| Follow us on: |  |
 |
At Barclays, we’re playing our part to help the UK Games Industry grow and develop.
We see the positive impact that games can have in bringing communities together, inspiring creativity and building an environment to learn.
2020 Games Spending Soars
Exclusive data from Barclays Games and Esports released today reveals that the games sector has seen one of the largest increases in spending in 2020, with an increase of 43 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019, 11 per cent higher than the increase in entertainment streaming services and fourteen percent higher than general retail.
Find out more
Ukie Hub Crawl 2021
2021 will see us kick off the annual Ukie Hub Crawl. This is a hugely successful annual activity that normally sees Ukie, and an array of experts, visit up to 15 key locations around the UK to support games businesses on a specific topic.
In 2021, with the event going virtual gives us an amazing opportunity to deliver 12 different and unique events in the Hub Crawl, which will aim to cover the entire life cycle of a games business; from incorporation, growing a team, middleware, running the studio, pitching to funders, getting PR exposure – right through to eventually exiting a business.
What we're doing
Esports
As part of our work in supporting the games industry, we’re partnering with world-class UK esports professionals to help, develop and grow the sport.
Meet the industry
We have created a series of articles and videos working with our partners and ecosystem to help you grow your business.
Resource hub
Have you missed an event we ran? Check out our resource hub to find recordings of each of our events for playback at a later date.
Products and services
Whether it’s a short term cashflow challenge, or a tax credit loan aligned to assist with video game development, we’re on hand to help.
Events
Barclays have joined forces with our partners to pull together an impressive calendar of free, virtual events.
Pocket Gamer Connects Digital
Monday 19 Apr - Friday 23 Apr
Pocket Gamer Connects Digital is the perfect way to meet, learn from, and do business with some 1,500 games industry professionals, and over 250 speakers. You can expect talks that will educate and inspire you from monetisation and growth, global growth trends and strategies to thrive in the modern gaming market be it mobile, PC, console, blockchain or XR.
Ukie: Engagement opportunities for brands with video games
Tuesday 27 Apr, 16:30 - 18:00
As the video games industry continues to grow, a plethora of new market opportunities are appearing. These include new console platforms, esports, streaming services and the cloud to name but a few. Speakers at this event will share their insights into the opportunities for brands and partners to engage with this huge and ever growing audience.
Game Republic & Xbox
Thursday 29 Apr 16:00 - 16:45
This GR online event is a fantastic opportunity to hear from one of the industry’s biggest platform-holders and discover the best ways to promote and sell your games on Xbox consoles and PC. If you are not a Game Republic member, would like to attend the event and also find out more about how the network can help your business, get in touch.
Resource Hub
Miss an event we ran? You’ll find recordings of all our events on our resource hub.
Using Game Audio To Its Full Potential
April, 2021
Adrian Hon, Co-Founder and CEO of Six to Start, details how their hit audio-only game, Zombies, Run!, uses narrative hooks and audio design to keep runners on their path and hear how it all ends.
SpecialEffect
April, 2021
We spoke to the wonderful Becky from SpecialEffect to get the latest on their charity fundraisers like StrideQuest, and how they are adjusting to providing support and accessibility remotely.
The potential of large-scale simulation in the games industry
April, 2021
We meet Hadean and Improbable to discuss how the technology they are trying to define could impact the way we design and develop video games.
Kowloon Nights
April, 2021
The games publishing industry has been given a shake-up by Kowloon Night’s programme funding developers across the world. Advisor, Jenny Windom tells the story of how they are being the wind in the sails of developer studios, helping them succeed while letting them steer the ship.
Partnering with games industry experts from the grassroots up
We’re partnering with best-in-class industry bodies to bring new events, workshops and solutions. Supporting the UK games and esports industries to develop their skills and connect with like-minded professionals.
Take a look at some of our partners:
News
Games Innovation Challenge 2021
We have joined up with NSE (National Student Esports) to sponsor their first Games Innovation Challenge to students across the UK.
Barclays and the gaming industry: a multiplayer partnership
The UK gaming industry is valued at £5.7bn – and Barclays is a pioneer in this rapidly evolving sector. David Gowans, Head of Creative Technologies at Barclays Ventures, shares his insights into the bank’s approach to gaming and esports – and why every sector can benefit from its innovations.
Ukie Reveals UK Game of Show Finalists
Winner of the competition on 24 August will represent the UK at the first EuroPlay Contest.
Helping bring the games industry closer together with a sponsored Slack upgrade
With no way to meet in person over the last few months, we’ve been looking for ways to support the UK games industry and help bring it closer together.
Meet the Games and Esports Team
Dave Gowans
Head of Games and Esports
Jon Paterson
Partnership Lead
Elaine Moran
Strategy Lead
Matthew Colclough
Esports Lead
Connect
Whether you’re starting out in games and esports or looking to expand, we’re here to help. If you’d like to find out more about our exciting gaming and esports programme and upcoming events, we’d love to hear from you.
Share this page
