With Holyrood’s election season on the horizon, Scotland’s gaming trade body has issued a manifesto calling for targeted support for the sector from the next Scottish Government.

Hoping to bolster Scotland’s position as a “creative and cultural hub” for the games industry, Interactive Entertainment Scotland (IES) wants all political parties standing in the May election to step up their policies and commit to bringing in more investment for the sector.

Backed by games businesses of all sizes, from independent studios to global exporters, IES said that its manifesto reflects the evolving needs of the gaming industry at a time of significant change, and sets out three core priority areas for the next Scottish Government.

As a first priority, IES wants the next government to undertake a “task-and-finish review” to find fresh opportunities for cross-policy coordination to establish how Scottish gaming intersects with the country’s enterprise, education, creative, technology and innovation sectors.

That will allow for future policy support and investment strategies that align with a broader cultural and economic agenda, while also improving institutional knowledge within the Scottish Government.

IES also stressed the importance of improving access to funding for Scotland’s games cluster to encourage the growth of smaller players and stimulate innovation across the sector. 

Claiming that access to finance is proving more difficult than in previous years, the IES manifesto asks the next government to collaborate with agencies like Scottish Enterprise to promote funding opportunities and provide long-term finance programmes.

Specifically, IES wants policymakers to develop a targeted pilot funding scheme drawing on best practice from Wales and Northern Ireland, to lean harder on the Scottish National Investment Bank to provide targeted support.  

However, the trade body made clear that funding and policy support depend on strong investment in Scotland’s talent pipeline, and called for more focus on apprenticeships and opportunities for reskilling and upskilling within the industry.

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While the Scottish games ecosystem depends on its connections within higher education institutions, the IES said that more attention should be paid to integrating digital and game skills in primary and secondary education to close the gender and attainment gap in the sector.

“Scotland has all the ingredients to be one of the most dynamic video games ecosystems in the world: exceptional universities, ambitious studios, strong clusters and a global reputation for creativity. But the global industry is changing rapidly, and we cannot stand still,” said Chris van der Kuyl, chairman of 4J Studios and IES Chair. 

“We look forward to working with all parties ahead of the election to ensure Scotland remains a world-leading home for video games development and innovation.”

Although distinct from the Scottish Games Network’s recently published action plan, the IES manifesto reflects many of the same points raised, with the earlier document calling for more coordinated support from government, fresh funding pipelines, and the creation of a national hub bringing together investors, researchers, and developers – all which could help establish Scotland as the UK’s first “gaming supercluster”.