UK Games Industry Shadow Council forms to address “good and poor practices” in sector

A temporary independent body has launched to address “transparency, accountability, and ethical reform” in the UK games sector.

The UK Games Industry Shadow Council (UKGISC) is “a group of likeminded people who have given their personal time to come together because of inaction,” the group tells GamesIndustry.biz. It was created by games veteran Kim MacAskill, although she does not sit on the council.

Games veteran Phil Harris is chair of the council, which currently has over 30 members. However, some members are concerned about announcing their involvement.

“Some of the people involved in UKGISC have joined due to issues they have encountered in the industry to date,” says Harris.

“On this basis there are some concerns amongst council members about making themselves visible, for fears of retribution.”

The UKGISC aims to provide a platform for “voices who would like to identify good and poor practices” in the industry, citing recent events including the Build a Rocket Boy and Rockstar North layoffs.

To address these concerns thoroughly, the UKGISC is broken down into seven committees:

• Executive core
• Transparency and accountability committee
• Equality, diversity, inclusion and safeguarding committee (EDI & Safeguarding)
• Industry relations and partnerships committee
• Education and research committee
• Creative and production committee
• Technology and innovation committee

The UKGISC clarified that while it is not a union, it wants to “understand just how many underlying issues are out there.”

“We want to make clear that whatever is brought to our attention via the Shadow Council’s email address (shadowcouncilgamesuk@gmail.com) will be dealt with using discretion, dignity and respect.”

As for how the UKGISC will deal with concerns brought to its attention, the council says: “We act in order to represent the sectors and people who we feel might have been missed, to ensure as full a picture as possible, and to ensure all providing feedback are accountable.”

The UKGISC will operate until the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) takes over, which launched over the summer and will oversee ethical and governance standards across the creative sector.

The first iteration of the CIISA will focus its support on the film, TV, theatre, and music industries, although the UKGISC suggests it will “move [its] attention to the games sector soon.”

The UKGISC says it sees “an ample opportunity that [its] diverse council of educators, recruiters, company owners, and workers can help to identify the good and bad practices we see across the industry and make the CIISA aware of those practices.”

It added: “In doing so, we hope to work with the trade bodies already active in the sector as well as the UK Video Games Council, to make employment in the sector secure for the employed and employers alike.”

The UK Video Games Council was established over the summer to “work in partnership with the government” to support growth and innovation of the country’s games and interactive entertainment industry.