40% of UK's Game Industry Consider Relocation After Brexit

It would be a real shame if our games industry does shrink as a result of this, we have some amazingly talented developers here.

yeah right...just like half of hollywood wanted to move to canada 😂

Nonsense, the 'data' gathered by speaking to these companies that most likely are mainly run by whiney liberal hipsters (nothing wrong with that) i.e. The Chinese Room, well, it's just hot air. The weak pound is good for business.

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi and it's absolutely terrible for imports. Which the UK mostly does.

And what does "whiney liberal hipsters" got to do with it? Other than being a completely throwaway insult to anyone who doesn't like nationalist ideology.

Brexit and the associated costs do nothing but help the already rich. Costa for technology have already risen due to brexit. See pcs, apple products, mobiles etc.

Exporting duties for developers are going to rise due to increasing export duties.

The general UK public is going to feel the cost due to importing most of its goods by a weaker pound. Immigration is needed by every country so it's not even going to stop that. A completely pointless exercise that's going to cost an awful amount of money and jobs.

But it's OK "we've got our country back" fml.

@solocapers nothing to do with imports. Liberal whiney hipsters is relevant because they're all talk, nobody is leaving. If anything they'll just be outsourcing leg work to China which will become the norm. Why you are also waffling on about nationalism I have no idea.

The truth is, we don't really know exactly what's going to happen. People tend to think in extremes i.e. the worst and it won't be that, but nevertheless there's very little to feel optimistic about, objectively speaking. And we might not be speaking of 'UK' for much longer on top of all that. Don't get me wrong, I am super negative about the whole thing, I am a foreigner living in the UK, no British passport (yet?), so who knows what will happen to me. Everybody says that rights will be protected, but for how long? All it would take is a bad government implementing bad policies to drive everyone away, in this sense nobody will ever feel safe. EU is a safer bet and if I was running a company I would start making plans to move. There's nothing worse in running a business than political and economical uncertainty.

In my taxi I'd have people saying "it's all that red tape innit " "we need to get our country back etc" . Now Vauxhalls near me in Ellesmere Port might relocate to Europe . I voted remain like the majority did on Merseyside and I'm not a remoaner and feel the country made its own bed now so we've got to make the best of it I genuinely hope it all works out in the end .

It's a shame, and I was completely against brexit, but at the same time a lot of talk is about strengthening and rebuilding British industry. Now, that's easier said than done, and I wouldn't trust the current government to run a bath, but if it works, it could be great in the long run. It's easy to take sides and whinge (speaking as a whiny liberal hipster of course), but it's harder to actually think of ways to capitalise and improve.
I don't think that Brexit will mean a complete STOP to any migrant workers (Where would the NHS be for a start?), so I do feel that talent will still be welcome in the UK, but it will mean our home grown devs may be given more tax breaks, funding etc. After all, the games industry is one of the biggest on the planet.

What I'm saying is- nobody knows how this will pan out - so just hope for the best.

The EU hate ik strong everywhere because people believe it all will be better when they leave the union. Its the same here in the Netherlands, personally i believe if we stay together its better for everyone. And guess what people refugees will still be coming.

@finalstan I do think things like NISA and IFFY will relocate dont feel like paying the max with the £ and then still have to pay importtaxes to.

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi Do you just like waffling soundbites from 4chan or infowars? The moment someone comes out with "Liberal whiney hipsters" you know you cant really have a discussion. Do you know what liberalism is? Do you personally like Women, Blacks and Homosexuals and everyone having equal rights? Because if not then you really have some issues.

Actually scrap that.. Had a look at your profile. Your little red-pill echo-chamber forum that you advertise on your profile..Just had a quick look at it out of curiosity. Your just a pathetic, socially ackward impotent little man, arent you? Some highlights on that forum include "my brothers wife is hanging out with gays and I cant get them to split up"

Disgusting, cretinous views from pathetic little men and thats what you choose to advertise on your Push Square profile. Wow!

Thats where your use of liberals as a derogatory statement has came from hasnt it? Big macho man website full of pent up rage and unused testosterone. Using the word 'liberal' as a derogatory term is laughable makes you look insular and well.. frankly dumb.

Anyway, back to brexit. A weaker pound means imports cost MORE. The UK is a net IMPORTER. Manufacturers who purchase metals and technology from outside countries to make goods now already have a higher bill. Ergo.. jobs will move away from the UK. That is not good for the UK whatever way you look at it.

What do you fail to understand about that?

@solocapers what does any of that have to do with software studios?

@Flaming_Kaiser - very true and I think a lot of people don't realise how widespread the negativity for the EU is across Europe. If it wasn't for the Eurozone I'm sure the UK wouldn't be the only country leaving.

From a UK perspective, most people generally love Europe (except for maybe Russia), and most things about it but absolutely despise the EU. The idea of the EU is great but it's been badly implemented.

@solocapers sorry, now understand. Guerilla Cambridge was closed because of the rising costs of wheat.

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi "what does any of that have to do with software studios?"

When games companies from the UK buy technology to make games. That costs more due to the weaker pound.

When companies from the UK sell games worldwide that also costs more due to higher rate tariffs from leaving the free trade from EU zone. Selling games from the UK to other countries in the EU is now going to cost more.. much more.

Leaving the EU also brings high uncertainty looking in to the future as the UK companies have no idea what trade deals are going to be make with the rest of the world as these will all be ripped up with britain leaves the EU and the already agreed trade deals with the bargaining power the EU as a whole brings.

Its not just about the price of importing bananas from another country. You are either being completely ignorant to the matter or on a wind up.

But the pound will not be always weaker, thats like saying it'll always rain. The only reason the pound is weaker now is due to uncertainty, the UK was never really part of the EU anyway.

@MinerWilly That is a huge worry for the port and Wirral, that's 2000 employees and 10,000 people affected in the supply chain. Absolute madness for anyone in this area to vote leave. But unbelievably some did.

I understand other areas around the country affected by immigration but the big European employers are simply upping sticks and moving. Including our game developers

Damn Barker (@get2sammyb) I want to go crazy in the comments! Why won't you allow it!?

@banacheck Your correct.. no one has a crystal ball. However near term (the next 5 or so years) companies wont want to take the risk and uncertainty that comes along with such a huge move and some will move away costing jobs.

The UK is very much a part of the EU. As a founding member its intertwined with EU law and customs tarrifs.

The only thing the UK IS NOT a part of is within the EU is the controversial Schengen Zone. This allows passport free movement between EU countries. Something the leads of the Brexit movement were campaigning about (free movement of people to the UK) when it didnt actually exist in the first place.

Oh.. and also the UK obviously didnt take on the Euro. While everyone else was required to do.

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi see my edited posts above.

We are not out...........yet
Ireland voted to leave then (to keep it short)the remainers went all out in a 2nd referendum concentrating on the women vote saying men were stupid they then voted remain.
For Decades the United Kingdom of Great Britain wanted a Referendum on The European Union issue it gathered momentum when the Last Labour Government created more jobs and we were told we the people turned our nose up to low wages and no workers rights but it turned out people from abroad would. The Country got stretched and even effected the National Health Service which is more sacred than the holy Grail,there are rumours its embedded in the Magna Carta.
If anything went wrong in this Country the Answer would be "it's the E.U. innit"
I want out of the European Union because I would rather Parliament to make the decisions for our Country not a Union in Brussels.
Tax breaks in other Countrys are there for a reason Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich owner of Chelsea Football Club is here for more reasons than a passion of footie his money amassed by ..........(maybe another day) His assets are safe here.
Moving out to avoid paying more Taxes is not the best solution.
Outside of the United Kingdom of Great Britain is not safe why do you think they risk their lives every single day to get here is France not safe Germany, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands.

@solocapers I think you may have the wrong idea about Adebisi. He's nothing like the alt-right b/tard Brigade

@kyleforrester87 anytime comrade

@THRILLHOU Maybe I do but why on earth is he advertising that forum/website on his push square page? Have a look at the threads on it and have a good read of the general comments. Its nothing but a website full of disgusting old fashioned views towards Women, Gays and Muslims.

Actually have a read of the forum.. Why else would you advertise that unless you believed in those views generally contained within.

I still can't believe this was a public vote, yet the public had zero idea on the consequences of their vote.

While this isn't a good thing, I'd really question whether this is down to brexit, or it is just being used as a scape goat. The article mirrors my first thoughts, the UK game industry was in a bad state long before the vote and we've seen many big companies close or leave. Not having tax breaks is a far bigger reason we see this behaviour than anything else political.

@Dodoo We live in a democracy, calling for the people to not be given a vote on a big issue that has been in the public's eye for years and was part of the party in power's election campaign seems somewhat anti-democratic to me.

A Brexit vote was always going to hit Britain hard - whether it can recover to the same level we had before or not, time will tell. Its true that the Games industry was under-pressure here before the vote as we saw a number of studios close but now its much harder to recruit EU talent. Look at Guerrilla in Amsterdam who has recruited from outside Holland to make Horizon. Several people from Poland fr example who worked for CD Projekt Red because they were specialists in crafting meaningful Side Quests.

Its not just the crafting of games either, but all the electronics required to play them are made outside the UK. Whether that's the console, the peripherals or the TV they are connected to. Big multi-national companies that have bases in Britain could opt to move the team or projects to other areas.

I know that the uncertainty of the future is not helping but when Brexit does happen, it's not suddenly going to recover immediately and could take years and some sectors could never recover. Gaming at least could stand a chance if a studio crafts a 'special' game that goes on to be a massive hit.

I have tried to keep 'politics' out of it and my personal feelings on the matter so will leave it there...

@Dichotomy I didn't say democracy is a bad idea. My point was allowing people to vote when they have no idea what the outcome of their vote entails was a bad idea.

@solocapers software studios aren't importers, UK prices for Tech are extremely similar to that in the EU, makes zero business sense to guess the future and relocate now to the turbulent EU zone.

@Dodoo Can you honestly say how your vote will turn out when you vote for a party? You can't, you can only hope that the reasons you voted for a given party are addressed and they don't screw you over with other changes. The fact is the brexit vote is a direct consequence of voting for Conservatives so, by cause and effect, using that logic you should not be allowed to vote a party into power.

The truth is that no one can accurately predict what something like brexit will do, not us, not the people in power, but likewise no one can't predict whether it will end up being better or worse than voting remain. If you've ever studied chaos theory to even a basic level you'll know that the smallest change in a system can hugely affect its direction and the more moving parts the harder it becomes to predict long term impact. Whilst we might like to think we, or our leaders, are in someway in control, the truth is any decision, no matter how small, can have a huge impact on our economy, law or pretty much any other aspect of our lives. The only reason people single out brexit as a vote we shouldn't have had is because they were in the remain camp.

Liberal chappie here. To be honest, the same is true of any industry. I have no idea what the cost of Brexit will be either short term or long term. The issue is pretty simple though - no one knows what is going to happen and uncertainty affects business decisions. If you have to invest money or resources, say in game development, are you going to do it is somewhere where you know the score in terms of tariffs, laws and workforce. You aren't going to invest in something you see as a risk unless you really have no choice.

That is the current Brexit issue whether you are for and against.

@solocapers honest answer? I don't know. I will say that I've played a shedload of destiny with the guy, and not once have we had any issues with political beliefs. That's with me regularly admonishing a good mate of mine (who isn't on here) for his sometimes borderline hateful statements.

@Dichotomy True.

Yes I have studied chaos theory/butterfly effects (Until Dawn is a good videogame example if you've not played it!) and your point about "using that logic you should not be allowed to vote a party into power" is solid, however I think a bit flawed.

Reason being is when we vote a party into power they give us their mandate of what they will bring to the table (except of course they usually just sugarcoat it and end up doing a 180 if they get to power), however like you said yourself, with the Brexit vote none of the voters had any idea among the scaremongering what was true and what would/wouldn't happen.

In my opinion such an important decision should have been made after all facts were made clear from years of serious think tank research etc, not whimsical political PR campaigns with Borris driving propaganda busses around Westminster...

I blame Brexit for everything these days, from the weather to something selling out it's all Brexit fault.

@Dodoo We will never be given all the facts, parties attract voters through sugar coating everything, as putting forward the negatives is sure to see them lose popularity. Even if we were told everything, I doubt many people would even bother to take notice given the general apathy of the public when it comes to anything 'boring'. We live in a culture where the tabloid media rules and it seems to be where the average person gets their political ideologies from.

The point still stands that the Conservatives were voted in on the back of offering a vote on the EU. Even if the Cons didn't think it would go that way, anyone at this point who didn't want to leave the EU should have been focusing their attention on that part of their campaign and highlighting the problems (to be fair Labour did, but Miliband never had the strength of character to get the point across). For me, democratically the vote was the right thing to do based on this. I would, however, say that it was somewhat disgusting that Cameron was so sure remain wouldn't lose the vote that he had no plan in place for if it did happen and, given that the pre-vote polls were so close, it showed him as the arrogant man he is. Still not as bad as Blair though

Oh, and Until Dawn was fun, but it is not chaos theory, as much as they'd like it to be, it is just a game with branching narrative.

Can we just not cover brexit stuff?

All are welcome in Scotland. 🤗

Dammit how did I miss this hot topic of conversation!! Damn Alienation had me zoned in. Shame if they leave but we WILL survive, I voted for Brexit with the majority of the rest of the country and I still stand by that vote, why do you think they won't give people in Germany and France a referendum? Because the majority of the people there I believe want out of Europe as well but the heirachy obviously doesn't want that, so much for government's being there to act for the people lol I was brought up under Thatcher, nothing can be worse than that

@Tasuki Well dang I don't want to tell people what they can write but this is about video games in a secondary fashion at best.

@MarvinTheMartian I agree some things are terrible in the EU. I think in the end everyone profits if we stay in the union together we are strong thats how i see it.

@xMEADx Can you tell me why you voted for leaving the EU? In the Netherlands you have a lot of idiots who want to leave but cant come up with a single good reason. Except the foreigners or everything bad is the fault of the EU and we want back our own currency. Why we would want that in the Netherlands is beyond me because are big in export and it does not sound usefull at all. And to be fair England always had the good deals in Europe with everything.

@Flaming_Kaiser We wouldn't be paying 6 billion £'s a year for the pleasure of being in the EU for starter's. We wouldn't be forced to follow stupid rule's like giving prisoner's the right to vote, the list is endless as i'm sure the list of reason's to remain is endless as well but there's a couple for ya.

Rofl I bet all the prisoner's voted for Brexit as well

(Yet the public had zero idea on the consequences of their vote.)

What a load of crap, explain these consequences in detail. You cannot because no one knows what that are or if there is going to be any, I mean real consequences that is.