New British studios are choosing PC over mobile

More than half of all new developers in the UK are primarily focused on the PC, indicating a possible erosion of the dominance of mobile platforms.

A survey conducted by TIGA has showed that 52 per cent of British games companies started in 2014 are focused on the PC, versus 35 per cent on mobile.

Mobile is still the dominant platform overall, the focus of 48 per cent of all UK studios in 2014. However, that represents a 1 per cent drop from 2013, which isn't much in its own right, but it still represents the first signs of decline for mobile in four years. And PC is the instigator of that decline, with 37 per cent of all studios focused on the platform, up 3 per cent over 2013.

Console continued to decline in that context, with only 13 per cent of UK studios now primarily making games for Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo platforms. And that is part of an ongoing trend, sinking from 23 per cent in 2012 and 16 per cent in 2013.

However, it's important to remember that console studios account for 50 per cent of all development staff in the UK. It is entirely possible for a proportional shift to occur purely based on the influx of new, smaller studios for digital platforms.

"This reflects the UK's long and successful history as one of the leading console games development nations and the substantially higher average budgets and team sizes necessary for console games development," said Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, in a statement.

"The popularity of the major new consoles, launched by Sony and Microsoft in late 2013, represents a major opportunity for the UK games development industry, as does attracting global publishers to invest in British games development."