The UK Games Industry Shadow Council (UKGISC) is a rather new player in the UK games industry. It’s an independent group that wants to call out both good and bad practices across the country’s games sector. Their direct approach is targeted at better transparency, accountability, and ethical reform in the industry. In an interview with GamesIndustry, they talked about their goals to improve the overall game industry in the UK.
A Bit Of Context
Industry insiders set up UKGISC, professionals who feel like trade bodies and employers haven’t done enough to fix the ongoing problems. Stories about layoffs, toxic work environments, and all sorts of shocking behind-the-scenes secrets keep pouring out, yet nothing changes.
So a bunch of seasoned professionals sought to themselves to step up and form an interim watchdog. While Kim MacAskill kicked off the thought, she remains outside the council to preserve its independent autonomy.
Who Is Involved And How It Works
Phil Harris, a veteran designer and writer, is the council’s chairman. Working with more than 30 people, some from recruitment, some from education, and others from studios and the gaming industry job market.
A few of the council members are choosing to stay anonymous, and the reason is well understood. They’re rightfully concerned about the risks that challenging such large publishers and major studios in the industry brings.
As for the council, it’s split into seven committees, each one talking a different specialization: accountability, EDI and safeguarding, industry partnerships, education and research, creative and production issues, and technology and innovation. There’s also the executive core team keeping the knots tied together.
What It Means For UK Devs And Players
The group is collecting confidential testimonies of workers, promising to handle every submission with utmost “discretion, dignity, and respect.” However, the council’s agenda remains highlighting great studio cultures, and not just showcasing the dark, ugly truths. Their purpose is to set up a clearer, more transparent map of what working in the UK games industry is like, day in and day out.
However, the UKGISC is set up temporarily, and once the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) formally starts covering games, the council plans to hand over its findings and wrap up its work.
Meanwhile, council members are hoping to work with the government-backed UK Video Games Council so that any industry’s future growth is grounded in fair, stable jobs — not just toxic cycles and waves of layoffs.
