40 per cent of lost UK game jobs relocate overseas
Canada the number one destination for developers who lost their jobs between 2009 and 2011
TIGA
TIGA is the trade association representing the UK’s games industry. The majority of our members are...
www.tiga.org
The "brain drain" of UK talent continues apace, with 41 per cent of all jobs lost in the UK game development sector between 2009 and 2011 relocated overseas.
According to a new survey of 75 per cent of the UK's games businesses - conducted by Games Investor Consulting - the largest share of those people moved to Canada, with USA the second most popular choice.
As part of the survey, former staff from Bizarre Creations, which was shuttered by Activision last year, suggested that as much as 35 per cent of its workforce left the UK, including the majority of its senior employees.
Overall, the UK games industry workforce declined by 10 per cent between 2008 and 2011. In that time, the game development sector's contribution to the UK's GDP has fallen by almost £250 million.
The full report, Making Games in the UK Today: A Census of the UK Developer and Digital Publishing Sector, will be published by TIGA later this month.
About the author
Matthew Handrahan
Matthew Handrahan joined GamesIndustry in 2011, bringing long-form feature-writing experience to the team as well as a deep understanding of the video game development business. He previously spent more than five years at award-winning magazine gamesTM.
Please register or log in to Gamesindustry International below to read and submit comments.