SCOTTISH GAME DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION SCIO TRUSTEE’S ANNUAL REPORT April 2025 - March 2026
Charity contact information
In Writing:
Scottish Game Developers Association Scottish Charity Number: SC048978
℅ Colin Macdonald
20 Merchiston Avenue Edinburgh EH10 4NY
Online:
Email: info@sgda.co.uk Web: www.sgda.co.uk Twitter : @scotgame Facebook: @ScotGameDev
Charity Trustees
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Greg Lee
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Paula Lucas
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Gary McCartan
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Tim Gatland
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Colin Macdonald (chair)
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Objectives and activities
The Scottish Game Developers Association was incorporated as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation in January 2019.
Our main purposes are
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To raise the profile of the development of videogames and associated interactive visual, audio-visual and technology based arts as an integral part of Scotland’s arts, heritage, culture and science sectors through a regular series of community building events and information sharing activities.
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To further the education of the Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Arts relating to the development of videogames and create understanding of the integral role these fields play within the wider community.
SGDA aims to do this by holding a series of regular events designed to connect those involved in areas of video game development with each other and the wider community. We normally host events across 3 cities in Scotland - Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow as well as creating online communities to develop and share learning and ideas. We are a volunteer run and supported organisation and are grateful for the continued support we receive from the community. We strive to create positive partnerships where possible and support many of the key video game events and organisations in Scotland such as the Arcadia Festival, Tinderbox Collective, Glasgow Independent Games Festival, Creative Scotland, Scottish Government, Techscaler and IES.
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Structure, governance and management
Type of governing document
Scottish Game Developers Association operated as a tier two SCIO and our governing document is a Constitution that reflects this.
Trustee recruitment and appointment
Our trustees have experience across the different creative disciplines within the Scottish games industry, as well as of community support and event delivery.
The board holds the power to appoint any member as a trustee at any time. Each trustee holds a two year term and will be eligible to stand for re-election at the AGM following their two year period. External organisations are not allowed to appoint trustees, however, trustees can co-opt a non member to be a charity trustee if they feel they will bring specialist experience. Following a four year period, a board member cannot stand for re-election until a calendar year has passed since the end of their term. Co-opted members will retire at each AGM but can then be co-opted again if the board wishes.
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Achievements and performance
SGDA activity picked up dramatically this year compared to the last few fallow years after we finally got control of the last of the bank etc accounts that the unresponsiveness of a past trustee had been causing a problem, and the £36.96 that remained can now be used.
Membership has now reached 24 companies (12 corporate, 12 indie), providing a stable financial base, and a representative voice for studios of different sizes and stages.
Thanks to the support of Creative Scotland we hired a part-time General Manager as a single point of contact for industry, and wider stakeholders, allowing more engagement and better coordination of activity throughout the year.
We have maintained and developed an active website (www.sgda.co.uk) as a central information hub for the community, and roughly monthly mailouts have kept the community informed of games related events around Scotland.
Three sets of Games Talks Live events have run in this financial year (April 2025, October 2025 and March 2026), each running in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow across consecutive days, and each attracting 300-400 attendees.
In September 2025 the SGDA also organised a programme of international speakers, over 200 attendees and 15 local studios exhibiting for “Dundee Day”, the fringe event for the prestigious DICE conference coming to Scotland for the first time ever.
Scottish Drinks Receptions at Develop and Gamescom attracted about 200 delegates, and venues for the 2026 conferences are booked.
We successfully bid for funding and delivered the first dedicated in-person accelerator for Scottish games studios, with 24 participants. And designed a 6 month programme of 10 workshops, supported by tailored mentoring, coursework, and curated resources and post-accelerator meetups to maintain peer networks and collaboration beyond the formal programme.
We took 10 Scottish companies to GaMaYo in Wakefield, enabling studios to build relationships, pitch projects, and explore new markets beyond Scotland.
We supported UK Games Fund's DunDev showcase event, helping ensure a strong pipeline of Scottish companies is visible to funders and partners.
We collated member opinions and represented the sector in meetings with various bodies, organisations, and government departments.
Our main challenges for the forthcoming year are ensuring enough revenue is generated to maintain having the General Manager role, and to be able to provide all the support we would aspire to.
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Financial review
Funds are higher at the start of the year, with all outstanding costs already settled, so trustees are happy the organisation is in a good financial position.
Statement of the charity’s policy on reserves
To support the long term sustainability of our organisation we aim to build up a general fund of 6 months running costs.
Details of any deficit
There was no deficit on the account.
Donated facilities and services
Nothing relevant.
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Statement of receipts and payments Unrestricted Restricted funds Total funds current period funds[Total funds last period ] to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ A1 Receipts Donations - - Legacies - - Grants 20,000 - 20,000 0 Receipts from fundraising activities 14,000 - 14,000 0 Gross receipts from other charitable activities - - - - - - A1 Sub total 34,000 0 ~~oe~~ A3 Payments Expenses for fundraising activities (18,649) (18,649) 0 - Gross trading payments 7
| Investment management costs | - | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payments relating directly to charitable activities | - | - | |||||
| Grants and donations | (5,000) | (5,000) | (5,000) | 0 | |||
| Governance costs: | - | ||||||
| Audit / independent examination | - | ||||||
| Preparation of annual accounts | - | ||||||
| Legal costs | - | ||||||
| Other | (13) | (13) | (13) | (13) | (13) | 0 | |
| - | |||||||
| A3 Sub total | (23,661) | (23,661) | 0 | ||||
| ~~ee~~ | ~~ee~~ | ~~ | ~~ | ~~ | ~~ | ~~ | ~~ |
| Total payments ~~ee~~ |
~~ee~~ |
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| ~~ee~~ ~~as~~ |
~~ee ~~ ~~as~~ |
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| Net receipts / (payments) ~~as~~ |
~~as~~ |
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~~as~~ ~~ |
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| Surplus / (deficit) for year ~~ |
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Future plans
Immediate ambitions for the SGDA are to :
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Secure ongoing staff capacity - essential for coordinating activity and responding to opportunities
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Deliver a follow up to Games Day - a flagship, industry-led conference aimed at attracting 250 delegates and international speakers.
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Support export and market access - provide subsidised attendance at key UK and international events for Scottish games companies
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Run a second cohort of the SGDA Accelerator - continuing the programme now embedded in Scottish support ecosystem.
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Expand professional development - modelled on successful NI Screen model, enabling individual skills growth and talent retention.
Scotland's games sector generates significant creative and economic value, yet lacks the dedicated infrastructure that other creative industries enjoy. SGDA bridges that gap by:
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Creating pathways for emerging studios to scale and attract investment
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Keeping talent in Scotland by improving career development opportunities
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Raising Scotland's international profile in games
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Providing funders and government with trusted, evidence-based sector intelligence
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● Strengthen ties between studios, creating a connected and self supporting ecosystem.
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Declaration
Signed on behalf of the charity trustees:
Print name Designation Date
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APPENDIX
’ Independent examiner s report on the accounts V2
| **Independent examiner’s report on the accountsV2 ** | **Independent examiner’s report on the accountsV2 ** | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Report to the | Charity name | ||
| trustees/members of | Scottish Game Developers Association | ||
| Registered charity | SC048978 | ||
| number | |||
| On the accounts of the | Period start date Period end date |
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| charity for the period | Day Month Year Day Month Year |
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| 1 | 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 |
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| Set out on pages | 7 - 8 of the Trustees Annual Report | 7 - 8 of the Trustees Annual Report (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) |
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| Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner |
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity trustees |
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| consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations | |||
| does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section | |||
| 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. | |||
| Basis of independent examiner’s statement |
My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the |
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| charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes | |||
| consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks | |||
| explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken | |||
| do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, I do | |||
| not express an audit opinion on the viewgiven bythe accounts. | |||
| Independent examiner’s | |||
| statementIn the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention | In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention | In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention | In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention |
| 1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the | |||
| requirements: | |||
| • to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act |
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| and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and | |||
| • to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with |
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| Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations | |||
| 2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper | |||
| understanding of the accounts to be reached. | |||
| Signed: | Signed by: | ||
| Date: 27-04-2026 |
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| Name: | Alan Murray, ACA | ||
| Relevant professional | |||
| qualification(s) or body | |||
| (if any): | |||
| Address: |
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