TIGA, the network for games developers and digital publishers and the trade association representing the video games industry, released a new report today which showed that the most popular genre of games released by UK development studios in 2016 was Action/Adventure games. The Action/Adventure genre has now topped the TIGA genre league table for three consecutive years. The popularity of Action/Adventure games looks set to continue in 2017, with successful releases such as Sniper Elite 4 from Rebellion.
TIGA’s report, Zest for Adventure, is based on extensive research of 200 games released in 2016 by 147 UK studios. The report examines games released on various desktop, console, mobile and VR platforms. Studios of all sizes were included in the report, including small, medium and large development studios and both independent and in-house development studios were included in the analysis.
Zest for Adventure includes in-depth case studies with studios including Centrifuge Ltd, Future Games of London, First Touch Games, Funky Panda Games, Preloaded, Strawdogs and Supermassive Games.
The report reveals the following key findings.
• The most popular genre of game released in 2016 was Action/Adventure, making up 24.5 per cent of all games studied. Other popular genres were Arcade titles, which accounted for 15 per cent of releases and Strategy games, which made up 12.5 per cent of releases.
• The two most popular platforms for UK studios during 2016 were iOS devices and Windows desktop, accounting for a combined 41 per cent share of all game releases at a near even split. Android was also popular, with 18 per cent of all games released in the last year also appearing on the mobile operating system. The marketplaces on these platforms offer comparatively open stores for developers and provide a large consumer base, hence their popularity.
• Different genres bring different challenges and opportunities. For example, while studios releasing Casual Games have the advantage of being able to reach a huge market this is counter-balanced by the sheer volume of competition in this space.
Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said: “TIGA’s report reveals three principal findings. Firstly, UK developers have a zest for adventure: almost a quarter of all games examined in our report were action and adventure games. This points to the enduring popularity of the genre amongst consumers and developers.
“Secondly, the most popular platforms for UK studios in 2016 were iOS devices and Windows desktop, responsible for a combined 41 per cent share of all game releases. These platforms are comparatively simple for developers to access and they provide an enormous consumer base.
“Thirdly, different genres bring different challenges and opportunities to games developers. For studios releasing Casual Games, there is the advantage of being able to reach a huge market but this is counter-balanced by the sheer volume of competition in this space. In the case of Horror Games there is significant scope for innovation and social gaming, but studios may need to have a wide mix of skillsets, including people with experience in film, entertainment, narrative and gameplay.
“Overall, our report Zest for Adventure shows that UK games developers are creating, producing and releasing games across a wide range of genres. This confirms the breadth of creativeness, imaginativeness and inventiveness within the sector.”
