Our Boost programme has always been about one thing: proving that brilliant working‑class talent isn’t just “nice to have” for the UK games industry, but a growth engine hiding in plain sight. Our new Boost Evaluation Report shows exactly that, and the results are far more exciting than we expected.

Download the full report

Boost connects high‑potential candidates from low‑income backgrounds to UK game studios for up to three‑month paid placements, with no cost to employers. Because Into Games handles wages, contracts, and HR admin, studios get pre‑vetted talent with almost zero overhead. As one 2025 employer put it, “There isn't a better way to get a high-quality placement that allows you to mitigate all the risks.”

The evaluation shows a sector hungry for this model: 75 studios expressed interest for 11 places. These are mostly small teams — 78% of UK studios have four or fewer staff — meaning traditional recruitment is often too expensive or too slow. Yet the talent pipeline is overflowing, with 6,000+ graduates completing games‑related courses each year, many from working‑class backgrounds. Boost bridges that gap.

Across placements with financial data, Boost returned £41,753 in net value against wage costs of ~£22,500 — a multiplier of £1.82 for every £1 invested. When studios estimated future revenue unlocked by the placement, the return jumped to £4.65 per £1. Every studio would participate again. Every candidate recommended Boost. 91% achieved positive employability outcomes.

Confidence soared too: participants entered with an average score of 4.1/10 and left at 6.6/10. In several cases, candidates outperformed seasoned professionals. One AAA studio said their participant’s documentation was “better than some written by people who’ve been in the industry for years.”

Declan Cassidy, CEO of Into Games, summed up the bigger picture:

“Boost shows that programmes like this directly affect company growth and, in turn, their ability to take on more new staff. That positive feedback loop is an engine that can drive change. I sincerely hope that this evaluation is more than an internal progress report and starts to reframe diverse new talent not as a company burden but as organisational rocket fuel.”

The full report digs into the details — the growth opportunity, how Boost works, and the full 2025/26 evaluation including demographics, outcomes, challenges and recommendations. It closes with next steps for scaling this model across the UK’s most economically deprived city regions.

We are thrilled to be continuing this programme with our newest cohort of IG50 winners for 2026. We are open to more studio applications, so if you've been looking for a smarter, fairer way to bring new talent into your studio, this is for you.

Register your studio’s interest for Boost 2026

Download the full Boost Evaluation Report