UKIE, the UK's games industry association, has conducted its largest ever census of people working in the UK games industry.

3,208 people working in the UK games industry responded to the census, including developers, artists, musicians, and those working behind the scenes in areas such as business management, IT, and marketing. Everyone from CEOs to freelance workers were included, but the gaming media industry was not included, and press and influencers were not involved.

The most striking finding from this census is that the number of gaming industry professionals suffering from depression, anxiety, or both is almost double the national average; according to UKIE, 31 percent of respondents disclosed mental health issues, with younger, mid-level workers and CEOs of small firms report more than others.

In particular, writers were more likely to report anxiety, and quality assurance personnel were more likely to report depression. Lower-level positions were more likely to face anxiety and depression, but directors and CEOs of small firms were equally likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. CEOs of large companies were by far the least likely to report both.

UKIE argues that the gradual decline in stigma against talking about mental health may be a reason why younger employees seem more susceptible to mental health problems. While junior workers have less control over their work and are paid less than senior workers, which may explain the increase in mental health problems, these workers also tend to be younger and may be more open to talking about their mental health than their older counterparts.The UKIE argues that these results suggest that older industrial workers are less likely to have depression or anxiety, but simply that they are less likely to be open about it.

The census also examines other demographics. Women make up 28% of the industry, a lower percentage compared to the same ratio of men and women in the broader population. They are also underrepresented compared to other industries such as music and performing arts (46%) and publishing (53%), with UKIE stating that the number of women in the gaming industry is "well below the overall UK working population." Mental health problems are also more common than among male workers, with 35 percent of women reporting anxiety and 26 percent reporting depression.

However, the percentage of nondualists is higher than the national average, with 2 percent of respondents saying they are nondualists compared to 0.4 percent of the population.

Ethnically, the UK gaming industry is very, very skewed toward white British workers, with Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) workers totaling 10 percent, and whites very high at 67 percent. Interestingly, while the percentage of BAME workers is well below the national average, it is higher than many other creative industries. Film, television, video, radio, and photography had just 4 percent, and marketing just 7 percent.

Queer people also have a much larger presence in the games industry than in wider society, with those who self-identify somewhere within the LGBTQ+ umbrella accounting for over a fifth (21%) of the UK games industry. Surprisingly, there were more bisexuals than gays and lesbians (11% vs. 5%) and 1% asexuals. This is well above the national average, where the queer population is estimated to be about 3-7% of the population.

Transgender people are also common in the gaming industry, with 3 percent of respondents identifying as trans, up from 1 percent of the general population.

LGBTQ+ people of all types, however, were much more likely to report anxiety and depression than straight or cisgender workers. More than half of transgender people interviewed reported depression and anxiety, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other nonstraight sexualities all reported higher levels than straight workers.

The report itself delves deeper, examining topics such as neurodiversity (only 2 percent of workers have autism, for example) and caregiver status (22 percent of workers are caring for children).

The importance of addressing diversity is noted, with UKIE encouraging the industry to aim for inclusion in all aspects, from the recruitment process to education schemes. UKIE also wants the industry to improve its hiring of foreign workers and states that it should make an "ongoing commitment" to improve the recruitment, retention, and support of foreign workers.

Critically, UKIE also said that the gaming industry should continue to be open to this type of research. Better tracking of diversity and progress in the gaming industry is needed and should "continue to work with independent researchers to provide further rigorous and objective insights into working in gaming."

The main bulleted findings can be read on the UKIE website, and the full 60-page report can be downloaded.