UK isn't attractive enough for investors, warns Electronic Arts

EA recruitment boss Matthew Jeffery has warned that Britain will continue fall behind other countries in the "global development league table" unless more incentives are offered to investors.

Speaking at the Develop conference in Brighton, Jeffery said there is no recruitment crisis in the British development industry - despite "doom and gloom" in the press.

"There is not a recruitment crisis in the UK. Those who tout this are those who don't try to creatively recruit," he stated.

Jeffery also dismissed suggestions that there is a dearth of talented developers in the region, declaring, "The UK and Europe have the finest talent pool in the world today."

However, he did concede that there is a "global war for talent which is getting ever more competitive" as developers are more prepared to relocate around the globe - and more motivated to do so.

"in the past six months, the UK has slipped from the third largest games developer to the fourth behind Canada," Jeffery said.

He argued that this isn't due to a talent shortage, or because the UK doesn't have adequate training on offer, but because "the UK is losing its attractiveness for games companies to invest in in comparison to other countries" such as Canada and France.

"If we don't recognise these issues then the UK will continue to fall down the development global league table as investment and our best talent will flow abroad," concluded Jeffery.