Local MP Justin Tomlinson joined an event in Parliament to celebrate Westminster Games Industry Day, showing his support for the thriving UK Games Industry which continues to contribute greatly to the UK economy.
The UK is estimated to be the 6th largest video game market in 2015 in terms of consumer revenues, after China (ranked 1st for the 1st time), US, Japan, South Korea and Germany. The UK is forecast to retain its 6th place by 2018. The UK games industry was worth over £3.9bn in consumer spend in 2014, up 10% from 2013.
Recent global UK successes include:
- Grand Theft Auto V which is the most successful worldwide entertainment product of all time including movies (grossing $1bn worldwide in just 3 days). It is also since 2014 the Number 1 top selling game of all time in the UK both in terms of units (5m) and value (£208m). (GfK Chart-Track)
- Batman: Arkham City developed by Rocksteady Studios
- Moshi Monsters which has over 60 million registered users
Justin is the former Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Video Games and worked closely with the industry to ensure the delivery of a tax relief scheme for companies which has seen trade boosted and the number of people employed in the sector grow.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “I along with millions of others in the UK thoroughly enjoy playing video games. We should be incredibly proud of this rapidly expanding industry in which the UK is leading the way. It is also important to remember and support the industry which creates thousands of jobs across a variety of different sectors.”
