Dundee

By

Emma J

Last Updated: 11, September 2024

Dundee

  Number of Digital Jobs
  Digital GVA
  Average Advertised Digital Salary
  Digital Concentration
  Startup Births
  Tech Sector Growth Potential

What’s there

Dundee is home to a thriving games sector – in fact the world’s fastest selling game, Grand Theft Auto, was developed here by DMA Design.

Many other indie developers are based in the city, from Denki and Biome Collective to Outplay Entertainment – the city’s largest developer with more than 150 employees.

Abertay University and its Centre for Excellence in Computer Games Education turn out a healthy supply of graduates each year. This year marks two decades since Abertay University became the first in the world to offer a degree-level qualification in computer games development.

Close links have been forged between the creative and digital sectors too. Take NEoN Digital Arts Festival, for example, or Fleet Collective, a co-working space and agency bringing together the art, design and publishing sectors.

What’s new

2016 saw Dundee selected to run the UK Games Fund programme, in recognition of the city’s excellence in games development. Meanwhile, Creative Dundee, a network organisation supporting the creative and digital sectors, launched its digital platform.

Collaborations with spinouts from the University of Dundee’s renowned life sciences department are on the rise. Examples include ‘Play to Cure: Genes in Space’ a free mobile game using players to analyse real genetic data.

What’s up next

Developments include the £1 billion transformation of Dundee City Waterfront. At the heart of this development, is the V&A Museum of Design, due to open in 2018. The museum will run a design-led business innovation strand, which will act as a design and innovation hub.

  • Colin Anderson

    Managing Director, Denki

    What we do

    Denki is Dundee’s longest-established independent game developer, having released over 150 games for more than 30 of the world’s biggest brands since opening in 2000.

    Why Dundee?

    Dundee has a renowned history of pioneering creative industries and continues to attract talent from all over the world. This has made the area fertile soil for establishing and growing new creative businesses, such as computer game development.

  • Chris Martin

    CEO, Waracle

    What we do

    Waracle is one of the UK’s largest and most experienced mobile and IoT specialists. We work with some of the largest UK and European companies across industries including fintech, digital health and energy. Waracle is part of the Exception Ltd Group.

    Why Dundee?

    Waracle has been able to grow throughout the UK with the strong support of our Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh teams. Creativity and innovation thrive in these cities. The talent that comes from the leading computer science universities, including Dundee, Abertay, Glasgow, Strathclyde and Heriot-Watt, has enabled us to keeping pushing for leading-edge mobile apps and IoT developments.

Economic stats

3,571 Number of Digital Jobs Number of digital jobs – An estimation of employment in the digital tech industries and the digital tech economy. The APS has allowed us to capture digital embeddedness, that is digital experts working in non-digital industries. It also coves freelancers and self-employed workers. (Source: ONS Annual Population Survey)

0.69 Digital Concentration Digital concentration / Location quotient (LQ) – Indicates the geographic concentration of digital business turnover relative to the UK. A value of one indicates average digital concentration, while a value of greater than one indicates a higher concentration. (Source: BSD)

97 million Digital GVA GVA (Gross Value Added) – Average digital GVA between 2013-2015. GVA measures the contribution of each economic unit by estimating the value of an output (goods or services) less the value of inputs used in that output’s production process. (Source: ABS/BSD) .

34 Startup Births Startup births – Average number of startup births 2011 – 2015 (Source: BSD)

171% Turnover Growth
36,323 Average Advertised Digital Salary Average Advertised Digital Salary – Digital tech economy average salary (2016) in each cluster (source: Burning Glass)

Standard of living

7.43 Life Satisfaction Life satisfaction – Life satisfaction (10 pt scale, ONS data)

146,391 Average House Price Average House Price – Semi Detached Average House Price (Land Registry, Dec 2016)

4 Housing Affordability Ratio Housing affordability ratio – House price to salary ratio

Cost of doing business

What local startups say is good

91% Overall Quality of Life
86% Tech Sector Growth Potential
84% Cost of Living

What local startups say is a challenge

60% Lack of Supply of Highly Skilled Workers
45% Poor Digital Infrastructure
40% Poor Transport Infrastructure
Download more details on survey responses for this cluster