Tiga: UK politicians ‘asleep at the wheel’

Responding to today’s news that Canada has now surpassed the UK as a hub for games development, trade body Tiga has suggested UK policy maers are ‘asleep at the wheel’.

“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," said Tiga CEO Richard Wilson in responce to Develop’s earlier news story.

"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.

Canada’s claim comes as digital media association Ontario Technology Corridor has revealed that Canada has now taken the UK’s long-held place as the globe’s third largest global development destination. 14,000 game developers are now reported to reside in the United State’s northerly neighbour.

“UK policy makers need to wake up," added Wilson. "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. “