The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-20521, in the name of Michael Marra, on the publication of “Level Up Scotland: A National Action Plan for the Scottish Games Sector”. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes the publication of Level Up Scotland: A National Action Plan for the Scottish Games Sector, by the Scottish Games Network; recognises what it considers is the growing importance of the games sector to Scotland’s economy, international reputation and high-skilled employment; notes the action plan’s ambition to scale the sector to £1 billion gross value added (GVA) by 2030, and the reported productivity of the sector, including an estimated £151,382 GVA per head; further notes what it sees as Dundee’s longstanding reputation as Scotland’s games capital and the contribution of its studios, talent pipeline and creative ecosystem; notes the view that there should be a parliamentary debate about the action plan and the steps required to support sustainable growth in the sector, and further notes the calls on the Scottish Government to set out how it will engage with the recommendations in the plan, including on skills, investment and support for innovation, to help secure jobs and economic growth across Scotland.
19:00
It is a pleasure to welcome the publication of “Level Up Scotland: A National Action Plan for the Scottish Games Sector” and to recognise the value of Scotland’s games sector to our national economy. I thank all members across the chamber who supported the motion on an industry that can be an ever-greater engine room of growth for our economy.
I welcome to the public gallery Brian Baglow, the founder and director of the Scottish Games Network, and the many others in the Scottish games sector who are tuning in online.
As co-convener, along with Clare Adamson, of the cross-party group on Scottish games ecosystems, I have had the privilege of contributing to the action plan as it has taken shape since the first meeting of our cross-party group, in 2023. I give credit to the authors of the plan for the breadth and depth of their consultation when preparing it.
In common with almost every family in Scotland, gaming plays a daily role in the life of my household: Minecraft, Rocket League, Fall Guys, Among Us, Roblox and a deep emotional—almost spiritual—investment in the world of FIFA. However, it is the economic impact of Scotland’s games sector, particularly in my home city of Dundee, that led to my work on behalf of the sector. The games sector in Scotland already generates £151,382 in gross value added per head of population, which is more than double the Scottish average.
For too long, the Scottish Government has been an analogue operation in a digital age. The pace of technological change is the fastest that it has ever been and the slowest that it will ever be from now on. Grasping the opportunity that is contained in the action plan is just one step towards embracing that reality and all that it entails.
The action plan aims to make Scotland the United Kingdom’s first games supercluster by 2030 and a global leader in creative technology. It recognises Scotland’s unique opportunity, with key players in the industry situated within reach of each other in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, as well as in other parts of Scotland.
The action plan’s recommendations are ambitious yet practical. They include running a two-year pilot to deliver strategic alignment across portfolios, setting up a pilot fund to support new intellectual property and leverage private investment, establishing a national games and skills education forum to identify skills gaps and connect each stage of education with professional development, and launching a dedicated service that provides business support and mentorship to new and growing studios. The plan seeks to build on the fruits of the two-year pilot by establishing a national games innovation centre to drive long-term growth and cross-sectoral innovation. I look forward to hearing the minister’s considered response to the contents of the plan.
Turning to Dundee, I note that my home city’s contribution to the global games industry is something for Dundonians to be very proud of. Grand Theft Auto, Minecraft and Lemmings are all household names not just across Scotland, but across the entire world, as part of the world’s largest entertainment industry.
I compliment Michael Marra on securing this debate, but I am going to scold him, in part. He mentioned the growth of the sector in Dundee, but 4J Studios began life in East Linton, in East Lothian, although it now has a small but significant outlet in Dundee that supports Minecraft and other developments. Does he agree that the games industry is an industry for the whole of Scotland and that our size allows for that, but we need to grow the expertise in some areas?
I can give you the time back, Mr Marra.
I fully agree with my colleague. There is a great partnership between Chris van der Kuyl and his business partner, Paddy Burns. The willingness to invest in their communities in East Lothian and Dundee and to support jobs shows the potential for setting up smaller clusters of studios that can support high-value jobs in diverse parts of our country.
A critical mass can be required and can help to create a clustering effect, and our universities play an instrumental part in that. An example of that is the InGAME project that is run by Abertay University—again, in Dundee—along with the University of Dundee and the University of St Andrews. It has upskilled thousands of people who are now working in the sector. In 2023, the economic analysis for InGAME showed that it was expected to generate a total of £84.7 million of gross value added over 10 years, supporting around 175 jobs. It is an example of strategic investments that help to grow our economy.
It is the tangible impact of those innovative studios, which comes in the form of investment, high-value jobs and supply chains, that attracts people to Dundee and the wider region. The question must now be how we can rapidly expand the industry, building on our own track record of innovation.
Finland offers a fine example of what can be achieved by having a focus on scaling appropriately. It has built a £2.5 billion mobile gaming industry from the legacy of Nokia and hits such as Angry Birds.
I want to touch briefly on issues that have arisen recently. Members will be aware of some growing concerns about precarious work and reports of anti-trade union actions and negative working practices in the sector. It would be remiss of me not to mention that tonight, given that members will have been contacted in that regard. It is right that we recognise the challenges that those kinds of cultures and practices pose for the health of workers and the success of the sector as a whole. Governments should carefully consider how to ensure that workers are protected, that talent is nurtured and that people’s right to organise is protected in this industry and everywhere else.
I am proud to champion the games industry in Dundee and Scotland. It provides young people with real opportunities for the future that draw on our city’s proud history in the sector and look with hope towards the future of the world’s largest entertainment industry. There are new studios, new games and innovations happening all the time. I am sure that we will hear about some of them tonight from other members. Future generations can credibly look forward to being a part of all that. That is why the action plan is important. It sets a clear path for Dundee and the wider Scottish economy to capitalise on the huge opportunity in front of us. At the launch of the plan at Codebase, in Edinburgh, Mark Logan rightly challenged all of us to think about how we can move beyond our pioneering games history and write new stories of success for our national future.
I will conclude by quoting from Marx—not Karl Marx, but Marx Watanabe, a character in a wonderful novel by Gabrielle Zivine on finding purpose in work and the joy of gaming. He says:
“What is a game? It’s tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. It’s the possibility of infinite rebirth”.
Therein lies our chance of building something ever more brilliant for Scotland.
19:07
I thank Michael Marra for introducing the cross-party group on the Scottish games ecosystem and the work that we have been doing with Brian Baglow and the games sector to get to the publication of “Level Up Scotland” and the launch of the national action plan for the Scottish games sector. The publication is more than a report: it gives us a road map for Scotland’s future in the sector that is dynamic, creative and globally recognised. As has been said, the games industry is not just about entertainment; it drives innovation and creates high-skilled jobs, and it can showcase Scottish talent around the world.
We should remember that gaming and gaming technology seep into lots of different areas of our lives. We are looking at the gamification of healthcare, where we use video screens, joysticks and virtual reality to work with people and treat conditions. That touches on something that is close to my heart. My son has a condition called complex regional pain syndrome—CRPS—and one way of treating it is to use a visual device to do a cold therapy treatment that involves people going for a virtual walk in the Arctic in their room, to try to desensitise the pain of the syndrome at that time.
Games technology is used in many aspects of our lives. Games engines are used not just in the development of games, but in the film industry, which is a booming sector in Scotland. All those skills will be there for the future. We must also consider the developments in artificial intelligence and the impact that that might have. To place Scotland at the forefront of all of that is ambitious, but it is not beyond the means of the Scottish people and the games sector to achieve those ambitions.
The plan focuses on a few key priorities, including talent and skills development, which is about nurturing the next generation of developers, designers and technical specialists. Unlike Mr Marra, I am not surrounded by gaming in my own house, other than a Wednesday night Discord session to play Dungeons & Dragons, still with dice but via computer screens—for the avoidance of doubt, as I have said before in this chamber, I am chaotic neutral in that context. However, I see it through the eyes of my son, who is a primary school teacher and uses games in some of the interactions with his pupils. I also see how my grandchildren not only play exciting games but also learn by using things such as Minecraft and other games to build and create. That all builds on the creative aspect of what makes us human.
This creative industry is new. We are coming to terms with it and are still trying to find a place for it in Scotland’s cultural landscape, but we are making strides in that regard. The report gives us a firm foundation on which to build in order to truly embrace the creativity, excitement and opportunity of the games sector.
I will give a little shout-out to The Baby in Yellow, which came out of Scotland and was almost our Angry Birds in that it was another viral game—one of many that we will see in the future, I am sure.
I offer huge congratulations to the Scottish Games Network. I thank it for its engagement with the cross-party group and give a special thank you to Mr Baglow for all the work that he has done to drive the plan through.
19:11
I congratulate Michael Marra on lodging the motion and bringing the debate to Parliament this evening. I welcome the publication of the national games action plan by the Scottish Games Network. Scotland’s games sector is a shining example of what is possible when entrepreneurial talent, creativity, innovation and technical expertise come together.
The sector is one of Scotland’s greatest modern-day success stories and international exports. As the Scottish Government considers the recommendations of the action plan and the financial commitments involved, it is important to remember that the games sector already has a proven track record of success. The action plan is not making a funding request but asking for an investment in growth. This is not about rescuing a struggling industry or backing a speculative venture but about supercharging a sector that is already thriving and delivering real economic and creative impact.
Scotland’s video games industry delivers exceptionally high productivity; it generates more than £150,000 in GVA per employee, which is more than double the Scottish national average. The Scottish Government should seize every opportunity to grow the sector further and create even more well-paid, highly skilled, export-driven jobs while attracting investment, strengthening regional economies and retaining skilled talent.
The action plan calls on the Scottish Government to recognise games as a national priority; provide strong leadership and co-ordination; invest in studios and talent; support skills development; back regional hubs such as Dundee; and promote Scottish games on the global stage. Those measures are designed to ensure that the sector can grow sustainably and deliver real economic and creative impact across Scotland.
Dundee exemplifies why that support is important. The city is the birthplace and beating heart of Scotland’s video games industry. Its success began with pioneering studios such as DMA Design, which was the forerunner of Rockstar North, and it continues today through a thriving cluster of independent studios. The role of Dundee-based companies in the development of iconic games such as Grand Theft Auto and Minecraft cannot be overstated.
Central to Dundee’s global reputation is Abertay University, which was one of the first universities in the world to offer dedicated courses in video game development. Abertay has supplied generations of highly skilled graduates who have shaped the industry locally and globally.
Through the delivery of the action plan, there is an opportunity to recognise Dundee’s unique role and to deliver targeted support to strengthen its cluster. That includes backing local studios through funding and investment, supporting Abertay and other educational institutions to extend and expand their skills pipelines, and promoting Dundee as a centre of excellence in Scotland’s wider games sector.
By building on Dundee’s historic achievements and leveraging world-class talent and infrastructure, the action plan can help to cement the city’s position as a global leader. I fully support the motion and encourage the Scottish Government to use all the levers at its disposal to support the action plan, and I call on it to set out in full how it will engage with the plan’s recommendations.
19:15
Presiding Officer, thank you for tolerating my slipping out early from the debate to attend a reception that I am sponsoring this evening. I am keen to speak in this debate.
I count myself part of a lucky generation, because I grew up with computer games. I got my first computer, a ZX Spectrum, for Christmas in 1984. I then had a Nintendo Entertainment System, and SimCity just about ruined my highers. Indeed, I am not ashamed to say that I built my own personal computer about two years ago, and I get somewhat distracted by a combination of Rust, Cities: Skylines and Assetto Corsa.
The point that I am trying to make is that we sometimes talk about computer games as though they are things for kids—a curiosity and a niche interest—but they are not. For many people of my generation, they are part of our lives and they continue to be so right the way through adulthood. If we look at how people use games, we see that, increasingly, people—young or old—do not think of themselves as gamers, but as people who use games. Even my mother likes to play Scrabble on her phone, and my wife is pretty addicted to Wordle. They are gamers, whether they realise it or not.
Games are pervasive—as pervasive as the devices that we have in our pockets. However, when we look at the strategy that is set out in the “Level Up Scotland” document, we must recognise that we still have a disjointed approach to how we think about computer games and the computer games industry.
The action plan calls for leadership and co-ordination across policy areas; a focus on skills and a skills pipeline; and funding and investment. However, those things should not need to be asked for. This is a sector that we have been saying is a jewel of Scotland’s business and industry, yet it is calling out for things that are standard for businesses that we support and seek to nurture. Our approach to games and the games industry is stuck in the 1980s, and we need to get it up to speed.
We should acknowledge that the games industry is a different kind of industry. It is not just about people writing lines of code—in fact, I think that probably very few people working in the games industry write lines of code. It is about writers, designers, artists and people who are involved with the marketing, finance and legal issues. That is why it is a $250 billion industry globally, of which we have a £350 million share. Let us get serious. Let us have a plan. Let us have the necessary leadership, and let us make sure that we deliver the investment so that we can have the next Grand Theft Auto in Scotland.
Let us also be clear that gaming is pervasive. We need to understand that the games sector is not just a discrete part of the economy. Increasingly, as people spend time using games and earning money from doing so—they can earn money in real life—the interface between games and real life will start to look far less defined and far more blurry than we realise.
We need to take the games industry seriously. It is a Scottish success story, and we should back it with a plan.
19:15
I am grateful to Michael Marra for lodging the motion and for the opportunity to make a short contribution. The “Level Up Scotland” report and the strategic direction that it sets out for Scotland’s games sector represent a serious and evidence-led plan that recognises the sector’s economic value and, crucially, the need for better co-ordination across skills, education and enterprise support. In these difficult economic times, particularly for the north-east, I echo the comments in Mr Marra’s motion that a parliamentary debate about scaling the games economy in the way that is set out in the plan’s ambition would be welcome.
Although we have, rightly, heard a great deal about the contribution that is made by and in Dundee, I put on record that the sector is nationwide, as Martin Whitfield noted in an earlier intervention. There is strong and growing activity in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and the wider north-east. For example, North East Scotland College has been delivering industry-linked partnerships and e-sports provisions, investing in specialist facilities, building school-to-college partnerships and securing recognition for its work in digital education and inclusion. NESCol is the first Scottish college to be part of PlayStation first, which is an innovative collaboration with Sony Interactive Entertainment’s global academic programme. It gives the college access to PlayStation development tools and support, which enables the students to use the same hardware as is used by professional studios to build games for PlayStation platforms.
Furthermore, the college’s higher national diploma games design students have worked with Kemnay academy pupils through the Wood Foundation to build a virtual reality game demonstration that is aimed at helping users to learn sign language. It is a true partnership project: the school has the idea, the college team builds and delivers the platform and, ultimately, the pupils visit the Aberdeen city campus to see the results of the demo. Finally, following the launch of the e-sports hub at Fraserburgh campus last year, NESCol has expanded the principle to the Aberdeen city campus to give computing students access to advanced gaming equipment.
Let us be clear that, as has been noted, the game engine at NESCol is not only about games development; it is about transferable, vital skills that lend themselves to things such as the energy transition or farming. At the same time, Robert Gordon University continues to strengthen progression routes and degree-level provision for the sector, which is helping to retain talent in the region and support the skills pipeline that is rightly emphasised in the action plan. In fact, both of Aberdeen’s universities are hosting game jams, which provide opportunities for students to come together, get a brief and build a game over the following days.
It is good that Michael Marra has given us the opportunity to highlight an important report that provides a clear strategic direction for the sector as a whole, and to showcase the excellent work that is being done throughout the north-east and Scotland. I look forward to the minister’s response to this important debate.
19:22
I thank my colleague Michael Marra for holding this timely debate. The Lothian region is reaping the benefits of having a significant games sector employer, Rockstar North, located in Edinburgh. I am confident that the region will only continue to benefit from the future expansion of the sector. Therefore, I thank the Scottish Games Network for offering such a detailed plan in its report.
I will focus on the report’s ambition to create a robust talent pipeline. Although I welcome the report’s recommendations on how to do that, more must be said about the need to strengthen the rights of games workers. Current protections are insufficient and the situation is forcing many workers to leave the sector, while new talent may avoid it altogether. Last December, I visited workers who had been dismissed by Rockstar North in Edinburgh without disciplinary hearings and with the absolute minimum notice. The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain—IWGB—is helping those workers to challenge their dismissal.
The dispute is symptomatic of the broader problem with employees’ rights in the sector. The industry has been blighted by lay-offs since 2022, driven to some extent by reckless investment during the Covid-era boom. In its “State of the Game Industry” report in 2025, the game developers conference stated:
“Layoffs have become part of the industry, with announcements now a weekly, if not daily, occurrence.”
Unsurprisingly, a wave of unionisation has begun to pass through the sector.
The games workers branch of the IWGB grew by almost 50 per cent between 2022 and 2023, and it has continued to grow since then. However, the issue is not just lay-offs. The infamous crunch period regularly involves employees being forced to work an unbearable amount of overtime in the lead-up to the release of a game, and there are concerns that the pay and the arrangements for residuals do not provide adequate rewards for developers and other staff.
Developers could choose to work elsewhere, including in defence, virtual reality or the wider tech industry. To keep them in the games sector, we must strengthen their rights as employees. For example, in relation to the action plan’s recommendation on the creation of a “Games Scotland” body, trade unions must be represented on any such body. If we share the Scottish Games Network’s desire for a robust talent pipeline, we must take steps to ensure that games workers are given the rights and privileges that they deserve.
19:26
I thank Michael Marra for securing the debate and for highlighting the publication of “Level Up Scotland: A National Action Plan for the Scottish Games Sector”. I congratulate him and Clare Adamson, along with other colleagues, on being great champions of the games sector in the Parliament. I thank all colleagues for their contributions to the debate.
I recognise the great work of, and pay tribute to, Brian Baglow, who has been an invaluable advocate for the sector. He has helped me, my officials and the Government more widely to gain an even clearer understanding of the cultural, economic and social contributions that games make to Scotland. I remember that, when Shona Robison and I, on behalf of the Government, met him and a number of senior and experienced representatives of the games sector in the Parliament in 2023, the idea emerged of his carrying out work to produce an industry-led games plan for Scotland, which he has now published.
As the plan says, and as many members have said, Scotland has played a truly formative role in global video game culture. Landmark titles such as Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings, which have been often mentioned by members in the debate and were both born in Dundee, have shaped entire games genres and have reached hundreds of millions of players worldwide.
There have also been other contributions, particularly in education. As members have mentioned, Abertay University, which I visited a few months ago for the umpteenth time, established the world’s first dedicated video game degree back in 1997, and it is consistently ranked among the top universities globally for video game design by the Princeton Review.
That pioneering spirit has cemented Scotland’s international reputation as a place where creativity meets cutting-edge technology, as many members have said, and that legacy continues today. We have 135 computer games enterprises in Scotland, which represents an 800 per cent increase since 2010, when there were 15. Some of the most successful and influential games in the world are still being developed here.
As many members have said, the sector covers all parts of Scotland. For example, a couple of games companies in Elgin, on my doorstep—Code Wizards and Hunted Cow—have produced chart-topping games, so I know that, as well as Dundee, which has led the way and blazed the trail, other parts of the country are benefiting from our growing games sector.
It is anticipated that the new title in the Grand Theft Auto franchise—the most iconic games franchise—will have the biggest launch in entertainment history, and more than 300 million copies of Minecraft have been sold worldwide. Those are both household names. I associate myself with Michael Marra’s comments in that respect. I feel that I should own shares in those titles, given my two sons’ history of playing video games and the amount of Lochhead investment that has gone into those games over the years.
I remember that, when I was a teenager, one of my friends got a ZX80. I did not own one of them, but I remember seeing it—now I am showing my age. A couple of years after that, I got a ZX Spectrum, and I got addicted to Jet Set Willy, Match Point, Deathchase, Manic Miner and a number of other games. It was actually only a few years ago that I learned that the ZX Spectrum was manufactured in Dundee, and that it led to the emergence from that city of the games industry that is now a national phenomenon. Chris Van Der Kuyl and Paddy Burns, who are well-known figures from Dundee in the games sector and who are behind some of its big titles, told me how it led to coding among local young people and schoolchildren, and others who worked at Timex, and, in turn, to where we are today. It is a fantastic legacy and a great story that we should tell the rest of the world over and over again.
From indie developers and co-working hubs to globally recognised studios, our games community runs the gamut of an entire country. A really important point to make about the timeliness of the plan’s publication, and a theme that many members have touched on, is that gaming technology is all about innovation and cutting-edge technology. It is not just about games; the technology is being used by prosthetics companies and by the military. It is also incredibly important to healthcare—and I am talking not just about the games and apps that are being developed by the games sector to promote healthy living and to help people with their health, but about the gaming technology used by surgeons. It is also being used in finance. Indeed, a company in my constituency told me that it has produced a banking app, so the financial sector is benefiting from games technology, too. Therefore, I agree with the thrust of many people’s contributions, which is that we have to recognise that that is a nationally valuable source of innovation in Scotland and it affects many different parts of our economy, not just the games sector. It is at the cutting edge of innovation.
In my final couple of minutes, I should mention that the Government has been supporting the games sector; indeed, we have stepped up our support for it in recent years. Our ecosystem fund has supported Scottish games week, which has shone a spotlight on the sector’s remarkable strength and diversity. That very point was made and recognised in the members’ business debate on this subject back in 2023.
A few months ago, as part of our Techscaler programme, we took a cohort of 10 games start-up companies out to Japan and gave them the opportunity to meet and learn from some truly influential global leaders, and to attend the Osaka world expo. I was there as minister, helping to lead that delegation of games companies from Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh and elsewhere, and it was fantastic to see them taking their products, ideas and vision to the important—and massive—Japanese games market.
Just a few months ago—in September—we were thrilled to host the prestigious DICE Europe conference in Edinburgh. We took a leading role in shaping the conference and the satellite activities, in showcasing all that Scotland has to offer and in welcoming the major global companies that attended. Those companies included Nintendo, whose chief executive I met a couple of times—it was great to talk to him about what was happening in the games sector in Scotland—as well as Xbox and Epic Games, among others.
I know that the minister is coming towards the end of his time, and he has set out some of the support that the Government is rightly giving the sector. Will he commit to meeting the authors of the report and perhaps to coming and speaking to the members of our cross-party group at some point in the immediate future, so that we can go through the report in detail, look at the recommendations line by line and see what actions the Government can take to support them?
Yes, I would be delighted to do that. I have been hoping to catch up with Brian Baglow since he formally published the report; he met me before its publication to give me an indication of how he was getting on and what he was heading towards. I have now read the final version of the report, and I am happy to meet Brian again as well as colleagues from across the chamber, perhaps at a meeting of cross-party group, which I know does a fine job. Perhaps, if the member would like, that could happen before the recess on 26 March—which we have to make sure happens, too.
I should also say that, during the DICE Europe conference, the First Minister hosted some of the leading games executives at Bute house in Edinburgh, and he was impressed by the feedback that he heard from the prominent companies at the table—and from some Scots who were there—about Scotland’s games sector and its global impact and leadership.
The plan is impressive. It is obvious that a huge amount of work has gone into it; it presses all the right buttons and we as a Government will carefully consider its recommendations. As we all know, the parties will have the opportunity to talk about this issue in their own manifestos, and although a new Government is going to be elected in a few months’ time, the report is still very timely and contains a lot of really good ideas. We will have to take some time to reflect on what we have read in the report, and we will do so in due course. Of course, as we have heard, the cross-party group is playing an important role in keeping the matter high up the Parliament’s agenda.
I once again thank Brian Baglow and everyone who contributed to his report and plan, Michael Marra for securing the debate and all members who have spoken today.
That concludes the debate.
Meeting closed at 19:35.
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