75% of new UK gaming studios develop for Apple's iOS
Three quarters of gaming studios started since 2010 in the UK develop titles for Apple’s iOS platform, according to a report from innovation charity Nesta.
Angry Birds and Candy Crush are among the most popular iOS titles
The study, created in partnership with the Association for United Kingdom Interactive Entertainment (UKIE), found that in the two years following 2011, the UK gaming industry saw annual growth of almost a quarter, two thirds of which was attributed to the growth of Apple platform developers.
This is despite 90 per cent of UK gaming firms being founded in the decade following the millennium.
Additionally, Nesta doubled revenue estimates from the UK department of culture, media and sport during that period to £1.72bn annually, claiming that the government failed to factor in the economic contribution of smaller smartphone development studios.
Furthermore, the study located 1,902 active stuidos in the UK, clustered around 18 regions, predominantly university centres where the best programming talent can be acquired. Brighton, Cambridge, Cardiff, Dundee, Edinburgh, Guildford and Aldershot, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Rotherham, and Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon were areas with the heaviest concentration of studios.
Most famously, Flappy Bird recently generated tens of thousands of pounds in ad revenue before its eventual removal from the app store. It was created solely by Dong Nguyen who said the title “ruined [his] simple life".
Juan Mateos-Garcia, lead author of the Nesta report, said: “As many people have suspected there is a big discrepancy between the official government statistics and the actual size and shape of the UK games sector.
“This report should help address this data gap, allowing industry, policymakers, educators and investors to track the geography and evolution of the sector, and put in place smart actions to support it.”
The study measured the gaming sector by scanning their digital footprints in product directories, wikis and games reviews sites instead of using official industrial codes or surveys.
It also brings to light a recent trend which has seen large publishers, such as Sega, focus more on developing titles for the mobile platform.
Earlier this week it was revealed that in 2014, women made up 52 per cent of gamers thanks to the rise of casual mobile gaming, according to a report from the Internet Advertising Bureau.