UK games industry needs unified framework to prove its value

Ukie says the UK games market reached £8.76 billion in consumer spending in 2025, yet the bigger battle is not over sales, but over proof. Ukie and OKRE have published a report arguing that the UK games industry is “fundamentally misunderstood” because policymakers, investors and the public still lack a shared way to measure what it does beyond the storefront.

The report, Building a Unified Framework for the UK Video Games Impacts, is built around a Theory of Change model that links games-sector activity to wider outcomes in the economy and society. PocketGamer.biz reported that the framework identifies 66 measurable impact chains leading to three core outcomes: GVA growth, employment and tax revenue. That matters in a sector where inconsistent definitions can make the industry look smaller, messier or less coordinated than it really is, weakening the case for funding, tax support and policy attention.

The scale problem shows up even inside Ukie’s own numbers. Its 2025 market data puts consumer spending at £8.76 billion, up 7.4% year on year, with £6.03 billion attributed to software and £2.17 billion to hardware. Ukie also says it represents more than 2,000 games businesses and about 73,000 jobs across the UK, while its Annual Review 2024 said the sector contributed over £6 billion to the economy and supported 76,000 jobs. The UK Games Map adds another layer, listing 2,555 active games businesses, service providers and games-related academic institutions, including 2,202 games companies, 213 service companies and 140 academic institutions.

That kind of spread is exactly why the new framework matters. ScreenUK says the map was launched with help from Nesta in 2016 and updated in 2023, and Ukie has described it as a real-time picture of the industry’s size, scale and spread. The new impact model builds on that effort, aiming to give researchers and decision-makers a more consistent way to compare the sector’s value, including spillovers into healthcare, education, film, music and fashion. A 2023 Ukie and FTI Consulting report had already argued that game engines, VR, AR, rendering software, controllers and haptics were benefiting healthcare, audiovisual media, manufacturing and real estate.

The timing is stark. TIGA’s 2026 skills report warned that programming shortages were still persistent and pressure on existing teams was growing, while its March report said UK games development was facing its most severe downturn on record, with employment falling at the fastest rate ever measured and startup activity at a 15-year low. Against that backdrop, Iain Dodgeon called research the games industry’s “secret weapon” for unlocking support, growth, innovation, policy backing, partnerships and investment. The point is simple: if the sector cannot count itself clearly, it becomes easier to overlook exactly when it most needs to be seen.