The government should be celebrating the success of the British video games industry.  With the British market valued at £4.2bn in 2016, making it the biggest market in the entire creative sector, the video games industry achieves the double whammy of being both lucrative and a shining light for other growth sectors.

The games industry is spread across the country, with over a dozen thriving clusters popping up in places like Bristol, Liverpool and Dundee.  The success of the industry has drawn in the biggest names from gaming, with EA, Sony, Bethesda and Nintendo just some of the companies setting up shop in London. It’s companies also think globally, with British games selling brilliantly across the world.

However, the success story is being ignored government circles because of an uncomfortable truth: it’s dead set against Brexit.

In a survey carried out prior to the referendum, 80.6% of businesses came out in favour of remain compared to just 3.2% for leave.  And in a new report commissioned by UKIE, which drew on survey responses and research conducted in nationwide roundtables (one of which I attended), the industry has revealed that it favours the softest exit possible.

In particular, games businesses have three concerns that show how exposed they will be if the UK crashes out of Europe.
First, a reduction in EU migration will leave businesses with a skills shortage. 57% of British games companies hire EU talent to plug skills gaps, but 38% of small businesses and 60% of businesses with over 50 employees are reporting hiring problems. This slows growth and, if a hard visa regime is introduced, increase admin costs significantly.
Second, tariff free access to the EU market is essential for games businesses. Although it is increasingly common that games are sold digitally – where non-tariff barriers become the main hurdle – sales of consoles, PCs and boxed games require free movement of goods. An imposition of tariffs on those will further punish games businesses.
Third and finally, data flows are a huge concern for British games businesses. Failure to agree data equivalency between Britain and the EU means games businesses will be forced to look at separating out British and European players in games. This would likely come, once again, at significant cost in terms of time an money.

Of course, the report aims to strike a positive note. It lists potential opportunities, such as greater access to state funding, after leaving the EU and it adopts an optimistic tone.

But truthfully, the industry is set to suffer after Brexit in spite of its positivity because the government doesn’t seem to care about it.

As I pointed out when the Brexit white paper was published, it was the only creative industry that the government didn’t mention by name in the text. And while the government spends time carving out sweet heart deals with certain sectors, the latest report indicates that 40% of games businesses are exploring relocation out of the UK post Brexit.

This is desperately sad, especially considering the fact the industry creates jobs across the country. But it needn’t be the end of things if the Liberal Democrats can take up the cause.

The games industry is full of businesses and individuals who believe in open markets, bringing communities together and tolerance. If the party can help champion the industry’s cause during the battle over Brexit, then it can surely do good things for both the sector and the country at large in the long term.

* George Osborn is in the video games industry and joined the Liberal Democrats after the EU Referendum.