MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
The UK’s creative industries contribute over £90 billion to the country’s economy, says a new report by the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
The DCMS report – whilst using provisional figures – intimates that the Gross Value Added (GVA) across our creative sectors rose twice as fast as the rest of the UK economy, rising by 7.6 per cent in 2016 to £91.8 billion in 2016 (thanks, GamesIndustry.biz).
The IT, software and computer services sector – into which the video game industry falls – saw its contributions boost by 11.4 per cent to £34.7 billion. According to GI.biz, between 2010 and 2016, our creative industries grew their contribution to the economy by 44.8 per cent.
"The creative industries are a fantastic British success story creating millions of jobs and business opportunities across the country," said UK Business Secretary, Greg Clark. "The sector currently contributes £92 billion a year to our economy and through our modern Industrial Strategy we are investing further to enable the sector to keep on growing and bringing the benefits to all corners of the United Kingdom."
"The UK’s creative industries have had a stellar growth performance in recent years, but to navigate the economic uncertainties ahead they will need rigorous evidence," added Hasan Bakhshi, director of the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre.
The DCMS also announced nine new Creative Industries clusters, charged with "bringing together a range of educational and commercial partners to tackle unique R&D challenges identified by a specific area of industry". One such cluster, called InGAME – which will "deliver new products, start-ups and training opportunities in the video game sector, and intensifying growth, diversification and cultural engagement" – will be led by Abertay University in Dundee. Another – called StoryFutures -is set to drive innovation in "creative, immersive storytelling connecting businesses, creating jobs and developing next-generation talent as the sector seeks to harness data-driven personalisation, smart devices and AI to reach audiences in new and complex ways".
