Does the UK video game industry have a class problem?

“I am scared for the future of the Games,” says Chris Goodyer. “It can go in the way the theater is, and becomes a very privileged thing.”

The video game was on the social class agenda, one of the biggest conferences in the UK for developers.

The concern raised by Chris, a manufacturer working to highlight the access obstacles in the industry, is a manufacturer that some people in the region feel that it has become unaware for a very long time.

This year, Development: Brighton depicted his first meeting dedicated to the working class and low -income people in the UK sports industry.

The program was placed in sports by a non-profit organization.

Its boss Declan Cassidi set the body six years ago to try to help less people more widely “in the industry.

It compressed to focus on social mobility completely, as he said he realized that “there were really no other champions in that area”.

Was released in Games in 2024 a report Declan said that “the working class and low -income background had a truly high number of people coming through the existing sports academic routes.”

But many of them did not really complete that trip and got a job.

He said, “They are failing in the last obstacle.”

The INTU Games report highlighted obstacles such as location, access to finance, reducing cultural capital, and lack of network, which prevented people from breaking into the industry with a low socio-economic background.

It was found that 59% of the participants said that they were designed to feel “other” at some point in their careers.

Village Studios Games founder Will Luton attended the event in Brighton and said he “felt more discrimination” due to his class.

He said that he often found himself to “mask” or “rear”, the way he spoke, so he did not “away” from where he was.

Will argues that those who had made it in the industry had a part of playing the problem, rather than suggest that “they were” in the industry, it was suddenly “not an issue”.

The report also suggested that the gaming sector had a smaller proportion of people coming from the film and TV (29%) or music and visual art (22%) from the socio-economic background (13%).

Nick Pule, head of the game industry body Uki, believed that when talent was available, “there was no opportunity”.

“If you are going to tell the real stories, then those who are young, gift and broken, need to be able to find their way into the industry,” Nick said.

Deccan Cassidi Games perspective is expected to help those from the background of working class across the UK find their place within an uncertain field, which has been seen in recent years Thousands of jobs lost Worldwide.

The organization plans to focus on support on six regions – Birmingham, Briton, Dundi, London, Manchester and Tees Valley – over the next five years.

This support will include outreach, paid internships and training training in schools, stating that more than 100 game studios have confirmed that they will take the talent of working class through their programs in 2025 and 2026.

“By 2030, our aim is to increase the number of people from the background of the working class in the UK sports industry with a factor of 50%,” Declon said.

He said that the benefits “could be very big for the studio.”