Funko Fusion developer 1010 Games was brought to life in 2021 by a number of TT Games veterans, all of whom had worked on various LEGO games at the Warner Bros.-owned studio. They had experience with the family-friendly 3D action genre and they wanted to make an “older” version with Funko pops taking the place of the beloved branded bricks.
What they found, publishing chief Arthur Parsons explained to Game Developer at Gamescom 2024, was that starting a new studio in the UK was incredibly difficult. So difficult, in fact, that he's worried the country as a whole is missing out on new talent and opportunities.
“There's not enough support,” he explained. “When you look at the UK industry, it's no surprise that there aren't more studios starting up.”
Parsons' bluntness was refreshing: he seemed as eager to ring the bell on the UK's funding problems as to show off Funko Fusion (which certainly caught my attention as surprisingly nightmarish fuel-inducing era).
What should be done about the difficulties of British industry? Parsons explained that it's not just about what the government can do, but also what needs to be done in the investment community if they want to keep revenue flowing into the British Isles.
Little funding and less help
Parson's description of the beleaguered UK funding landscape sounded like a confluence of small catastrophes, some borne out by the economic impact of Brexit, and others by games companies' waning interest in training the next generation of developers.
1010 Games is privately funded, so Parsons said it has avoided a number of the initial challenges that come with building a studio. “It would be great if there were more grants, more incentives to do things,” he said. “We had to do a lot of things with our own backs, with our own money.”
The lack of funding and incentives, he fears, is disincentivising companies from hiring and training junior developers. Over half of 1010 Games' employees were hired straight out of college – a fact Parsons is proud of, but frustrated that they are one of the few companies to do so. He said that “one of the biggest problems the gaming industry is facing is the talent shortage because people aren't hiring young people.”
“We as an industry are not sustainable.”
Like other developers trying to create game studios and release vehicles that aren't suitable for VCs, Parsons said the team ran into difficulties seeking funding because investors weren't interested in an old-fashioned company that produces premium products . Funders wanted to hear the words “web3,” “AR,” or “VR” every time they pitched a proposal. (“We weren't strong enough,” he joked.)
Image via 1010 Games.
Developers in the UK have also been hit hard by an issue that's impacting emerging indies everywhere: the cost of “first playable.” Investors are (perhaps rightfully) no longer satisfied with prototypes and pitch decks, and want to see vertical sections and first-person playable games that capture the overall feel of the game.
Also for Funko Fusiona game inspired by TT Games
Lego series and produced by its veterans, it took a long time to respond
It's a reasonable request… but both products cost money. Money that can only be guaranteed with decent financing. He agreed with a sentiment expressed by the developers of Mobius Digital that investors and publishers need to get more comfortable with “funding failure.”
The UK government offers game developers some incentives in the form of tax breaks, but this tends to favor existing studios. New businesses face challenges such as legal fees or the security of office space and equipment. “I can imagine that for other people, you're just hitting a brick wall, and that's probably why nothing happens.
Increasing government funding for gaming or the arts may be a tough sell in the UK right now. A certain number of structural challenges are holding back the country's economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and challenges like an underfunded National Institute of Health require quicker action than slowing video game development.
Parsons said he would like to see the country introduce students to the basics of video game development sooner, pointing out that the UK has excellent universities, but that careers in the creative arts are not offered in the same way in primary schools.
He hopes that one day students can be encouraged to pursue careers in game development with the same enthusiasm as they do in engineering or medicine.
Help me get my feet back on the ground
The challenges Parsons describes are the same ones developers are facing around the world, but highlighting what difficulties the UK is facing is still important, as it will need unique solutions to weather the storm. A Bank of England report from the start of 2024 shows the country is still struggling to attract new investment years after leaving the European Union, meaning developers are chasing some of the same funds in recent years.
The British Film Institute announced today which is awarding £510,000 to four projects intended to support developers across the nation, but it's a drop in the bucket for what will be needed in the years to come.
So what is to be done in the country that gave us the ZX Spectrum? The Sea of ThievesAND Alien isolation? Probably a lot. A shortage of junior staff, more flexible investment strategies and appropriate incentives could go a long way. But it's fair to say that more will need to be done to help the nation compete in a business that is becoming more global every day.