TIGA: UK video game tax breaks will be better than we expected

UK video game industry trade group TIGA predicts that roughly 10,000 jobs will be created or protected as a result of the government's decision to ratify five years' worth of tax breaks for the game industry in March. The Guardian reports that TIGA has revised its initial estimates of the tax relief program's benefits to account for recent changes in the global game industry, including reports that the Quebec government cut its tax relief for "English-speaking" games from 30 to 24 percent this month. "I know of one UK chief executive who has already had calls from people based in Canada looking for work here," TIGA chief executive Richard Wilson told a Guardian reporter. The association also predicts that UK game studios will reap roughly £188 million (~$319 million USD) in additional investment over the next five years as a result of the tax relief program. TIGA is one of the advocates who lobbied the government for seven years to pass tax relief measures to stimulate the regional game industry, initially predicting that such measures would create or protect upwards of 4,661 jobs. Now, it predicts that the tax breaks will lead to the creation of roughly 2,000 new jobs and the protection of 1,600 extant jobs in development, as well as the creation of 3,700 jobs and the protection of roughly 3,000 jobs that are indirectly related to the UK game industry. "Games Tax Relief is now set to lead to an upsurge in investment in the games industry, resulting in more jobs and more culturally British games being developed," said Rebellion CEO and TIGA chairman Jason Kingsley. "This is great news for the UK games industry and for the wider economy."