UK chancellor George Osborne held a private meeting of senior media and entertainment executives earlier this month, offering support for the UK games industry, according to reports.
UK chancellor George Osborne held a private meeting of senior media and entertainment executives earlier this month, offering support for the UK games industry. Trade press site GamesIndustry.biz reports [registration required] that the Government's 'Growth Review', launched late last year, was discussed at the meeting. Those in attendance conversed about how the government can better work with digital and creative industries. Ian Livingstone, life president for Eidos, was among those invited, and said of the meeting: "The fact that we had representation at the meeting is an acknowledgment in itself that the video games industry is being taken seriously and that it is important socially, culturally and economically to the UK." Speaking about chancellor Osborne, Livingstone remarked, "There was certainly a great sense of his wanting to work with, and assist, the digital and creative industries to ensure they become a cornerstone of the UK economy, acknowledged and viewed as a valuable sector like the financial and pharmaceutical sectors." The chancellor pulled game developer tax breaks from his Emergency Budget last year, despite past commitments and promises. Osborne said that tax breaks for game developers were "poorly targeted". This meeting may well determine how Osborne will report back on the Growth Review in his upcoming Budget on March 23.
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