The industry employs hundreds in Merseyside and Cheshire and is seen as a key driver for the region's economy, yet executives say the sector can only grow if young people are taught the right skills.
TIGA (The Independent Game Developers Association) says that the games industry needs people skilled at maths and science - but it worried that too many young people are leaving school or university without a solid grounding in those subjects.
Chief executive Richard Wilson said: "The UK video games industry competes on quality, which in turn is determined by the skills and potential of developers in the sector.
"We need to ensure that our education system generates still more excellent employees for our industry.
"We need to use strong financial incentives to attract the best graduates to teach in schools, greater flexibility in the national curriculum to give schools the freedom to teach subjects such as computer science, and information about a career in the video games industry in school to encourage more young people to stick with science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects.
"In tertiary education, tuition fees for mathematics and computer science students should be reduced to incentivise students to study these disciplines."
"Encouraging more staff exchanges between business and academia through the use of industrial secondments could also generate benefits for both sides, including enhancing the quality of UK higher education."
Jason Kingsley, chairman of TIGA and chief executive of gaming group Rebellion, said: "The UK games industry competes on the basis of high quality skills. We cannot have a highly skilled workforce and a knowledge economy on the cheap.
"Our key competitors spend substantially more on higher education. Canada, South Korea and the USA spend between 2.5% and 2.9% on tertiary institutions, compared to approximately 1% in the UK.
"The UK needs to increase the proportion of GDP devoted to tertiary education and to spend it well."
Enda Carey, head of games and digital at support agency Northwest Vision and Media, said games companies needed to work more closely with universities and schools to tell young people what skills they need to enter the industry.
He said Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios Europe, which employs 600 people at studios and development centres in Liverpool and Runcorn, had appointed a liaison officer to work with universities.
But Mr Carey said that while large game developers needed technical skills, companies creating social networking games for platforms such as the iPhone or Facebook also need people with analytical and marketing skills.
"It's about analytics and marketing, spotting trends and reacting quickly," he said.
"The key to the success of iPhone games is not creating the application, it's about maximising returns once it's out there."