Towards a UK video game strategy, 08/10/2026

October 8, 2026 - 12:12

The UK Video Games Council has reached its first anniversary, and its chair, Nick Button-Brown, is opening up about the challenges of establishing an industry-led advisory body while preparing a long-term growth plan for the sector.

The council, which connects twelve senior games industry leaders with government ministers and officials, published its annual report detailing its initial achievements. Button-Brown acknowledged the body faced early skepticism over how members were selected, how it represented the sector geographically, and how its role differed from established trade groups like Ukie and TIGA.

He said the first months involved building governance frameworks, creating a code of conduct, and setting expectations about what the council was actually for. "It wasn't a body set up to manage the games industry," he explained. "It's a lobbying group to talk to the government about economic growth."

The council's accomplishments so far include creating video game-specific Standard Industrial Classification codes to help track the sector's economic footprint, working with the British Business Bank on investment support, and pushing for expanded limits within the UK Games Fund.

However, some claimed wins have drawn scrutiny. Ministerial engagement events credited to the council were largely organized by other industry bodies, and a campaign to secure a higher Video Games Expenditure Credit rate for smaller projects did not succeed.

Looking ahead, the council is drafting a Games Growth Strategy covering six pillars: cultural championing, government representation, funding support, skills development, heritage preservation, international promotion, and research. The strategy may propose a dedicated arms-length industrial body for games, though Button-Brown admitted such a move faces long odds in the current fiscal climate.

He emphasized that the strategy would be shared with the industry for review before being formally adopted. "We do speak more with one voice," he said. "People will agree or disagree with parts of it, but at least recognize that this is what we're pushing for."