UK Government backs gaming industry with £4m investment

Astonishing boosts to the gaming sector in the UK will afford small firms more opportunities to turn their projects and ideas into reality, as the Conservative government plans to increase jobs throughout the sector.

Gaming is quickly becoming one of the most lucrative sectors in the world as advances in technology have made games more accessible to the mainstream market.

The success of console, PC and more recently mobile gaming has not went unnoticed, it would seem.

Government spending will see £4m pumped into the industry, providing grants of up to £25,000 for small businesses, in an attempt to not only improve the work that they do but to increase jobs too.

According to the BBC, the video games industry currently employs approximately 19,000 people and generates around £4.5m a day across the UK.

It has been argued that the Conservatives have not done enough in terms of preparing youngsters for the jobs of the future, however their seemingly keen interest in the gaming industry could prove quite productive.

Plans to increase grants for small sized companies were first announced in July's budget, with the payments being decided in London and Dundee across the next four years.

Commenting on the news, Ed Vaizey, minister for culture and the digital economy, said: "Britain's video games punch well above their weight internationally and we need to build on this and invest in the strength of our creativity.

"This fund will give small businesses, start-ups and individuals the support they need to better attract private investment and go on to create the blockbusters of tomorrow."

Their will also be an opportunity for new projects to receive around £50,000 grants, presumably to allow start-ups to sail past the prototype stages, although grants of this size could prove hard to come by.

Not all announcements during the July budget were positive, though. The chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, revealed government austerity cuts in welfare, student grants and other public spending areas, as the party apparently looks to spend tax payers money in other more "productive" areas, like gaming…

[BBC]