Tax Breaks for the UK Games Industry?

[Flabio]

So, the chancellor is apparently going to 'offer help to the computer games sector'.

No details yet, but it's nice to actually get a mention.

Still won't vote for them.

[edit]

Here's C&VG's piece on it. Still no real details yet.

[Tig]

in before "too little too late"


Seriously, this is great news. Might stop the whole industry from upping sticks to Canada

[Flabio]

The Canadian government have just offered to pay 37% of ALL Warner's staff salaries.

That'll be Rocksteady on the way over there soon then I imagine.

[ChrisF]

This just got knocked on the head in the emergency budget.

[Flabio]

Yeah, was mooted during the election that, whoever won the election, it was unlikely to actually go into law.

I can see why they wouldn't go through with it, but it's basically another missed chance to stop the brain drain that's eroding the UK based industry pretty hard at the moment.

[abigsmurf]

Tiga and Pegi are pretty understandibly pissed off by this.

Pre-election campaign promise (from both the tories and lib dems) broken.

[iloveannie]

Umm, actually tax relief for the video games industry has been scrapped. So expect to see some devs/pubs fold.

[abigsmurf]

Rocksteady to move to canada in t minus 5....4....3...

[Tig]

I haven't got enough Picard.jpg for this

[Number45]

Tiga and Pegi are pretty understandibly pissed off by this.

Pre-election campaign promise (from both the tories and lib dems) broken.

Did you watch the first EG Election show? Spent a LOT of time going over the various promises (Or lack of) made by the three parties. It was quite interesting.

[NW2013]

Kind of goes against the stated aim of increasing the number of private sector job opportunities. D'oh!

[Decider-VT]

Looks like they didn't take all of their cues from the Canadians then- utterly stupid move. Is it beyond the government's comprehension that more Britain-based devs in a growing industry is a good thing? Do they somehow think that a multi-billion pound industry is unimportant or not worth considering?

[saif]

Erm, we have a very old-fashioned party ruling us now (the name kind of gives that away....) and we should always have expected this. It is a real shame,as is the case in many industries, creativity will come from Brits, money will go to others.

[iloveannie]

I have no problem with the party. Look at the mess they've been left. Again. And for me and the industry I work in there's been good news as the 10% that Labour was going to add to cider has been dropped.

The UK dev scene has been around for years. It either weathers the storm or it doesn't. It's had time to develop (no pun) and gauge its market by now.

[Number45]

Yes, but they're competing with developers from countries that get support from their government to make the costs of developing games more attractive. Why would our talent hang around here when the opportunities are so limited, when they can go to another country and benefit from that support?

And if the talent goes, the studios will follow before long.

It's not quite that straightforward obviously, but aside from the big studios that are funded by massive companies (Although who's to say they won't up sticks as well?), the UK development scene has been on a downward spiral for some time now.

And it's even more frustrating because past governments have recognised that the film industry generates money for the economy and given them tax breaks. I guess it's still too difficult for them to grasp just how much the games industry generates.

I can understand why they might do this. It'll be seen by the masses (Who hate games, obviously) as unnecessary expenditure in a budget that's supposed to curb it - it just seems short sighted. But I guess short term measures are the order of the day currently - perhaps when we've wiped out the deficit in 5 years they'll revisit the proposal. Hopefully there will be enough left to benefit by then!