UK studios make up an impressive 24 per cent of the Develop 100 list this year, landing the country in second place in terms of national representation.
 
Only the USA has more talent on show, comprising an imposing 40 percent of the studios who made it. In third and fourth are Japan and Canada, who make up 16 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.
 
This means Britain matches the combined studio presence of Japan and Canada across the entire Develop 100.
 
The outstanding amount of national talent on show is somewhat undermined, however, by the absence of any UK studios from the Develop 100 top ten.

Well over half of British studios don’t make the top fifty.
 
The profit margins of British studios are similarly uneven. The combined 2009 profits of the top 100 global game studios is some £1.4 billion, yet British-based studios made up only 15 per cent (£208.7m) of that figure.
 
This is not a small contribution, but it puts the UK in fourth place overall, behind Canada on £215.62m, Japan on £415.22m and the USA on £484.78m.
 
These statistics seem to support the idea, as frequently espoused by UK trade association TIGA, that the abundant well of video games development talent in Britain is not being used to its full potential.
 
They would also seem to support the argument that industry tax breaks could really get the ball rolling on an explosion of profitability from a very sizable and skilled workforce already operating within the country.

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