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Universities and Colleges are autonomous institutions, and the Scottish Government does not intervene in subject provision, or hold information on the number of courses related to video game development. The upcoming budget is providing over £2bn for colleges, universities and the wider skills system.

Latest data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), shows that for 2022-23, 6 (out of 19) universities in Scotland have enrolments on courses under the subject classification 'Computer games and animation'. (source: Table 49 - HE student enrolments by HE provider and subject of study 2014/15 to 2022/23 | HESA)

While information provided by the Scottish Funding Council, based on course title analysis, indicated that for the 2022-23 academic year 14 (out of 24) colleges in Scotland ran courses relating to video game development.

The Scottish Government and Education Scotland have provided funding in 2022 and 2023 to support Scottish Games Week, which included an Education Symposium.

The Scottish Government provided £49,425 in 2022 and £40,000 in 2023.

Education Scotland provided £7500 funding for the Scottish Games Week Education Symposium in 2023.

The Scottish Government does not offer financial support (a-d) specifically for the video games industry. However, there is a large range of resources available through Scotland’s public sector and available to businesses in a variety of sectors which can be found at Find Business Support and Business Gateway websites.

The Scottish Government and Education Scotland have provided funding in 2022 and 2023 to support Scottish Games Week, which included an Education Symposium. This event brings together video game industry and education providers with an aim to share learning and establish partnerships.

Education Scotland has also supported (through attendance and delivery) the Scottish Games Education Symposium in 2024 and inaugural Scottish Esports Education Conference in 2024.

The Scottish Government has not provided funding directly to video game development companies in the past five years through targeted schemes.

The Scottish Government provided £49,425 in 2022 and £40,000 in 2023 to support Scottish Games Week as the platform to bring industry together to showcase talent, share learnings, build networks, and highlight the potential of the sector.

Further to this, the Scottish Government has been engaged with the video game sector as it develops an industry led games action plan. It is our expectation that this plan, developed by the Scottish Games Network following a series of workshops hosted around Scotland, will set out what support is required to successfully grow the sector in Scotland.

As this action plan is being developed by industry we cannot definitively say what these actions will include but we expect to see the action plan in the coming months.

The Scottish Government has engaged with video game industry representatives, with Ministers attending the Industry Conference and Scottish Games Awards at the most recent Scottish Games Week. Further engagement over the past 12 months has primarily been between officials and the Scottish Games Network through regular meetings. Public bodies such as Creative Scotland, Skills Development Scotland and Education Scotland and our Enterprise Agencies will also engage with individual games companies, however, the Scottish Government does not keep a record of this.

The primary focus of our engagements has been the industry led games action plan which was backed by Scottish Government in a roundtable discussion between Ministers and industry figures in November 2023. The aim of this plan is to boost and accelerate growth and job creation, as well as amplifying the global reputation of one of Scotland’s most promising sectors.

Video games development covers a range of skills and careers from the technical to the creative development so there are multiple routes into the industry. A college or university course in Computer Games Development is one pathway into the sector, but Apprenticeship pathways in Creative & Digital Media or Software Development will also provide transferable skills and knowledge.

Information on funding available for further and higher students can be found on the Student Information Scotland webpage.

Skills Development Scotland administers Scottish Apprenticeships on behalf of the Scottish Government, which incorporates Foundation Apprenticeships (FAs), Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) and Graduate Apprenticeships (GAs). Information on what funding is available to support access to apprenticeships can be found on the apprentices.scot webpage.

Education Scotland supports all 32 local authorities to develop and deliver digital literacy, computing science and creativity learning - all of which are in-demand from the games industry.

The Scottish Government is engaging with an industry led action plan and which will look to address future support requirements of the sector.

The Scottish Government does not provide specific support to independent video games developers. Developers can access bespoke business advice and support through our enterprise agencies.