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Mobile gaming needs more talent to power the UK’s tech revival, claims industry expert
Fatih Haltas, founder of mobile game developer Matchingham Games, believes the UK could lose its European tech crown if action isn’t taken by industry and government to attract more investment and talent to the mobile gaming sector.
Haltas set up Matchingham Games in the UK in 2020 to tap into its established tech ecosystem. Since then, the company has grown to over 120 staff members and achieved nearly 500 million installs, but Haltas says mobile gaming developers still struggle to attract the best talent and institutional investment, which is stunting growth opportunities in the sector.
Haltas said: “The UK has done a fantastic job in cultivating a dynamic gaming sector, and we have the infrastructure to truly become a world leader in mobile gaming. We already have the biggest gaming market in Europe, but we must attract more talent and investment from the global giants like the US, Japan, and South Korea.”
Currently, firms can apply for employee sponsorship licences, but these require upfront payment and often come with long administrative processes. Haltas believes removing these financial barriers and offering targeted, streamlined gaming visas would attract crucial investment and talent to drive growth in mobile gaming and the wider UK tech sector.
He continued: “There has been commendable government action for the gaming sector as a whole, like the UK Games Fund and Video Games Tax Relief. Unfortunately, these aren’t targeted for the specific talent challenges in mobile gaming. Young developers are still drawn to the more high-profile console studios and titles.
“The UK’s gaming industry has established foundations and proven growth potential. With some surgical support in talent acquisition, like easing visa requirements for tech graduates from overseas, the industry can be left alone to do what it does best – developing market-leading games. This would lead to a surge of investment into the sector.”
Haltas believes another option available is increasing the Business Asset Disposal Relief (previously Entrepreneurs’ Relief) lifetime allowance from £1 million to its previous ceiling of £10 million, and argues this would encourage companies to relocate to the UK to develop their games and stimulate M&A activity in the sector.
Haltas’ intervention comes in the wake of Drake Star’s latest Global Gaming Report, which shows the UK lagging behind an uptick of M&A activity in the industry (full report).
Q3 saw the biggest strategics, like Tencent and Playtika, consolidating, and Q4 has seen the Activision/Microsoft merger finally close. While many commentators have questioned what the Microsoft deal means for the industry, Haltas insists the lack of M&A activity in the UK highlights how institutional investors don’t take mobile gaming as seriously as other markets.
Haltas continued: “The UK mobile gaming sector often presents more lucrative commercial opportunities than the console and the PC sector, yet investors consider it a second-rate form of gaming. This mindset needs to change.”
In 2022, the global market revenue for mobile games was $91.8 billion dollars; for console games it was only $52.2 billion (statista). Mobile also makes up a larger percentage of total gamers; in the US it’s estimated that 48.3% of the total population are mobile gamers (Insider Intelligence).
The Drake Star Q3 report details 42 deals in the mobile gaming sector, with a value totalling $316 million. Total gaming deals across both console and mobile are concentrated in North America, with 11, and Asia, with 13.
The increase in gaming deal flow in these markets follows the introduction of talent incentives. India’s AVCG incentives provide cash for companies developing content in India, and further support for those employing a 15% Indian workforce (Confederation of Indian Industry). Turkey provides cashback incentives for UA expenditure (Turkish Ministry of Commerce) and the UAE’s AD Gaming initiative provides support for locally developed games (AD Gaming). In a European context, some EU countries offer corporate tax relief.
HSBC Innovation Banking’s ‘Data Commons’ initiative with Dealroom outlines the state of the UK tech industry (full report). Whilst the UK leads the European market, with its startups having raised $8.9 billion so far this year, its European competitors are catching up as investment lags behind the European average.
Haltas believes the UK is now at a disadvantage to other markets and while the government’s recent autumn statement included measures to support British business, he’s calling for sector-specific support targeted at high-growth industries.
Haltas continued: “The UK’s mobile gaming sector now risks lagging behind other markets and while the impetus is on the industry to drive growth, a little push from the government could have knock-on effects that go beyond gaming.
“Bringing in the best talent in one tech sector inevitably attracts the best developers and designers in other areas, and this will be a massive draw for investment into UK tech. The UK’s mobile gaming industry could become a lightning rod of investment and capital, revitalising the wider UK tech ecosystem.”
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Steer Studios Joins Make-A-Wish® International’s Infinite Wishes Initiative
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– Steer Studios joins Bandai Namco, Square Enix, and 2K in supporting Make-A-Wish International’s mission to unite the global games industry for good. –
Make-A-Wish® International, the world’s leading wish-granting organization, has today announced that Riyadh-based Steer Studios, part of Savvy Games Group, has joined the organization’s Infinite Wishes Initiative, offering valuable support to help make a difference.
The funds were raised through Steer Studios first mobile title, Grunt Rush. By collecting stars during gameplay, the player community unlocked the donation, helping to grant life-changing wishes to children living with critical illnesses.
Launched in August 2025, Infinite Wishes is a global programme built to unite the video games industry. It was created in response to a growing number of gaming-related wishes from children around the world.
Steer Studios joins a growing list of partners and advisors including Bandai Namco, Square Enix, and 2K, helping shape how the games industry can make a tangible, positive impact for children who need it most.
In 2024, the Make-A-Wish International network granted more than 16,000 wishes for children living with critical illnesses.
The post Steer Studios Joins Make-A-Wish® International’s Infinite Wishes Initiative appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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New GoldenRace game, RaceDay, allows players to simultaneously place bets in several races
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GoldenRace, leading provider of award-winning Virtual Sports and betting solutions, is always reinventing its products so operators can increase their winnings and players can obtain a better betting experience.
Set to transform the way your players engage with Virtual Sports, GoldenRace’s brand-new multi-race product for Retail and Mobile, RaceDay, allows them to bet on up to six races of your choice, simultaneously, offering higher odds and increased betting volume.
Operators can select their favourites from GoldenRace’s top-quality races: Horses (in different formats with 6, 8, 10 or 12 competitors) and Greyhounds – two of GoldenRace’s more successful products- Motorbikes, Karts and Trotting. They decide which ones and how many, giving players the power to bet across all those races at once.
RaceDay highlights
- More bets: Players can now bet on up to six races concurrently, maximising their opportunities and increasing betting volume on your platform.
- New RaceDay market: With combination bets across different competitions in one view. This innovative market helps boost the odds and leads to more significant wins for players.
- Stronger player growth: Higher payouts and an exhilarating experience attract more players, driving sustained growth.
- Increased appeal: RaceDay delivers premium user experience with live video, real-time scores, upcoming events and a unique, customisable design.
- Anywhere reliability: Thanks to low-bandwidth optimisation, RaceDay offers seamless performance and reliability on both Mobile and Retail platforms, ensuring players can “Race it all!” wherever they are.
With real-time video, live scores, upcoming events, customisable design and low-bandwidth optimisation, RaceDay blends pure adrenaline with the best user experience to unlock higher odds, bigger wins and more bets on worldwide operators platforms.
The post New GoldenRace game, RaceDay, allows players to simultaneously place bets in several races appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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QTech Games adds more creative content from BEON
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QTech Games, the leading game aggregator across all emerging markets, has continued to maintain the momentum in its premium pipeline, as evidenced by its latest deal with BEON, an emerging force in the slots space, whose first raft of games is crash games-focussed.
Integrating a progressive portfolio from one of the most productive and innovative developers in the sector adds more muscle to QTech Games’ proprietary platform, which is leading the way across growth markets like LatAm and Africa. In a progressive production line that will span different slots genres, BEON is also committed to launching games tailored to specific partner requests, while simultaneously growing its portfolio with a new wave of titles in development.
As a result BEON is building a reputation for creating high-quality, immersive games with standout features that set them apart in any igaming domain, thanks to a smooth performance running off agile mechanics which are dedicated to gameplay precision and optimal retention. Its first five games to be released comprise Skydot, Fury Flight, Redy, Nomad and Orizon, while BEON’s unique Crash Game Generator tool allows operator partners to launch customised content inside 24 hours.
This collaboration delivers a targeted range of localized content, enabling QTech Games to continue to meet the varied preferences of players across emerging markets, while supporting both companies’ ambitions for global growth.
Philip Doftvik, QTech Games’ CEO, said: “BEON’s initial rollout of eye-catching crash games is premised on clever mechanics, easily intelligible gameplay, high payouts and colourful graphics, which are breaking up an often-copycat environment. This kind of content is well-suited to LatAm and African markets, which directly tracks our ongoing expansion throughout these territories. These games are robust, scalable, and future-ready – so, we look forward to seeing what’s next. ”
Saba Chkheidze, Managing Partner at BEON, added: “Partnering with QTech Games constitutes the perfect opportunity for us to bolster our product distribution across emerging markets and deliver our fantastic crash games to more and more top-tier operators.
“It’s a collaboration which marks a step-change in BEON’s growth strategy across untapped markets like Latin America and Africa, where we hope our games will connect with many new players. Aside from crash games, our roadmap is packed with fresh concepts and slots titles that aim to combine engaging gameplay with solid technical performance, ensuring that our partners and players always have something new to look forward to.”
The post QTech Games adds more creative content from BEON appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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