TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, said today that it was looking forward to working with Ed Vaizey MP, the new Culture Minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to champion the games industry in general and to implement Games Tax Relief in particular.

Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, said:
“TIGA congratulates Ed Vaizey on his appointment as Culture Minister. He took a keen interest in the video games industry in opposition. He recognises that the video games industry is precisely the kind of sector that the UK should strive to be predominant in during the 21st Century. He also appreciates that the principal factor holding us back is the uneven international playing field: our key competitors benefit from tax breaks for games production; we do not yet have one.
“Encouragingly, Ed Vaizey told Develop on April 26th that George Osborne, now the Chancellor of the Exchequer, supported video game tax breaks. Ed Vaizey himself said: ‘…it is our policy to introduce game development tax breaks.’”

Richard Wilson added:
“We need to rebalance our economy away from an excessive reliance on financial services and public sector employment. We need to promote export oriented, high skilled, knowledge based business sectors of the economy, including the video games industry. TIGA looks forward to working with the new Culture Minister to help achieve this objective.”

Jason Kingsley, TIGA Chairman and CEO and Creative Director of Rebellion, said:
“It is good to have a Culture Minister who supports tax breaks for the UK video games industry. TIGA’s research shows that Games Tax Relief over a five year period would create or protect 3,550 graduate level jobs and increase or safeguard £457 million in development expenditure. Games Tax Relief will generate high skilled jobs, encourage investment and strengthen an export oriented industry.”