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Government cash injection for the UK Games Industry

by Steven Williamson on 10 December 2009, 09:45

Tags: TIGA

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£10 million is to be invested in the UK games development industry, including a £2 million prototype fund being administered by Abertay University for the UK, reports TIGA, the trade association representing the UK’s games industry

The commercial potential developed at Abertay will be enhanced by the new centre of excellence in Manchester. The new facility at MediaCityUK will help take games and creative content to the next level and companies will gain a better understanding of how gamers use their prototype products, providing the opportunity for the product refinement that will lead to enhanced success in the market, so it claims.

The video games centre within MediaCity UK grew from a commitment in the Digital Britain report published in June 2009 that highlighted the potential for links with Abertay University. It is supported by £1 million from the Strategic Investment Fund. With complementary funding from individual European Regional Development Fund initiatives in Manchester and Scotland (almost £1m via the Scottish Government) and from the North West Development Agency, a total of up to £10 million funding for the two centres is expected. TIGA CEO, Dr. Richard Wilson, clearly pleased with this investment, said:

“This is good news for the UK games industry. We particularly welcome the intention to use the funding to invest in prototypes to support new Intellectual Property (IP) development. Finding sources for finance for new IP is difficult at the best of times.

“We now look forward to the Pre-Budget Report on Wednesday December 9th. A commitment by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, that the Government will introduce Games Tax Relief would demonstrate that the Government is serious about supporting the UK games industry, one of the UK’s leading digital industries.”


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Posted by aidanjt - Thu 10 Dec 2009 10:01
So, if the government is now paying for games development, does this mean the British public is gonna get free games? :rolleyes:
Posted by Hicks12 - Thu 10 Dec 2009 10:34
aidanjt
So, if the government is now paying for games development, does this mean the British public is gonna get free games? :rolleyes:

Not all of us, the people on the dole will just like BB/phonelines/tv etc etc.

Tax relief on games? I didnt know there was much of a tax on it originally, i dont see how the government can justify taxing us a lot more in other areas and then reduce it on a major luxury!.
Posted by Knoxville - Thu 10 Dec 2009 12:55
aidanjt
So, if the government is now paying for games development, does this mean the British public is gonna get free games? :rolleyes:

They've been financing the film industry for years and I haven't seen a free copy of Lock Stock come through my letter box yet ;)

Hicks12
Not all of us, the people on the dole will just like BB/phonelines/tv etc etc.

Tax relief on games? I didnt know there was much of a tax on it originally, i dont see how the government can justify taxing us a lot more in other areas and then reduce it on a major luxury!.

I think you might have misunderstood that bit dude, tax relief isn't going to meen you pay less for games. It gives games companies a break so they can operate more profitably and in theory encourages growth in the UK's game industry :)

In his final Digital Britain report in June, the then communications minister, Lord Carter, proposed a so-called “cultural tax break” for computer games companies and there has been intense lobbying since then to get the idea approved by the Treasury. Richard Wilson, chief executive of the videogame trade association Tiga, said not coming to the aid of the industry would be “a colossal mistake and a failure of imagination on behalf of the government”.

“We have provided concrete, substantive and compelling evidence to support the case for a games tax relief, which our research shows would more than pay for itself,” he said. “We are convinced that the games industry has the potential to be one of the UK's leading digital industries as we emerge from the recession, so we will redouble our efforts to convince government and policymakers of the need to back our sector.”

Tiga had proposed support that it reckoned would cost the Treasury £192m – roughly equivalent to three days' worth of interest payments on the burgeoning national debt – over a five-year period. That cash, it argued, would safeguard £415m in tax receipts and encourage £450m of investment by the industry, creating more jobs.
Posted by aidanjt - Thu 10 Dec 2009 15:19
Knoxville
I think you might have misunderstood that bit dude, tax relief isn't going to meen you pay less for games. It gives games companies a break so they can operate more profitably and in theory encourages growth in the UK's game industry :)

They're hardly on the verge of going broke, and if some are feeling the pinch, it's their own fault for not negotiating better deals with their publishers.

This bailout mentality has long since gotten out of hand. Either absorb it into a public organisation or let it float (or flop) on the market naturally. It's not the responsibility of the tax payer to be the pockets for private enterprises with little to no benefit to them in return.
Posted by Mavarok - Thu 10 Dec 2009 17:47
Its true that many UK games companies are hardly on the verge of going broke. To be honest its an industry that has grown very rapidly in the UK and accounts for a fair bit of our economy, more so than the film industry which receives treasury support.

Also by plugging this money into the gaming industry Tiga recon it could preserve or create 3,550 jobs for graduate level candidates, which will help employment figures, and in around 5 years will ultimately lead to paying back into the tax system(plus more) through tax receipts.

Its also thought that if the UK gaming industry didn't get the support then there is a possibility that they will loose the ability to compete with other countries where there is support for the industry.

:rockon2:

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