Tiga welcomes the EU's decision to allow French government to support its games industry.

12 December 2007

Tiga has issued the following statement following the news that the European Commission had supported the French government's application to apply film tax breaks to its video games industry:

Tiga believes the measure will give the development companies up to a 20% cash rebate on qualifying development, and would be applicable to more than 50% of games made in Europe this year (APOM estimates).

Tiga supported the French developers and government in applying for support to their industry.

Tiga submitted documents and research to the European Commission on state aids elsewhere and argued that the Commission needed to support its own industries in the face of market distorting state aids being applied by Canada and other territories in the world.

Tiga argued that ISFE's (the European Publishers group) position against this outcome was untenable and inconsistent because their members were among the first to take any state aids being offered in Canada and other places but yet opposed the French government assisting developers.

Said Fred Hasson, CEO of Tiga and Chairman of EGDF (European Games Developers Forum), 'Tiga notes that the UK government did not rule out applying the same support systems to the UK at the recent public debates with Ministers, and invites UK based publishers to support us in levelling the playing field for UK development groups in the face of loosing work and staff to Canada and other territories due to state aids'.

For more information, please contact Fred Hasson, +44 7788 563 723.