About

About the map

Originally launched in 2016, The UK Games Map is the first interactive, real-time map of the UK games industry. The refreshed version of the map (2023) was developed by Ukie, The Nursery and Kieran Darcy Limited with the support of the BFI awarding funds from The National Lottery. Academic data is kindly provided in partnership with Discover Uni. The original version of the map was built in partnership by Ukie and Nesta.

The UK Games Map is the most complete dataset of the geography of the UK games sector ever built. Charting the size, scale and growth of the UK games industry, the map is an invaluable interactive tool for the industry, investors, journalists, academics and policy makers.

The map uses Companies House’s database as its source for information on games companies and service companies. This database was initially filtered using SIC codes, domain knowledge and a machine learning approach incorporating video game database RAWG. The Map checks its records against the live Companies House database regularly, to ensure the most current information on its organisations is displayed. Academic data is provided directly by Discover Uni from their own maintained database of institutions and courses.

The 2023 refresh introduced automated data sourcing to the map, ensuring that it keeps itself up-to-date. It also added new data visualisation tools in the form of a heatmap for the full dataset and choropleths for all of the available boundary groups. User interaction with the website has been expanded to allow users to claim company records and edit them directly, enabling the UK industry take ownership of the data found on the map. The website and map have also seen extensive back-end improvements.

The games industry is a leading powerhouse in the UK’s innovative, creative economy, but official stats on the sector can be minimal due to incomplete tracking. The UK Games Map is designed to address this. The UK Games Map is an open, accessible view of the industry, by the industry, and for the industry. It can promote local networking; encourage skill sharing; connect businesses; build links between local businesses and talent; highlight clusters, trends and patterns of growth to investors; and provide academics, journalists, policy makers and organisations a trusted, up-to-date snapshot of the industry.

The data is updated in real time and users can contribute data directly by suggesting edits to company pages or by claiming their organisation’s record through a verification process. This allows the UK games community to directly edit, enrich and maintain the information available on the Games Map website.

How to use the UK Games Map

Map visualisations

In addition to the map’s normal view, you can also view it as a heatmap and as a choropleth. The toggles for these view modes are available in the bottom left corner of the map.

The heatmap shows the density of companies through the intensity of colour shown on the map. It responds to all levels of filtering on the map.

The choropleth shows the total number of companies using both colour and the height of region-shaped polygons. It is available only when a “Boundary Group” has been selected and cannot be limited to individual boundaries but does respond to all other filters. Choropleths are more easily seen when the map is viewed from a perspective other than top-down. To change the camera angle of the map view, right-click and drag.

Filters

You can explore different aspects of the UK industry by applying different filters to the map. It’s even possible to look at how the industry looked at different periods of time! After you’ve applied the filters you’re interested in, you can view all of the companies that satisfy these filters as a list by clicking “list view” in the top left corner of the map. Furthermore, you can export this list as a CSV by clicking the “Export n organisations” button at the top of the list. Exporting as CSV requires the creation of a UK Games Map user account.

Suggesting Edits and Additions to the Map

When browsing an organisation page on the map, you can suggest edits to the page, if for example any of the information (such as the company address) is incomplete or out-of-date. To do this, simply click the “suggest an edit” button in the left-hand toolbar. You can also use this function to let us know if a particular organisation should not be on the map.

You can add new organisations to the map using the “add a new organisation” button. This can always be found at the bottom of the lefthand toolbar and at the bottom of any filtered list. You’ll be taken to the add an organisation page and prompted to search by company number or name.

• If the organisation is present in our extended database, you can click through to its company page and then click on “Add this organisation” under the company name or in the lefthand toolbar. You’ll be prompted to give us a brief bit of information on why the organisation should be added, at which point you can send us the suggestion by hitting “submit”.
• If the organisation is missing from our extended database, you’ll need to search by company number. This will bring up the correct listing from Companies House, at which point you can click the “Add this organisation to the map” button to suggest its inclusion.

Claiming an organisation and editing organisation pages directly

If you are the owner of a business on the map or manage that business’s public profile, you can apply to edit and maintain the page directly. You can add richer information like company headcount, a logo or a company description. To claim an organisation, you need to navigate to that organisation’s page on the UK Games Map and click “Claim this organisation” in the lefthand toolbar. You’ll then need to provide us with some information to help us verify your connection to the organisation. You’re guided through this in a dialogue within the toolbar. Steps you’ll need to take:

• Add an email address with the same domain as the organisation’s website and verify this email address on your profile page.
• Tell us about your connection to the organisation.
• Provide us with a link to the organisation’s website and any other links that demonstrate your connection, such as LinkedIn pages.
• Declare that you have this organisation’s permission to edit their data on the UK Games Map.

After this process is complete, you can click “OK” to submit your claim. You’ll receive an email letting you know the outcome within 2-3 business days.

Once you have been approved as a verified editor, you’ll now see an “Edit page” button in the top right corner of the organisation page. Clicking this will bring you into a view where you can edit each element of the page individually.

Updating your organisation’s position on the map

After being verified as an editor, enter Edit Mode on your organisation’s page and follow these steps.

• Click “Add a new address” at the bottom of the page and start typing your address. Select the correct address from the list provided and click the “Add this address” button.
• Click the edit symbol next to the newly added address.
• Click the map symbol to the left of the address.
• Click “Save”.

Organisations and boundaries displayed on the map

Types of organisation

• Games companies – publishers, developers, direct gamemaking support
• Service companies – companies that provide relevant services to the games industry, e.g. legal, PR, recruitment, technical services
• Universities and courses – Games-related further/higher education courses as designated by Discover Uni

Boundaries

• Counties and Unitary Authorities
• Countries
• Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs)
• London Assembly Constituencies
• Major Towns and Cities in England and Wales
• NUTS Level 1
• NUTS Level 2
• NUTS Level 3
• Regions in England
• Travel to Work Areas
• Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies

Ukie

Ukie is a not for profit trade body that represents the UK games and interactive entertainment industry. Its mission is to make the UK into the best place to make, sell and play games in the world.

It represents nearly 600 businesses working across the UK, including game developers, publishers, platforms and service providers. It supports companies through business support programmes, political engagement, speaking with the media on behalf of the sector and running education initiatives to boost the industry talent pipeline.

The organisation also supports and manages key industry responsibility campaigns such as www.askaboutgames.com and the Get Smart About P.L.A.Y. parental outreach campaign.

Website: www.ukie.org.uk.

Contact: [email protected]

Discover Uni

Discover Uni is a website for all university and college applicants that provides official information about higher education undergraduate courses in the UK. The site offers essential information and advice, including on types of courses, the application process for UK and international students, and student finance, as well as information for parents, guardians, teachers and career advisers.

The site hosts statistics from the National Student Survey and other surveys, and data from universities and colleges on undergraduate degree courses. Prospective students can search and compare courses using this official data to decide where and what they want to study and see what careers and income the degree may lead to.

Discover Uni is managed by the Office for Students on behalf of the four funding and regulatory bodies for higher education in the UK, which are the Office for Students in England, the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland, the Scottish Funding Council and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.

Website: https://discoveruni.gov.uk/

Contact: [email protected]

The Nursery

The Nursery helps brands grow and glow. Our community of talented researchers and data analysts look at every new challenge with a fresh perspective and open mind. We look after the fundamentals of building a brand but also uncover the more surprising moments that create connections with your audience.

While we use cutting-edge quantitative, qualitative and data analysis techniques on a daily basis, these are the means to an end. The important thing is what happens next; our role is to distil and interpret findings into stories and recommendations that are clear, smart and aid decision making.

Website: www.the-nursery.net
Contact: [email protected]