The games industry has a skilled and diverse workforce around the world. What it needs now, writes Lisa Opie, is more women
After working in TV for more decades than I care to remember, it’s interesting to compare my working day at Ubisoft with my old life. Today, I’m in Newcastle, a city I love and home to Ubisoft Reflections, the oldest games studio in the UK.
People working in TV may not know (I know I didn’t) that the UK is the second-largest video games market in Europe and the sixth largest in the world. We have a history of IP creation and innovation, from iconic titles like Grand Theft Auto and Tomb Raider, to Reflection’s Driver series, and our studio’s work in recent years on Assassin’s Creed Nexus and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
We work in collaboration with Ubisoft’s 40-plus studios around the world, so a lot of my time is spent ensuring the strength of those partnerships. Our team is diverse – more than 20 nationalities – and highly skilled. We employ audio experts, artists, animators, programmers and producers.
Some of our people have worked across the screen sector, and all are passionate about making video games – a complex, iterative and highly creative task.
There’s an impressive video games workforce in the UK – 70,000 people work directly or in the supply chain to support around 2,000 games studios. But skills are a challenge.
Technology and the emergence of generative AI are set to drive exponential change in how games are made and the skills we will need. Upskilling intermediate employees is a challenge, and a lack of alignment in career paths and roles across the sector makes it even harder. As Chair of ScreenSkills, I’m particularly keen to ensure we have a talent pipeline fit for the future.
In the morning, I meet with UKIE (the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment) to talk about how we can bring the industry together. Greater alignment of career paths will have the added benefit of making our industry more accessible. Just over 24% of the European games workforce are female. It’s one of my priorities to increase that percentage and support those at more senior levels of their careers.
If we’re to better reflect our players, we need to be better at showing the many opportunities and pathways in this industry.
Later in the day, I have a meeting to prepare a pitch for a new mandate. Our brand director talks through online player interactions and creating new and exciting experiences.
We discuss the relative merits of a Games as a Platform (GAAP) business model, where the core gameplay loop needs to be compelling enough in itself to immerse and engage players.
As you can tell, I have had to learn a new language in moving to this industry and I still get a huge kick out of that.
Video games can be made remotely and, during Covid, were still successfully delivered. But coming together in person undoubtedly helps teams to collectively learn from each other in a way that’s harder when you are miles apart.
We want our remote teams to feel connected too – with dedicated comms channels, social events and visits up north.
On the train home, I read a review of the new TV series of The Last of Us. The Last of Us 2 was just one of the many games I played before joining the industry. I was blown away by the narrative, the world and my agency within it.
The TV adaptation is probably the best of its kind. For me, it illustrates the huge opportunity for greater collaboration across the screen sectors. I can’t wait to see what’s next in this fast-moving and always exciting industry.
Lisa Opie is Managing Director of Ubisoft Reflections.
