REVEALED: top 10 UK cities for gamers

• Cambridge is the number one city for gamers due to best combination of high internet speed, local gaming culture and jobs
• Wakefield is the second best city for gamers and ranks the highest for gaming job opportunities
• Brighton is the third best city and has the best local gaming culture

New research has revealed that Cambridge is the best UK city to live for gamers.

The research by SolitaireBliss studied data within UK cities to determine the best cities for gamers to live based on four categories: average download speed, gaming stores in the local area, local gaming culture, which was determined by local gaming events and companies per 100,000, and gaming job opportunities per 100,000 people within a ten mile radius.

The analysis revealed that Cambridge is the best UK city for gamers. It has the ninth highest average download speed, 98.95 Mbit(s), 35% higher than the national average. Cambridge has the third strongest local gaming culture, with the second highest number of gaming companies and third highest number of local gaming events per 100,000 people. The city also ranks third for gaming job opportunities in the UK with 126.72 gaming job opportunities per 100,000 people, the third highest in the UK after Wakefield and Salford, respectively.

Cambridge ranks high for gaming culture and employment, with 52.46 gaming companies per 100,000 people, the second highest in the nation behind Brighton, but missed out on second place for culture due to having less gaming events in the local area.  

Wakefield sits in second place due to being the best city for gaming job opportunities, with 333.5 gaming jobs per 100,000 people, the highest in the nation by far. Despite having the best employment opportunities, with 333.5 gaming jobs per 100,000 people, the highest in the UK by far, Wakefield does not have any local gaming events. The city could earn the top spot with a stronger local gaming culture and faster download speeds, which is currently on par with the national average.

Brighton comes in third overall due to having the best gaming culture in the UK, with the highest number of gaming companies compared to its population, and over four times as many gaming events per 100,000 people than London. Brighton’s average download speed is currently 83.92 Mbit(s), 14% higher than the national average, but just a further 10% increase would see its overall ranking improve. In order to reach the top spot, Brighton could also improve its gaming job opportunities, which the city currently ranks 24th for.

Rank	City	Download speed rank	Gaming stores rank	Gaming culture rank	Gaming jobs rank
1	Cambridge	8	13	3	3
2	Wakefield	24	16	27	1
3	Brighton	19	34	1	24
4	St Albans	5	3	9	4
5	Kingston upon Hull	1	48	40	60
6	Lichfield	2	18	36	5
7	Dundee	9	38	2	39
8	Bath	33	6	5	7
9	London	12	63	4	25
10	Portsmouth	4	26	60	40

St Albans is the fourth best UK city for gamers. The city ranks high across the board, with average download speeds 40% faster than the national average, nine local gaming stores and 31.65 gaming companies and 122.95 gaming jobs per 100,000 people. St Albans benefits from its close proximity to London and has 26 local gaming companies, which unlocks greater opportunities to work in gaming, making it the fourth best city for gaming jobs. St Albans could rank higher by hosting local gaming events, of which there were none recorded at the time.

Kingston upon Hull ranks in fifth place, as the city has the fastest download speeds in the nation, 180 Mbit(s), 146% higher than the national average. Despite this, the city ranked very low for every other criteria, causing it to miss out on a higher spot. Local gaming culture, jobs and stores all were far below other UK cities. Gaming job opportunities in particular ranked low, which placed Kingston upon Hull only two places from the last spot for that category.

At the other end of the scale, Perth in Scotland is the worst city for gamers, after ranking in the bottom ten for all four criteria. Perth’s average download speed is 49.83 Mbit(s), which is 32% lower than the national average. The city also has some of the lowest numbers of gaming stores in accordance with its population. With only a few gaming companies and zero local gaming events, Perth does not have much of a gaming culture or many job opportunities to work in gaming locally. Despite this, gamers in Perth can enjoy being a close distance to Dundee, which ranks seventh best on the list.

Lichfield is ranked sixth best UK city for gamers. It has the fifth best gaming employment opportunities, with 118.29 gaming jobs per 100,000 people. Lichfield also has the second fastest internet in the UK, an average of 129.62 Mbit(s), 77% faster than national average. It ranks 35th for number of local gaming companies, with 11.83 gaming companies per 100,000 people. In addition, Lichfield has zero gaming events nearby, ranking its gaming culture below average in comparison to other UK cities.

Dundee comes in seventh place, which earns its place due to ranking high for number of local gaming stores, gaming culture and gaming jobs. Dundee gamers enjoy above average download speeds, at 98.63 Mbit(s), which is 34% higher than the national average. In terms of gaming culture, Dundee is second only to Brighton, with 12.69 gaming events per 100,000 people, and has 22.56 gaming companies per 100,000 people, the ninth highest in the UK. Dundee is the only city in Scotland to appear in the UK top ten, making it the best city in Scotland for gamers to live.

Bath is eighth, with high rankings for local gaming culture and job opportunities. The city has the slowest download speeds out of the top ten, 72.71 Mbit(s), ranking 33rd for this criteria. With improvement in this area, Bath could dramatically improve their overall ranking, as the city ranks in the top ten for local gaming stores, culture and jobs. There are currently 28.57 gaming companies per 100,000 people in the area, and 101.2 gaming jobs available per 100,000 people in the area, the sixth and seventh highest in the UK, respectively. Local gaming companies and high opportunities for employment in gaming make Bath a great city to live if you are a gamer.

London is ranked the ninth best UK city for gamers, with the fourth best gaming culture thanks to its strong presence as a gaming events hub, hosting the most out of any UK city by far, and for having the third most gaming companies per 100,000 people. Gamers in London also enjoy faster than average internet, 27% greater than the national average. However, London could improve its score with more gaming opportunities per 100,000. Currently, it ranks 25th for job opportunities compared to its population, just behind Brighton.

Rounding off the list at number ten is Portsmouth. The city enjoys average download speeds of 127.44 Mbit(s), the fourth highest in the UK behind nearby Winchester, and 74% faster than the rest of the UK. Portsmouth has the lowest gaming culture score out of any other cities in the top ten, and could benefit from more local gaming companies and events in order to improve its position as one of the best UK cities for gamers and keep it in the top ten.

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from SolitaireBliss said: “During 2020, 62% of UK adults played video games. Gaming is a huge industry that is enjoyed by people of all ages, and the UK has a reputation for producing some of the world’s biggest game developers. These findings highlight the best cities in the country for gamers to live. Cambridge made the top spot as it scored well across the board, with its residents receiving high download speeds and a rich local gaming culture thanks to its reputation and history as a centre of innovation for computing, which draws talent and companies alike to the city. Other cities in the UK could learn from Cambridge, who shows that gaming is not only just a hobby, but also a global digital industry that is growing each year.”