Who we work with
UKIE represents the UK’s wider interactive entertainment industry. We work with a range of stakeholders including industry representatives; policymakers; consumers; the media and third sector organisations.
Industry
The UK’s videogames and interactive entertainment sector is the jewel in the crown of the UK’s world leading creative industries.
Our members are creating more videogames than ever before, on an ever growing range of games consoles, PCs, mobile phones, mobile devices and internet enabled TVs. And these games are being played by an ever-growing audience; with one in three voters in the UK now considering themselves gamers, interactive entertainment is increasingly part of everyone’s everyday lives.
The interactive entertainment industry is a highly skilled growth industry of the future. The UK games sector is projected to grow a further 7.5% between 2009 and 2012. The UK is home to 48 of the world’s top 100 development studios and has the biggest developer base in Europe. The games development and publishing sectors alone account for over 7,000 jobs, with a further 6,900 working in VFX, 27,500 specialising in online content, and 800 people in mobile content. And of course there are nearly 8,000 games retailers in the UK.
The UK video games sector is internationally renowned, and is one of the top 5 global games producers.
Our membership is drawn from a broad base of industry players, and we have close links with international industry bodies sunch as ISFE and ESA.
We also work closely with key partners like the CBI to further promote the interests of the videogames and interactive industry and to achieve common goals.
Parliamentarians
UK IE is committed to ensuring that policy makers are well informed, regularly updated, and have access to information about the interactive entertainment industry in the UK.
This includes:
- Information and statistics about the financial and economic performance of the industry, the strength of the industry in the UK (including employment), and the UK’s position and performance in the global market place.
- Advice on how policy makers can best support the future growth of the industry and maintain long-term success; such as financial support and promotion of STEM subjects; and raising awareness of issues affecting it such as Intellectual Property theft
- Insights into the latest technological advancements the industry has made, in particular those of British based companies, and their contribution and ability to influence other areas of society such as workplace training and education; and health and wellbeing
- Provide guidance on matters that require policy maker involvement for the benefit of the UK populace such as age classification and infrastructure (e.g. broadband service)
We have strong working relationships with policymakers across a number of government departments, including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
We are also members of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, working with government to promote safe and responsible online gaming.
Consumers
We are committed to providing consumers with information, guidance and advice on all forms of interactive entertainment, which will aid and educate them about the different aspects of videogames, casual and social gaming and how to get involved in the industry.
This includes:
- Guidance on safe and sensible gaming, including age ratings and parental controls.
- Guidance on how gaming can be part of a balanced lifestyle, how to play safely and the complimentary educational and learning benefits gaming can have
- Helping consumers report online and offline abuses of equipment and games
- A resource for consumers to learn more about careers and the necessary qualifications to pursue employment in the industry