Mike Kent

“Videos 40-60 mins long (the "television hour") only represent just 26% of uploads YET take 44% of watch-time and 46% of revenue. It turns out that the quintessential format for watch-time AND revenue on YouTube is (wait for it)… TV length!”

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We’ve quietly tightened the positioning of Digital Advisors. The focus is simple: independent strategic and commercial judgement for PC and video game studios, publishers and investors at moments when decisions really matter. Most engagements now begin with a defined Independent Assessment, particularly in situations where capital commitments, production scale or portfolio trade-offs carry material consequence. If you’re approaching a decision that needs to stand up to board, publisher or investor challenge, the site reflects how we engage. https://lnkd.in/eAjnz8av

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Gaming as a platform to educate about real world issues is something I’d love to see more of, even though it’s a delicate line to walk. Flying home from DICE today and shifting back into real life. This week’s podcast with Joost Vervoort dives into how you take real world issues and gamify them in a way that actually educates. Too often, games designed to teach end up feeling like homework and forget they’re supposed to be games first. Joost shared some fascinating insights into what Speculative Agency is building and how they approach designing around complex topics without losing the player. All Will Rise is a courtroom narrative deck builder focused on climate justice. It’s a super unique concept, and Joost brings a ton of depth to the conversation around how you balance fun, mechanics, and meaningful subject matter. Lewis Ward takes the mic to help support this weeks episode for a nice change of pace! Really thoughtful episode. Would love to see more studios experiment in this space.

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Clarification on Our Community Platform We’ve seen a few recent comments questioning our paid Discord group, and I just want to clarify what it is and what it’s not. The Discord is a private networking and support community for voice actors and creatives working in voice production. It includes peer support, industry Q&As, learning opportunities, and community-led initiatives. It is not used for casting or auditions. Casting opportunities remain 100% free and open to all voice talent via our agency partners and our public sign-up list - as they’ve always been. We’re committed to creating more opportunities, inclusive, transparent, and professional spaces in the VO industry. We welcome honest conversation, but we won’t engage with misinformed or inflammatory claims. Thanks to everyone who’s reached out with curiosity. If you have questions or just want to understand more - feel free to message me directly. If you wish to join the Discord you can do so here: https://lnkd.in/eV4FbGvM

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Newzoo's latest 2026 PC and Console Report is out, and it shows that new releases account for a low 13% of total playtime—despite 20,000 new games launching on Steam alone last year. https://buff.ly/kTnpX8Q

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ASGC Games Jobs Workbook Update First off, a huge thank you to everyone who reacted to last week's rollout. The energy and feedback around what’s genuinely the biggest improvement to the workbook in four years made the late nights worth it. In case you missed it, here’s where things stand. Open the workbook: https://lnkd.in/ePK7nQ44 Also on ASGC (Category 2, Resource 5): https://asgc.gg/category2 What the workbook already does, every day: It pulls live job listings from gaming and tech companies worldwide. Every role is auto-categorized using a standardized taxonomy (function, company type, work mode, location, experience), so comparable roles align cleanly across companies. Right now it surfaces ~30,000+ live roles, including 11,000+ in gaming. You can filter, sort, and search, including excluding keywords. Dead links or junk rows can be removed instantly via the community button, and hidden globally once confirmed. The system re-sweeps every 5–15 minutes, removing expired posts, duplicates, and errors, so the data stays genuinely fresh. What’s new today (4/25/26) 1. Self-learning + seeding: When one role is found, the system pulls the company’s entire job board, analyzes their ATS, and finds other companies using the same system. Those get added automatically. One seed expands into entire networks of companies, no manual curation needed. 2. Upgrade to Processing of Community submissions: Anyone can submit missing careers pages. Now, once verified, the system pulls all roles and expands outward through the same self-learning loop. 3. Apply click tracking: Every Apply click is counted. High-interest roles are highlighted, so you can quickly see what others are actively pursuing. This is no longer a static list, but a live signal of real activity and demand.. 4. Processing Transparency We show how many roles are still being processed or cleaned, so you know what’s in progress and when the numbers are final. /// If you ever feel this isn’t the most complete and accurate listing of game jobs in the world, DM me so we can make it better. Nothing short of that is acceptable because our games industry job seekers deserve no less "Zero Profit, Infinite Caring" forever for the games industry. This is how I like to spend my downtime on weekends. I hope it encourages others to use some of their free time to help support the industry as well.

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As someone who used to sit on the fence between both the Games industry and Music Industry, I understand where this comes from yet also see it as a potential negative that will only hurt both games publishers and ultimately music artists. A number of artists may no longer be considered for sync deals if the cost of including their music becomes too high. As someone who ran a couple of record labels and represented a number of bands / artists there were a couple of instances we waved rights to get tracks into Playstation projects that ultimately generated more from the initial sync deal than any PRS royalties that would come later on. Yet those same royalties had the potential to completely tank the game project if they were in place. I'm a firm believer "if it ain't broke don't fix it" and I think PRS could cause more trouble then good here. https://lnkd.in/eYrhuDhX

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The UK Video Games Council is pushing for further government support. While tax reliefs are essential, the real crisis we need to address is the talent drain. The UK has a wealth of talent but receives less support than other regions, risking the loss of our best seniors to markets like Canada or the Nordics. From a recruitment perspective, this signals a need for UK studios to focus heavily on retention packages. You cannot rely on "passion" when other countries are offering stability and government-backed incentives. Review your benefits. Review your remote policies. The competition is global. #UKGamesIndustry #TalentRetention

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Reading the great report from Matthew Ball and honestly nothing surprising but great to see the data. I was hoping for a surprise. Too much outside my direct control. I would love to see more regulatory action on gambling and some other sectors. Some social movement on things like short form video and intentionality but these are big problems outside of my control and Matthew correctly identifies the multitudes of markets and big tides. I founded our VR studio because I love making games and I want to make VR games. I knew no matter what we can self fund two games. We went into this with external funding promises from multiple sources which vanished within months as tides changed, expected rough spots and some unexpected personal challenges from family health. Though I still think we are good. Keep building games, be realistic, acknowledge the funding calvary is not coming and focus on getting your company to sustainability. Core fundamentals of money out and money in. Focus on what you can control and don't ignore the trends. Even if your piece of the market is a tiny puddle in the large ocean. Keep the lights on and keep making games.

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Gaming industry needs proper regulation, not a blanket ban. The government must understand the difference between gambling and skill-based games. Instead of banning, clear rules should be made: • Players should be allowed to deposit money only as per their income. • Low-income players must be restricted from playing on big tables. • RNG software should be properly aligned and verified. • Strict action should be taken against companies using bots instead of real players. With such regulations, the industry can be organized and safeguarded. A blanket ban will only destroy 4 lakh jobs and cause ₹20,000 crore annual revenue loss to the government. #justiceforskillgames

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Things aren't getting any easier for gamedevs in the UK - the folks at FluxDigitalPolicy have done a review of the impact on the proposed UK Social Media Ban for under 16's...

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There's some fantastic data in the new report from the #DCMS that drills down into the impact of the #UKGamesFund over the last several years. The organisation's #grant #funding for prototypes has helped bring over a hundred games to life - and it's focus on building sustainable studios and businesses in building value in terms of Return on Investment, Jobs and valuable new #IP. This also highlights opportunities to build upon this fantastic work and supplement in here in #Scotland. Find out more here...

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This is a great read and a clear example of why streaming for UA from your social media, website or advertising is going to be vital for success. https://lnkd.in/eTT76Jyg

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Jobs, Start-Ups and Studios in the UK Video Games Industry TIGA has published a new report, Making Games in the UK. The report reveals that employment, start-ups and studio numbers declined in the year ending September 2025. 1️⃣ Employment fell from approximately 28,500 to 27,350 between May 2024 and September 2025. This is the first fall in employment in the UK games industry for 14 years.  2️⃣ The number of start-ups fell for the third year running to just 137 during the same period. This is the lowest number for 15 years.  3️⃣ Total studio numbers declined from 2,175 in 2023 to 2,110 in 2025.  4️⃣ Almost every part of the UK saw employment in games development fall, apart from the Northeast, Northwest and East of England. This setback has been driven by sluggish global games sales, challenges accessing finance for early-stage studios and on-going industry restructuring. The UK games industry also competes on an unlevel playing field, with some jurisdictions  offering more generous tax incentives for games production than the UK. The UK video games industry remains the largest in Europe, has world-class talent, studios and universities, and previous TIGA research with the University of Portsmouth shows that the sector generates £12 billion in GVA.  The Government can help the UK video games industry return to growth in the following ways: ✅ Enhance the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC) via a Games Growth Relief. This could introduce a rate of 53 per cent on 80 per cent of qualifying costs for projects up to £23.5 million. This could boost GVA by £482 million and create almost 7,000 jobs (including almost 900 development roles).  ✅ Increase the rate of VGEC from 34 per cent to 39 per cent.  ✅ Increase the proportion of qualifying expenditure from 80 per cent to 100 per cent. ✅ Improve early-stage funding: The UK Games Fund’s prototype grants could be increased from £30,000 to £100,000 and content funding grants could grow from £150,000 to £250,000. For more information about our new report, please visit www.tiga.org Meanwhile, TIGA is delivering a Start-Up, Scale-Up and Grow Conference on 13th May 2026. The Conference is focused on enabling more studios to grow and succeed. Our Conference is kindly sponsored by Eaton Smith Solicitors, Plus Accounting, Chartered Accountants and SLITHERINE SOFTWARE UK LIMITED See here for more details: https://lnkd.in/eZWcXykz

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So if you're interested in the UK Games industry, this is a call to arms, please retweet and share! The BBC Charter review is about to close, and if you believe as i do that games should play a significant part in the workings of the BBC in the future, we need your help! Not enough games people have contributed and we need to make sure our voice is heard. This is a quick guide of what to do and it wont take long, but it could completely change how BBC deals with games, so please contribute to the Charter Review. The Games Angels, UK Video Games Council, Funding Quest UK, Game Republic, Jamie Sefton, UK Games Talent and Finance Community Interest Company, Paul Durrant OBE. 1. Go to: https://lnkd.in/ejAuYrMe 2. Under “Public purpose and mission”, consider selecting Disagree and adding a paragraph along the lines of: “Video games are now a core part of British creative and cultural life, and the BBC's mission should reflect that. By forming partnerships, commissioning new work, and embracing interactive storytelling, the BBC can champion games as a legitimate art form and celebrate their artistic and social value.” 3. Under “Chapter 1: Trusted institution”, you may wish to add: “The video games industry seeks to create safe and inclusive online spaces for players of all ages. The BBC should work with the games industry to develop digital experiences that promote digital skills, literacy and good digital citizenship.” 4. In “Public programming”, select Other and consider adding: “The BBC should work with the video games industry to promote programming that recognises the cultural and social impact of video games and interactive entertainment.” 5. In the Funding section, you could add: “The Government should relax capital constraints on BBC commissioning so it can more easily establish commercial partnerships with the games industry.” 6. In the final free text field, you may wish to add a broader comment about the role of games in the UK’s creative and cultural life.

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This isn’t meant to be a profound post and maybe just a handful of people will relate but I keep seeing the same BS going round and around and I can’t be arsed with it. I’m 48 this month and here are some of the things that 30 years in the entertainment industry and indeed the world of work have taught me…… 1) Be useful, no matter what your job title is or your life outside of work. If you see a way you can help, and you can afford the time, do it. That attitude makes the human world worth living in. 2) Run your own race, there is always someone making out how great they are or what deals they have going on. Who gives a f*ck. you are on your own timeline. Celebrate their successes if you like them as a person, ignore them if you don’t. 3) Take in the News once a week, not daily, use it as a barometer and not the truth. If you take the news daily it will hurt your mental health and a lot of it is propaganda. Use it as a barometer to understand which way the wind is blowing and nothing more. 4) Be yourself, more than anything this is important. The day you build a mask is the day you set upon a path that leads to severe unhappiness. 5) Everyone is creative, I had a project manager work for me once that said repeatedly “I am not creative and dont get creative people” yet she made the most beautiful cakes. Everyone is creative in their own way and need to embrace it, your creativity is a core part of being human. 6) Don’t take sh*t from people trying to exploit you. The entertainment industry is full of successful, wealthy, talentless tw*ts who want to use you and will discard you. You are the product, own your power 7) No body comes to work planning to do a sh*t job. If someone screws up, maybe it was a mistake, maybe they didn’t have the ability, but for sure they didn’t want it to go the way it did. Be compassionate. 8) In negotiation, look for a win / win scenario, people often think that to win, someone else has to lose, but in the best deals, everyone wins something and you build a relationship which means you get to stay on good terms and do business again. 9) Forget egos, working to the whims of others. This is pure BS. Work should revolve around a goal to achieve something. Working at places that are governed by the ego desires of individuals are a sure way to ruin your health. 10) When you f*ck up, own it! I spent many years painfully blaming others, the world etc for failures that ultimately were mine. Accept it, learn from it and move on. 11) To echo what Bill and Ted once said. “Be excellent to each other…. and party on dudes!” Basically life is short, work Is what happens between the important life events. Enjoy the ride and work to live, not live to work. Treat everyone with respect. I could have written a 100 points like this and maybe I will over time but these are things I learned the hard way. By making mistakes. That’s another lesson in itself.

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So what happens when an investigation call comes in? How do we handle it? What do we do? Watch below for a bit of insight... #icam #safetywise #investigation #callout #oncall

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