Molyneux calls on UK government to support games industry
Speaking to the Telegraph at Microsoft's X10 event, Lionhead's Peter Molyneux has called on the UK government to give tax breaks to local game studios. Said Molyneux, "It is just crazy that the British government does not recognize the games industry as a creative industry in the way it recognizes others," noting that Canada recently replaced the UK as the third largest games industry in the world. He noted that many measures taken by Canada have been proven to be "financially sensible."
Molyneux's words contribute to escalating pleas for government support in the UK. Over the past year, the issue has been consistently pursued by the industry, with developers calling for tax breaks, and the government in turn asking for evidence of how such breaks would culturally enrich the country. Meanwhile, an August report noted that the production of original IP was declining and suggested that developers might be willing to take risks on original ideas with tax cuts in place.
Molyneux probably sums up the situation best: "The UK has a great heritage of invention and creativity, it's just the rest of the world have a great heritage of recognizing that properly and it frustrates the hell out of me."
