The Treasury gave £197m in tax breaks to game studios last year – let’s use some for skills | Opinion

gamesindustry.biz:

Let's be honest – business is booming. The largest industry in the entertainment sector continues to grow, and despite some post-pandemic turbulence and growing pains (read: abhorrent mass lay-offs) growth across games is very good indeed, and much higher than expected pre-pandemic.

The British games industry still faces innumerous challenges in the years ahead and that road is a long and uncertain one – though the biggest hurdle facing the sector today is unrelated to those of business as usual. It's a pervasive word on the tip of the tongue for many in games right now – skills.

When you ask any prominent voice in the British games industry what the biggest challenges currently facing the sector are, they will tell you the same things: widening skills shortages, ongoing recruitment challenges at mid-top level, and a lack of diverse talent and leadership. But you already know this. We're very good at talking about the challenges – but very rarely do we talk about the solutions. Why is that?

Never shy to solve its financial challenges, the industry did come together to develop and lobby for The Video Game Tax Relief scheme – hugely successful in its own right and a testament to the power of collective industry action. Launched in 2014 to stimulate the sector through easing development costs – and currently going through a major review – the scheme has grown year-on-year since its inception and gave £197 million in tax breaks to game studios deemed "culturally British" enough to pass the BFI's test last year.

Though initially launched to support the 95% of British games companies that are SMEs so they can make additional hires and take bigger risks, 88% of 2021-22's £197 million bill was given to organisations making