[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.]
November 4, 2010
TIGA, the trade association representing the UK video games
industry, today published information showing that between July
2008 and September 2010, there was a 9 per cent fall in the number
of people employed in the UK games development sector. Meanwhile,
the global industry’s software sales grew by 16 per cent
between 2008 and 2010. TIGA called on David Cameron, the Prime
Minister, to back the UK video games industry and other high
technology businesses by introducing Games Tax Relief and by
enhancing the R&D tax credits for SMEs.
Dr Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, said:
“At a time when the global video game industry is growing,
the UK development workforce is declining. A key reason for this
decline is that video game developers in the UK are at a
competitive disadvantage. Many of our key competitors provide tax
breaks for video games production. No such tax breaks for games
production exist in the UK. Investment and jobs are drifting away
to other countries.
“David Cameron, the Prime Minister will today set out a
vision of London’s East End becoming a hi-tech rival to
Silicon Valley in the USA. This is potentially interesting,
but the PM is missing a trick. The UK video games industry is a
high technology, high skilled, export oriented and environmentally
friendly sector that can be world beating with the right Government
support. TIGA’s proposed Games Tax Relief would create a more
level playing field and boost investment, job creation, innovation
and power growth in the video games sector. TIGA urges the
Coalition Government to look again at Games Tax Relief and improve
R&D tax credits to help high technology firms including
development businesses.”
TIGA will be publishing a full census on the UK Development
sector later this month. Contact
[email protected] for more details.
Ends
Notes to editors:
About TIGA:
TIGA is the trade association representing the UK’s games
industry. The majority of our members are either independent
games developers or in-house publisher owned developers. We
also have games publishers, outsourcing companies, technology
businesses and universities amongst our membership. TIGA was
awarded ‘Trade Association of the Year’ and the
‘Member Recruitment Award’ at the Trade Association
Forum Best Practice Awards 2010. TIGA has also been named as a
finalist in the 2010 Chartered Management Institute (CMI) National
Management and Leadership Awards in the category of ‘The
Outstanding Organisation of the Year Award (SME)’.
TIGA's vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to
do games business. We focus on three sets of activities:
political representation, generating media coverage and developing
services that enhance the competitiveness of our members.
This means that TIGA members are effectively represented in the
corridors of power, their voice is heard in the media and they
receive benefits that make a material difference to their
businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial
opportunities.
For further information, please contact Eva Field, TIGA PR
Manager on: 07814 039 983, or email
[email protected].
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