A new report from UK games industry association TIGA has highlighted ‘persistent’ challenges in finding specifically skilled staff for local studios in the region, with around one third of all studios impacted by a lack of experienced workers.
Per GamesIndustry.biz, TIGA’s recent report Skills, Training and Education in the Games Industry 2026 reveals around 29% of studios are facing skills shortages.
While that figure has improved, lowering from 70% in previous surveys, it does appear that finding staff with relevant skills and experience remains a challenge in need of a strategy-based solution.
Respondents reported they were unable to find staff skilled in programming (57%), art (14%), design (14%), community management (7%) and data science (7%).
UK games industry skills shortage – quick links
What a skills shortage does to a game development business
TIGA’s report highlights that a skills shortage and a lack of experienced developers is a significant challenge for studios and their employees. Lacking experienced staff, those already employed by studios are typically forced to take on more work, with 62% of survey respondents indicating their workload has recently increased due to shortages.
To address these concerns, many studios in the UK have reportedly undertaken changes including making internal promotions (68%), increasing training for existing staff (51%) and redefining job roles (47%).
Additionally, 40% of respondents indicated that a lack of experienced workers locally meant needing to outsource work – not necessarily due to the potential cost-savings, but because the specialist skills needed were not available.
A greater challenge was identified in how studios rely on experienced workers over training newcomers, with 85% of new hires in the local games industry reportedly coming from ‘existing industry practitioners’ compared to just 17% of graduates and 1% of apprentices.
Studios appear to be more likely to hire already-experienced staff without fostering a new generation of talent – which may account for the knock-on skills shortages for more experienced and ready-to-work staff.
The TIGA survey underlined that around 89% of the UK games industry was ‘fully proficient’ in their roles, making for a highly competent workforce, but this seemingly does not leave much room for early career workers who are still developing their skills.
Better education and real-world skill-building is needed
In its report, TIGA recommended strengthening higher education and opportunities for hands-on experience, as ways to grow the skills of developers for a more sustainable future.
Survey respondents suggested on array of improvements to enhance the quality of graduates for the games industry, including embedding them into industry-led projects to gain real world experience.
It was also recommended that education coursework be adapted or updated to ensure familiarity with current tools, workflows and production pipelines, and to provide better education about technical and soft skills, including teamwork and problem solving.
Additionally, respondents suggested the possibility of universities strengthening their links with local studios, to allow students to take on more practical work, to see how their learned skills apply in real settings.
A spokesperson for TIGA said: ‘TIGA believes that by strengthening collaboration between industry, education providers and Government, the UK can continue to develop the skilled workforce required to sustain its position as a global leader in video games development.’
Based on its survey and findings, TIGA has recommended an eight-point plan to improve education, skills, and training for those looking to join the UK games industry and contribute to this rapidly evolving sector.
As of September 2025, the UK games industry employed around 27,350 full-time equivalent workers across 2100 games companies. While the country lost 1537 game development jobs across the year prior – a 4.5% loss that TIGA’s report notes ‘abruptly end[ed] 14 consecutive years of growth for the UK games sector’ – it remains a strong economic driver.
TIGA is now lobbying for improvements to this sector, to ensure the UK games industry can continue to grow and thrive in future, as a beacon for the global games industry.
