UK games industry

August 17, 2010

TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, said today that UK politicians have been “asleep at the wheel” as the Canadian games development workforce grew to exceed that of the UK. TIGA made the comments following a report in Develop Magazine that the Canadian development workforce has now overtaken the UK to become the third largest developer of video games in the world.

Dr Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, said:

“UK politicians have been asleep at the wheel - while the Canadian video games industry has soared in numbers and the UK development workforce has declined. There was nothing inevitable about this process. Canadian policy makers simply took the farsighted decision to create an attractive environment to do games business, in particular, through the provision of generous tax breaks.

“UK policy makers need to wake up. If we are to rebalance the UK economy away from an excessive reliance on public sector employment and financial services then we must encourage the growth of other sectors, including creative industries such as the video games industry. It is not too late to ensure that the UK remains a leading developer of video games. The UK Coalition Government must look again at our proposal for Games Tax Relief – a measure that over five years would generate 3,550 graduate level jobs, £457 million in investment, encourage new business models and the generation of new IP. “

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'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 eva@tiga.org.