In the early hours of this morning it was announced that the referendum over whether the UK will leave the European Union ended with a narrow victory for the Leave campaign.
Following on from these events the value of the GBP dropped significantly, and industries up and down the country are evaluating what a Brexit will mean for them. The video game industry is no different.
The UK has a long and proud tradition of game development, and draws talent from around the world. We'll have to wait and see what, if any, impact today's vote will have, particularly on international recruitment, but with many studios coming out in favour of Remain during the election campaign, there's certainly a feeling amongst the industry that there could be serious longterm repercussions.
Another factor in this particular equation is Scotland, which only recently voted to remain in the Union, but during the referendum voted unanimously to stay in the EU. It's entirely plausible that the Scottish people will once again demand a vote on whether to remain a part of the United Kingdom, and if they leave, a number of notable game development studios will go with them.
Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of the UK industry trade body Ukie, issued the following statement:
Ukie is committed to ensuring the UK is the best place in the world to make and sell games and although this decision and the political uncertainty it brings will have an impact on our businesses it is important to remember that we are already a globally successful sector and a leading exporter in the digital economy. Ukie will continue to work hard with colleagues in government and other sectors to ensure we continue to have the best possible business environment for our sector, and we will be following developments closely and advising members as they unfold.
Another UK-based trade body, TIGA, has also outlined its hopes for the industry moving forward. The organisation called for continued support for the industry via investment, a favourable tax environment, IP protection, and access to development talent via simple and efficient immigration arrangements. CEO Richard Wilson said the following:
The UK video games industry is a high technology sector that provides high skilled employment for over 30,000 people, including approximately 11,000 development staff and which contributes £1.1 billion to UK GDP.
It is also export oriented, with at least 95 per cent of studios exporting. Following the referendum in favour of 'Brexit', it will be more vital than ever to strengthen (and avoid harming) those sectors where the UK has a comparative competitive advantage: for example, aerospace, defence, high-value manufacturing and engineering, high technology industries, higher education, low carbon technology and the creative industries, including the video games sector.
For the video games industry, it is particularly important that policy makers ensure games companies have access to sufficient finance, benefit from Video Games Tax Relief and R&D Tax Relief, have clear and stable IP rights and can access highly skilled people from outside of the UK. Any new points based migration system must not be onerous or complicated, otherwise the industry's growth could be held back.
It's impossible to see where these events will lead the UK video game industry, but one thing that's crystal clear is that right now we're living in uncertain times, not just in terms of what the future holds for our game developers, but for all industry and society in general.