UK Games Fund nets extra £5 million to offer more support to developers

The UK government has allocated an additional £5 million to the UK Games Fund, allowing it to provide more support to game companies in the region.

The government said the extra cash was handed out as part of a wider plan to grow the UK economy and boost creative industries.

It's hoped the additional funding will create more jobs and accelerate plans to help those pursuing creative careers flourish.

"The imagination and ingenuity of British designers, producers, content creators, writers and artists are spearheading growth right across our economy," said UK culture secretary, Lucy Frazer.

"The government is backing our creatives to maximise the potential of the creative industries. This Sector Vision is about driving innovation, attracting investment and building on the clusters of creativity across the country. And from first days at school to last days of work, we will nurture the skills needed to build a larger creative workforce to harness the talent needed for continued success."

UK Games Fund wants "greater scale" of support

The UK Games Fund works to develop talent by awarding grants to young developers and early-stage studios to help them turn concepts into working prototypes that can be showcased to investors.

The extra cash means the fund will now have £13.4 million to hand out over the next two years, and the organization said it will focus on supporting more mature start-ups as they grow their businesses to bring even more private investment into the video game industry.

"We expect our new funding to launch later this year, allowing us to support early-stage projects at a greater scale. We’ll be seeking opportunities where our funding can unlock additional resources in parallel and drive new game IPs forward," said UK Games Fund boss Paul Durrant.

"It’s likely we’ll be supporting companies both within our existing community and also those where our present grant size hasn’t previously matched the scale of their project."