Scottish games industry employs 200 people, creates zero revenue says report

UPDATE: A Scottish Government spokesperson has contacted Eurogamer to clarify the story - and to point out that the report was conducted by agency partners rather than the government itself.

"This study itself acknowledges upfront that the computer games sector data is anomalous," the spokesperson said. "Official Scottish Government statistics (SABS) value the Computer Games, Software and Electronic Publishing sectors in 2010 at just over £1bn GVA - representing about a third of the Creative Industries sector in Scotland.

"We are aware of the need for more detailed and robust information about the value of the computer games sector to the Scottish economy. This is something we are currently working on, in collaboration with industry and agency partners including TIGA."

ORIGINAL STORYThe Scottish games industry only employs 200 people and creates no revenue says a report on the arts and creative industries by government associations Scottish Enterprises and Creative Scotland - leading to concerns that its inaccuracies could prove problematic for the games industry in Scotland in the future.

The report, picked apart by Scottish Games, looks into the economic impact of different sectors of the creative industries in Scotland - and those misleading figures come in part from some acknowledged inaccuracies in the presentation of data.

If an industry brings in less than £10 million, the report rounds down to zero - and it's acknowledged that the report also misses out many companies thanks to its different categorisations.

As pointed out by Scottish Games, Rockstar North alone employs well over 200 people, and there are 120 games related companies in the country.

Regardless of those inaccuracies it doesn't make for great reading - with revenue coming in at under £10 million the Scottish games industry is lagging some way behind its peers in the creative sector. There's some hope, though - the games industry is noted as being the largest growth area when it comes to employment, even taking to account those wonky figures.

The concern is that future policy could be shaped by this report, and Scottish Games is formulating an official response right now.

Thanks for the spot, GamesIndustry.biz.