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Structure being put in place to grow sector with focus on contributions from Scottish Government, businesses, organisations and educational bodies
Plans are afoot to create a national strategy to support the gaming industry in Scotland and put it on par with other key digital growth sectors such as fintech, AI and cyber security.
Brian Baglow, founder of the Scottish Games Network, is calling for widespread industry input following a meeting at the end of last year in which Deputy First Minister Shona Robison and Innovation Minister Richard Lockhead are said to have expressed their support for a national video games strategy. Mr Baglow said it could be a major step forward for an industry that is widely misunderstood despite its reputation as the pioneering home of developers responsible for global megahits such as Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto.
“So the challenge for 2024 is going to be finding the resources, finding the means to build this,” he said.
“We don’t have such a thing anywhere else in the UK. There are very few places in the world that have a national strategy for games, [but the opportunity to build] it in a way that can bring together all the different elements and align the support and ensure that every part of government and public sector at least has a starting point to ask questions about video games, and get information and data about video games, is going to be there.
“It’s a little daunting but the Scottish Government have said they’re going to put their support behind it and, if we can make that happen, it will set us apart and it will give us a significant advantage moving forward into this digital future that we are facing.”
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Mr Baglow aims to have an initial structure in place by the second quarter of this year with details to be further fleshed out with contributions from an array of businesses and organisations.
He said: “My hope is at the very least we can get in front of the colleges, the universities, the businesses, the supporting organisations – public sector and otherwise – and say this is the opportunity: ‘Now, what do we need in order to increase the success of Scotland’s games sector?’
“We don’t want to just be doing GTA 6, we want to be making the next GTA, we want to make the next Minecraft, and maintain that IP.”
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Latest figures show there are in the region of 125 games studios in Scotland ranging from Rockstar North employing some 350 people in Edinburgh down to small independents scattered throughout the country, with the focal point in Dundee. Collectively they employ nearly 2,200 people on a full-time basis contributing an estimated £188.5 million in GVA to the country’s economy, but veterans of the Scottish industry say these figures could be much higher.
The global games market was valued at nearly $92 billion (£72.6bn) in 2022, with half of that accounted for by the mobile gaming market.
Originally set up as a social group on Yahoo in 2004, the Scottish Games Network has evolved over the years and currently operates primarily as a media platform covering “everything to do with the video games sector in Scotland”. Mr Baglow is also a key figure behind Scottish Games Week and the accompanying Scottish Games Awards.
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