ALPHA | NEWS // GAMESCOM
Biggest UK industry stand yet set to occupy Gamescom
After tremendous success last year, UK trade body UKIE is hosting a booth at Gamescom 2014 that celebrates and showcases the best of the British games industry today. We take a pre-emptive tour of the seaside-themed booth
UKIE has teamed up with UK Trade and Investment, which is behind the ‘Great Campaign’ for creative businesses, to grant devs money towards expo costs
UK GAMES INDUSTRY trade body UKIE is again hosting a sizable stand at Gamescom that will gather together a spectrum of the region’s developers, publishers, tech and service outfi ts.
This year some 53 UK games companies are exhibiting at the stand, which is conceived to engender networking, deal making, and showcase the best output of games fi rms from across the UK. Occupying a signifi cant space in Gamescom’s business halls, the UK industry stand is bigger than ever this year, growing in unison with Gamescom and sister event GDC Europe, which together today deliver an event catching up with E3 in both size and status. “When we fi rst started in 2012 we had 23 companies exhibiting on the stand, which at the time was a record
06 | AUGUST 2014
number of UK studios in attendance at the show,” explains UKIE CEO Jo Twist. “This year we have smashed that record and the stand will be home to over 53 British games businesses. Last year, UK companies did over £16m worth of business on the stand throughout the three days, and we are hoping that we can double that this year with VIP attendees visiting exhibitors on the stand, more networking opportunities and a
streamlined meeting system.”
PIER-TO-PEER NETWORKS In keeping with expo tradition, this year the stand is themed to refl ect culture peculiar to the UK, and as such is adopting a British seaside dressing. “Every year we try to make the stand feel like a home away from home for UK businesses,” says Twist. “Last year we had a fantastic pub
garden theme, so we wanted to do something diff erent this year. After much deliberation we have created this year’s incarnation to resemble a British seaside, which will be
This is going to
be the biggest and best year ever for the UK industry.
Jo Twist, UKIE
complete with deck chairs, buckets and spades and a seaside photo board. This is going to be the biggest and best year ever for the UK games industry.”
But sandcastles and pebbled beaches aside, the booth has a sincere and serious intent; to
serve those exhibiting with more business, to present a detailed picture of the
diversity and quality of the UK games industry today, and to provide attendees that visit the area a practical and
effi cient way to meet and work with games outfi ts from across the United Kingdom.
“The main thing the stand
off ers is that SME businesses have the opportunity to attend Gamescom at a heavily discounted rate and hassle free,” states Twist. “Exhibitors have the opportunity to meet some key industry players that we organise to come and visit companies on the stand and all they have to do is show up and the UKIE team – this year aptly aided by four lucky volunteers from our Student Membership Scheme - take care of everything else. “We keep you fed and watered throughout, organise,
build and maintain the stand and act as an extension of your own team, ferrying your meetings to and from your space so that your time at the show runs as smoothly as possible. We also work with UKTI (UK Trade and
Investment) to get a limited number of tap grants so businesses can get £1,500 towards their exhibition costs, which has made Gamescom accessible to companies that previously could not aff ord to attend. When you exhibit you also become part of a
community that you are proud to represent and the stand itself is a networking hotbed.”
TRADE AND INVESTMENT UKIE has also partnered with UKTI on the stand, meaning the Government department devoted to promoting UK companies on the
international stage will assist
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