Playing for Keeps report published

UK Trade and Investment has published the full text of its Playing for Keeps report online.

The report, compiled by Game Investor Consulting for UKTI, the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Tiga, is in two parts.

The first part analyses the state of the games industry in the UK and compares it to other key regions in the world, including Australia, Canada, France and the US, while the second looks at the strength of IP produced in the UK.

Among some of the key conclusions, the report states that "The UK is a world-class hub of games development, is the fourth largest development territory in the world in terms of revenue generation [and] has good levels of development staff and games graduates compared to most competitor territories."

But the report goes on: "However, the UK is growing more slowly than most of its competitors in terms of revenue generation. It has the highest average salaries (a problem exacerbated by the weak dollar), provides relatively poor access to finance and features the most limited government support of all territories surveyed.

"It is further hampered by having a minimal indigenous publishing sector and by being under-represented in the booming online games market."

The report also looks at the track record of a number of UK-based IPs, including Tomb Raider, Grand Theft Auto and Championship/Football Manager, and concludes that: "The creation and ownership of original games IP has proven to be of vital importance to the growth of the UK games industry.

"In addition to the potential for exceptional profitability that it has delivered, successful games IP has historically increased the industryâs contribution to the economy, triggered the start-up of new UK companies, increased investment in innovation and attracted inward investment to the UK from global companies."

As well as the conclusions from the reports' authors, both parts also feature industry surveys on the subjects, with opinion canvassed from "15 of the UKâs most successful independent studios, publisher studios and publisher head offices."