THE East of England has emerged as one of the UK’s most resilient video games development regions, according to new research published by TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry.

The latest TIGA Making Games in the UK report shows that almost every UK video games development region experienced contraction between May 2024 and September 2025. Against this national backdrop, only three regions achieved growth in full-time equivalent (FTE) development employment: the North West (1.9 per cent), the East of England (1.4 per cent) and the North East (0.8 per cent).

The East of England now employs 1,535 FTE development staff across 116 companies, accounting for 6.4 per cent of the UK games development workforce. This represents an increase in headcount compared with 2024, consolidating the region’s position as a significant contributor to the national games industry.

In contrast, several of the UK’s largest and most established games clusters recorded substantial losses over the same period. London lost 571 FTE development roles, a 9.6 per cent decline, while the South East shed 387 roles (an 8.1 per cent decline). Yorkshire & Humber experienced a reduction of 178 FTE development staff, equivalent to a 12.1 per cent fall. The largest percentage declines in development employment were seen in Northern Ireland (25.2 per cent), the South West (24.5 per cent) and Wales (10.9 per cent).

The report also highlights a widespread fall in start-up activity across the UK games sector. Almost all regions saw fewer new games businesses, with London recording 40 fewer start-ups, the South East 21 fewer and the South West 14 fewer. The sharpest proportional declines in start-up activity occurred in the West Midlands (76 per cent), the South West (64 per cent) and Northern Ireland (60 per cent).

Despite this challenging environment, the East of England has continued to grow games development employment, reflecting the strength of its existing studios, technology base and talent pipeline.

The findings come from TIGA’s definitive report on the state of the UK video games industry, Making Games in the UK, which is based on an extensive survey of UK games businesses, with analysis by Games Investor Consulting.

Regional breakdown (2025 share of UK development workforce):

London – 22.5%
South East – 18.3%
North West – 13.3%
West Midlands – 10.0%
Scotland – 9.6%
North East – 6.7%
East of England – 6.4%
Yorkshire & Humber – 5.4%
East Midlands – 4.6%
South West – 2.2%
Wales – 0.6%
Northern Ireland – 0.5%
Dr Richard Wilson OBE, TIGA CEO, said: “The East of England’s growth in games development employment during a period of widespread contraction highlights the resilience and adaptability of the region’s studios. It demonstrates that strong regional ecosystems remain essential to the long-term success of the UK games industry.

“With more than six per cent of the UK’s games development workforce, the East of England continues to make an important contribution to the strength and diversity of the UK games sector. Meanwhile, the ambition of the region’s games sector going forward is clear, following the publication late last year of the report ‘Beyond Entertainment: Games Growth Plan For The East’ from Norwich University of the Arts and Connected Innovation.”