Territory report: data and interviews from the British PC games scene

09.02.2024 - 11:29 / pcgamesinsider.biz

At some point late in 2019, the UK very likely became the sixth largest games market in the world, and the second biggest in Europe. As first reported on our partner site PocketGamer.biz, that’s according to Newzoo predictions, which also expect that video game industry revenues in the nation would have reached $5.1 billion by last year’s close; a 10% year-on-year lift. 

PC gaming has – since the days when a ‘personal computer’ was a rather different device – been fundamentally important to the United Kingdom’s longstanding status as a major player on the global game industry stage. Its reputation for building creative and commercially triumphant games was forged in the home computing era of the late-1970s and early 1980s when the line that separated consumer and creator was somewhat blurred.

Currently, the UK plays home to a bounty of big names from the realm of triple-A gaming like Rockstar North, Traveller’s Tales, Codemasters, Sports Interactive, Rare, Ubisoft Reflections, Creative Assembly, Rebellion and Rocksteady, all of which have bolstered PC gaming’s global standing.

There’s equally a proactive and plentiful indie scene that has defined – and been defined by – the evolution of PC games. The UK equally excels when it comes to mid-sized studios like Bossa, and distinct publishing ‘labels’ such as Team17 and Curve.

Counting house

At the last check games trade body Ukie and innovation foundation Nesta noted 2285 game companies in the UK, alongside 154 service companies and 107 universities catering to educate future game makers. 628 of those games companies work on PC content, or around a quarter of the total.

All of that is founded in part on a robust ecosystem of technology and service providers, who are again born from the UK’s long heritage as a place where games are made.

Returning attention to the consumers playing games in the UK, Newzoo predicts the number of UK residents playing games will only grow, pushing revenues to $5.5 billion by 2022. 85% of UK players, meanwhile, enjoy PC and console games, and they are a little more likely to spend than mobile players, presenting a 62% player/payer ratio.

Those paying PC and console players, however, spend most on digital and DLC, with less than half of that group showing interest in boxed product. They may also have to adjust to the increasing presence of free-to-play in the PC and console space.

Saying the B-word

The elephant in the room regarding the potential of the UK’s game industry and market, of course, is political uncertainty around Brexit. The recent general election may have made the outcome and timing of Brexit easier to predict, but the impact remains a cause for much thought and patience. Equally, in the years since the 2016