Retro is back on trend and passionate gamers are returning to the classics in 2017, proving ‘old school’ technology and gaming is truly in vogue.
New tax incentives over the past three years from the UK Government have helped investment in the sector*, and today there are over 2,000 gaming companies in the UK** and more than 10,000 professionals working in the industry***. Last year the UK gaming industry was worth a whopping £4.33bn.
Now, with eSports announced as a medal sport at the 2022 Asian Games and the industry as a whole hitting a huge £76 billion globally in revenues last year, the sector is constantly on the rise.
As a result, market demand for tech professionals in this sector is growing, matched by the appetite from the next generation keen to forge a career. In 2016 Dice surveyed 1,000 16-18 year old school leavers which asked about their interest in working within the tech sector. From the research, the most appealing sector for men was gaming (44%) with women voting it the second best sector at 35%, while 42% of men and 27% of women said that their interest in tech came from playing video games in their spare time.
“The role that gaming has played in making the tech industry attractive to young professionals is pivotal,” says Jamie Bowler, UK Marketing Director for Dice Europe. “The UK gaming industry has been foremost in developing the UK tech market and recent government tax breaks have helped the sector, so we are seeing new job opportunities as a result. The retro gaming microsite is a fun way to engage gamers, but also highlights the job opportunities this sector offers.”
http://retrogamesdice.co.uk
* https://tiga.org/news/games-tax-relief-strengthens-the-uk-video-games-industry
** https://gamesmap.uk/#/map
***https://creativeskillset.org/about_us/research/creative_skillset_employment_survey_2015