Leading Liverpool city region video game developers offer pledge to plug skills gap and inspire a ‘new generation of creators’. Tony McDonough reports

Since the advent of home computing in the 1980s Liverpool has been a hotspot for the development of video games.

In 2023 the city region is home to some of the most renowned games developers in the global sector. Among them is Sony Interactive Entertainment which has been in the city for more than 25 years and employs around 500 staff in the city centre.

In March developers, programmers and business leaders were among the 20-strong delegation flying to the US for the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC).

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority estimates the sector is worth around £50m annual to the local economy. However, games developers face an ongoing challenge in recruiting and retaining enough skilled people.

Now Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has persuaded a number of game developers to sign up to his GameChangers initiative. This aims to create more training opportunities for young people to get into this fast-changing sector.

And it is being supported by educational and charity institutions such as NextGen Skills and the LFC Foundation. Games studios who have signed up, include:

• Avalanche Studios Group
• D3T
• Lucid Games
• Ripstone
• Scenegraph Studios
• Skyhook Games
• Universally Speaking
• Firesprite (a local firm acquired by Sony in 2021)
• Wushu Studios

They have all signed a pledge committing to working together to develop local games talent. Jamie Brayshaw, chair of GameChangers and head of marketing at Ripstone, said: “Collaboration is the cornerstone of the GameChangers mission.

“Many studios and organisations are doing great work individually to support talent, but together we are more than the sum of our parts.

“We firmly believe that pooling our collective resources and  passion will increase awareness of games as a viable career, remove barriers to entry and usher in a new era of trailblazing game development in Liverpool city region.”

GameChangers is calling on all studios, universities, charitable organisations and industry bodies to support the partnership. Details will be outlined on September 28 at the GameChangers launch event at Nova Scotia on Mann Island.

Steve Rotheram added: “Our area is home to a burgeoning digital and creative sector that supports thousands of SMEs, jobs and training opportunities, and generates millions for our local economy too.

“Fortunately, we have some of the best universities and colleges on our doorstep that can help us to attract and retain the graduates and trainees with the creativity and skills to shape the future of the sector.

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GameChangers is our pledge to support the next generation of video game creators, to nurture their imagination and fresh ideas, and ensure that together, we can take one of our fastest-growing industries to the next level.”

The Gamechangers programme is being delivered by All About Futures/All About STEM on behalf of the Liverpool City Region Careers Hub.