And the winner is...

Over 200 join us for Ukie's Members' Day in Brimingham

Industry comes together for Members' Day: Last Thursday the games industry came together for Ukie's Members' Day. In a packed Reparatory Theatre in centre of Birmingham, over 200 games professionals joined us for a day of insight, influence and networking. We hosted a series of workshops covering topics such as tackling the skills challenge, support women in the workplace, securing investment in games and what next for games regulation. We we're also delighted to be joined by two keynote speakers, the Mayor of West Midland, Andy Street and incoming Ukie CEO, Nick Poole.?

And the winner is: The same day in the evening the inaugural Ukie Video Games Awards took place.?The 2024 Ukie Video Games Awards celebrated the remarkable talent, dedication, and innovation within the UK video games industry. From stunning design to ground-breaking technology, winners and nominees showcased the best of British video games. On the night we announced winners to the 10 categories - you can see the full list of winners here - a huge congratulations to you all!?

Introducing the UK Games Industry Hall of Fame: Following the Awards, we were delighted to launch the very first UK Games Industry Hall of Fame - celebrating the people behind some of the UK's best games and IP.?Their unwavering dedication, bold vision, and relentless pursuit of excellence have not only shaped the course of our industry but have also left an indelible mark on the global video games community. On the night we inducted,?Peter Molyneux, 22 Cans, Jonathan Smith, TT Games, Charles Cecil & Noirin Carmody, Revolution and Sir Ian Livingstone to the UK Games Industry?Hall of Fame!

In the news

?? The Times:?It has been difficult to hear about recent job losses in the industry. Analysts predict this is more of a recalibration than any sign of a long-term malaise. We're clear the British video games industry still has plenty to offer. We spoke to the Times.?

???Gi Biz:?The Ukie Video Game Awards 2024 took place with Sad Owl Studios' Viewfinder taking home UK Game of the Year alongside best console game. Gi Biz rounds up all the winners from a glistening night.?

Stories from industry

?? Games & Interactive Salary And Satisfaction Report 2024 by Skillsearch:?Skillsearch's 10th annual Games & Interactive Salary & Satisfaction Survey reveals industry shifts, including the impact of the pandemic on remote work, technological advancements, and recent layoffs. Last year's focus on rising living costs and attitudes towards a four-day workweek continues, with added emphasis on how job security has become a priority due to redundancies across the industry. Complete it here.?

Campaign corner

?? Labour's?generation of creativity: This week the Labour Party announced that it would "unleash a generation of creativity’ to boost opportunity" as awards season shows state school kids risk being shut out of creative subjects. This means broadening the curriculum for state-school pupils and ensure that children don't miss out on subjects such as music, art, design, sport and drama. Ukie will be speaking at the?Labour Creatives Conference later this week alongside the members of the opposition, hoping to shape and influence future investment into our creative sector.?

? A missed opportunity:?Despite the UK’s video games industry facing some challenges over the past year, it remains one of the UK’s fastest growing sectors. The Spring Budget was the opportunity for the Chancellor to turn Government rhetoric into a real tangible plan for growth to support our thriving games industry, but he failed. Head of Policy and Public Affairs voiced industry's concerns on TalkTV making clear, without making our tax reliefs more competitive, signalling long term support for the UK games fund and bringing in a skills investment fund to help equip companies with the resources to develop the long-term skilled workforce needed to grow, we now risk falling behind international competitors in developing video games for a global audience.

???What does the Budget mean for you??Moore Kingston Smith LLP?are hosting a webinar to run through all the different announcement made by the Chancellor at Spring Budget, and how they will impact your business.?Join them on Wednesday 13th March at 10am for a full analyse of what the Budget means for your business. Book your place here.

One last thing... From this week, Ukie Download will landing in your inboxes every Monday, instead of the usual Thursday. To supplement our weekly Ukie Download newsletter, every fortnight on a Thursday we'll be publishing a new newsletter - Ukie Events and Training - which will provide a full overview of all the different events and training opportunities for our readers to take advantage of. These include our?bespoke courses designed specifically for games companies.?Look out for the new newsletter and should you have any questions, get in touch with us.