organisation. That doesn’t happen overnight, you need really good people to do that. So I’m first and foremost really proud of actually building the team that we have and have had over the last 10 years.” Twist’s eagerness to recognise the work of her
employees and peers goes back to some of her first achievements at Ukie, as she looks back on those early days. “When I came into the job, there had already
been so much tremendous work done by the industry on Video Games Tax Relief, which was secured in 2013, and we played a major part in that. One achievement that Twist seems particularly
proud of, and one that the industry at large will be reaping the benefits from for years to come, is Ukie’s efforts in education, such as the introduction of computer science to the school curriculum. “You know, those were some of the early
successes that I can’t take credit for. But that was a major campaign, the next gen skills campaign, spearheaded by Sir Ian Livingstone. That was successful, and we continued to support Creative Computing, education and teachers. “And that commitment has grown into a really
tremendously successful Digital Schoolhouse programme, which has just announced a new partnership with the Arts Council, which is a real achievement and that’s to turn eight libraries into learning hubs. So really continuing to support the teachers to teach in a creative way, because computer science and computational thinking…. They are the skills of the future. It is literacy that we need for the 21st century.” Another element of Ukie’s work that Twist takes
pride in is its focus on the data around the UK industry – getting an accurate picture of not just what the industry looks like, but about its regional impact across the country. Its this data-driven approach that underpins much of Ukie’s best work. “I’ve always been obsessed with data and
evidence ever since I was a journalist. I started off as an academic, and then was a journalist. So I would always get pitched stories that I would interrogate: ‘why are you sending me a story from a PR company that is based on a survey of 99 people? That’s not news!’ I’ve always been a huge believer in data and evidence being very important in telling your story, and making things happen. “So, right from the Games Map that’s relaunching
and refreshing this year, which is incredibly useful to tell our regional story about the games industry, to the annual consumer valuation, which takes
12 | MCV/DEVELOP February 2022
into account not just spend on games themselves, but the whole culture of games. As well as to other really important bits of work, like the Screen Business Report that we’re a part of, and really shaking up and challenging how we’re counted as an economic powerhouse.”
TENDING THE GARDEN As mentioned before, Twist has had a unique vantage point over the changes the industry has seen over the last decade. In fact, her role at the head of Ukie has allowed her a front row seat to witnessing small UK indie studios growing to become household names. “All throughout my career, I think timing has
been everything for me,” notes Twist. “I joined just as you started to see the mobile ecosystem and the App Store ecosystem grow. We started to get the golden age of indies, the VGTR and other things like the Games Fund, which was then the Prototype fund. “All of that sort of came into play to really create
this incredible ecosystem. Which, 10 years later, we’ve seen the journey and the lifespan of some of those companies that are now major successes, and have been acquired by the likes of Epic. Mediatonic, for example. I actually knew the guys at Mediatonic when I was at Channel Four (as commissioning editor for education from 2010-2012.) Ukie has been with them on that journey from startup, to scale up, to major global success story. “That is the most fulfilling part of this job,
because we’re all about that mission statement, which is to make the UK the best place in the world to make, sell and play games. And when you see businesses succeeding, that means we’re doing a good job. When you see the ecosystem flourishing, that means we’re playing some part in doing that. “It’s been so incredible, and a testament to
the health of the ecosystem, that there has been a record amount of investment into UK based companies. There’s also been an enormous amount of foreign direct investment that companies setting up in the UK. “So we’re still at that competitive stage, but our
job at Ukie is to look one step down the track. To make sure that, just like with a good garden, you need to fertilise the soil, you need to change things up a bit. We’re keeping that ecosystem healthy. The last few years has enabled us to really focus on those accelerator programmes, making businesses investor-ready, making businesses publisher-ready
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