Games makers can bid for funding pot confirmed in £30m support package

Video game developers are being urged to apply for a share of a £28.5 million pot of funding, as part of announcements that cement the economic importance of the UK games industry.

The package represents a doubling in funding for the UK Games Fund as the UK government puts the Creative Industries Sector Plan into action, with targeted investments expected to increase economic growth and create jobs.

Global gaming hits such as Grand Theft Auto, Fable, PowerWash Simulator and No Man’s Sky originated in the UK, and there are more than 2,000 gaming companies across the UK, employing thousands of people.

Demand for gaming content is buoyant. Ukie, the trade body for the UK’s video games and interactive entertainment industry, estimates that UK consumers spent £8.76 billion on video games in 2025, a 7.4 per cent increase on the previous year.

The Ukie figures were released at the London Games Festival, the UK’s premier week-long showcase of video games and interactive entertainment. The Festival has received a three-year commitment of £1.5m new government funding to help it continue to attract international investment in UK talent.

Grants from the new UK Games Fund will be split into three categories:

• An Entry Track, with grants of up to £20,000 available to newly formed companies with limited track records but strong potential for growth.
• An Emergent Track, with grants of up to £100,000 for prototyping new games.
• An Expansion Track, with grants of up to £250,000 - the largest ever provided by the Fund - available to take games forward to completion and enable studios to scale up.

UK Games Talent and Finance (UKGTF) has run the UK Games Fund since 2015 when it was launched independently as a non-profit Community Interest Company. To date, the Fund has supported more than 400 games from SMEs across the length and breadth of the UK. The positive impact of the Fund across the sector was highlighted as part of a government commissioned independent economic evaluation.

The new fund is on top of significantly increased support for the sector from the British Business Bank and the UKRI research body and generous games tax relief.

In a further move, £20 million of funding has been provided by the government to Tay Cities Region to back local talent in advancing creative technologies like computer games and virtual reality to drive new products and grow the economy.

The government has also commissioned the Chartered Trading Standard Institute to develop new guidance to help gamers better understand their consumer rights when purchasing their favourite games. The guidance clarifies business obligations and consumer rights under the law when selling and purchasing digital content, including video games. A CTSI-led consultation will launch in the coming months to inform this guidance.

As part of the government’s wider plans to grow the gaming sector, it will engage with the newly-established UK Esports Advisory Panel, a Ukie-led forum between government and the esports sector which will ensure the UK remains a world leader in this industry.

More on the government's gaming announcement.