, compared to those without UKGF support.
Each additional £10K ($13.5K) of funding correlates with an increase of 0.2 FTE and a 5%-point increase in generating reusable assets or code after one year (the latter of which increases based on the higher funding awards).
An economic evaluation estimates that the current (again, three-year) iteration of the UKGF will contribute roughly 430 new FTE jobs in the UK’s video game sector.
Back in January, the UKFG received a “record-breaking” £5.5 million ($7.4 million) funding award from the Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, during a Creative Industries event in Gateshead.
According to the UKGF, the award has allowed the organisation to be “funded for 2025/6 at a level that eclipses all previous annual grants.”
More recently, in June, the UK Government established a new UK Video Games Council consisting of industry representatives to create closer ties with Whitehall and drive growth in the UK’s creative industries. This is further bolstered by a new £30 million ($40.6 million) Games Growth package to support British game development.