MPs will be told today that extra support must given to the video games industry in Dundee.
Abertay University business director Paul Durrant will appear before the House of Commons committee on the Scottish games industry to highlight the economic potential of the sector and Abertay’s role in attracting talent to Dundee.
The university said it is vital that new ways of generating private investment are found if the fledgling industry is to fulfil its potential as a major part of the Scottish economy.
Mr Durrant said on Tuesday, “One of the things that we are looking at is the cost of development.
“Companies need significant working capital because of the long lead-in time to commercialisation.
“It would be unjustifiable for that to come from public funds but they can make sure there are the right economic conditions for growth and encourage investors to put money into games.”
He said tax laws should be adjusted to make it more profitable to invest in a game and then recoup money through royalties.
The parliamentary inquiry was launched after the coalition government abandoned plans for tax relief promised by the previous administration.
Mr Durrant said, “Games development is a very valuable industry for the UK economy, and the explosion of gaming on mobile phones and social networks means there is enormous growth potential for companies of all sizes.
“We continue to strongly support the industry’s calls for games tax relief, but we also recognise the important role of other support mechanisms, including ways to incentivise private sector project finance.
“At Abertay we incubate start-up companies, link talented students with companies seeking new staff and new ideas and are managing a £5 million project to invest directly in new games prototypes.
“The development of original games intellectual property is a particular strength for the UK, and when this is combined with the supply of talented Abertay graduates it can stimulate inward investment.”
The university also supports the industry through links between researchers from disciplines like psychology and business, and providing incubation facilities for companies with great potential.
Two of these are Play2Improve and YoYo Games, which are based at the university while they develop their products and grow.
Play2Improve is developing a games coaching training system to improve players’ skills online, while YoYo Games lets anyone easily make and share games without any programming skills.
Matt Seeney, chief executive of Play2Improve, said, “As a small company preparing to launch a new product this year, being based within Abertay has been a substantial help. Sharing knowledge on a daily basis is an incredible opportunity.”
The company plans to launch the product at the NEoN digital festival in Dundee in November. It has also worked with business students to develop marketing ideas and refine its business plan.
This semester over 200 students will use Play2Improve as a ‘live’ case study for their coursework, with the best ideas feeding into the firm.
YoYo Games chief executive Sandy Duncan said, “Through our Game Maker software we now have over 95,000 games on our website, and are planning substantial growth over the next 18 months.
“Being based in Abertay University gives us instant access to very talented students and graduates to complete short-term and long-term work.
“The games industry has great potential, but for growth to be sustained over the next five to 10 years requires support for mid-sized project finance. We believe that investment tax relief for companies turning over less than £10 million a year would be a substantial boost.”
With strong support through financing and collaborations with industry the university sees games as having the potential to be a flagship UK industry, generating value-added businesses, providing secure employment to skilled individual, and meeting the government’s aim of rebalancing the economy and supporting the growth of the private sector across the UK.
Photo used under a Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user artwork_rebel.