The Scottish video games sector has seen a 26% increase in the number of jobs, according to industry body TIGA.
Its survey found that employment grew from April 2020 to December last year, while the number of gaming firms in Scotland rose by 53% - above the UK average of 41%.
Scotland remained the fourth largest games cluster in the UK, after London, the South East and the North West.
Scotland accounted for 7.9% of the UK’s games companies and 10.8% of its developer headcount.
TIGA also found that in Scotland by December 2021, there were 2,269 permanent staff working on games development, within 17 companies.
The number of companies had increased from 96 and employed more than 1,803 staff in April 2020, while 4,148 indirect jobs were supported by the industry.
As of December 2021, Scotland had 2,269 creative staff working on games development in 147 active companies, according to the UK-wide survey. This was up from 96 companies employing 1,803 staff in April 2020.
The research also suggested that the sector supported an additional 4,148 indirect jobs, which was an increase from 3,296 in April 2020.
It estimates that the Scottish games development companies invest £141m in salaries and over heards, contributing £129m in taxes and contributing around £312m to the UK’s economy. The overall total for the UK’s gaming sector is estimated to be around £2.9bn to the UK’s economy.
TIGA chief executive Richard Wilson said Scotland had "a mass" of experienced games developers as well as universities preparing skilled graduates for the games industry, pointing to a "supportive infrastructure" that included Scottish Enterprise and Creative Scotland.
"Growth in the Scottish games industry can be perpetuated by enhancing Video Games Tax Relief to reduce the cost of games development, introducing a Video Games Investment Fund to improve access to finance, and further strengthening industry-university links to enhance skills and innovation."
Professor Gregor White, dean of design and informatics at Abertay University, said the latest figures were "fantastic news" for the Scottish games sector.
He added: "We've been conscious of industry growth in scale and value since 2020 and have seen some significant investment from multinationals with Unity, Rockstar and Epic establishing new offices across Scotland."
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