United Kingdom game industry trade body UKIE has published a paper this week that outlines how it believes Brexit decision-makers could orchestrate the UK's impending exit from the European Union in a way that doesn't harm the UK's game industry.
It's interesting because it sheds light on what some of its members (incluing the UK divisions of companies like Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and Activision Blizzard) value most about the UK game industry. The paper draws on conversations among UKIE policy advocates and board members, as well as a small survey (83 participants) of UKIE members.
Based on those efforts, UKIE reports that access to high-skilled talent (think: software engineers) "is the number one pre-and post-referendum concern for Ukie members with 70 percent of games firms saying access to talent is 'critically' important to the industry."
This is well in line with concerns voiced by UK game devs to Gamasutra back in June, as well as with fellow UK trade body TIGA's call last month for the UK government to safeguard EU citizens working in the UK game industry.
Other important concerns, in UKIE's view, include ensuring UK game companies have access to markets in the EU, maintaining video game tax breaks in the region and revamping public funding initiatives for game makers in order to make up for (presumably soon-to-be) lost opportunities for UK devs to get money via EU public funding ventures.
The full report, which includes ten guidelines for the future of the UK game industry and more data culled from UKIE members, can be read over on the UKIE website.
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2016