Kotick rules out UK expansion

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick says that the high cost of living in the UK has led the company to rule out expansion.

"It is ridiculously expensive to live in the UK, especially in London,” Mr Kotick said in an interview with The Times.

"What dictates our expansion plans would be whether we can compensate our employees fairly and whether they can achieve the quality of life that they want."

Activision currently employs 1,000 workers in Slough, Birmingham and Liverpool, but is reportedly is ruling out expansion in Britain because of the cost of living and the lack of media company tax breaks offered by countries such as Canada.

"We think about development planning and where we can get tax incentives that would help us do that," Kotick said.

"Our employee base tends to be young, say, in their thirties. And I think that they would like to be in a city rather than in Slough."