UK video game trade body TIGA has put forth a proposal calling on the British government to create a new Creative Content Fund for video games to the tune of £3 million ($4.9 million) annually. Last month the British government finalized tax breaks for video game production cost to companies that create games that can pass a British cultural test. Naturally TIGA was delighted with this news, after fighting several years to get them on behalf of the shrinking video game industry, but now the trade group wants more.

Developers of video games that are deemed "culturally British" can claim tax relief on some of the production costs in the United Kingdom thanks to a new tax relief scheme that officially went into effect in the region yesterday.

Under the newly implemented plan, game developers and publishers can claim a tax credit of up to 25 percent on qualifying production costs associated with producing games that are certified by the BFI as culturally British.

UK video games industry trade group TIGA has written an open letter to European game content rating system PEGI calling for a review and adjustment of its pricing policy, which the groups claims is charging indie developers in the UK "unreasonably high and repetitious fees." TIGA wrote the letter in response to complaints from its members about PEGI’s pricing policy.

TIGA, the trade group that represents the video games industry in the UK, announced that it will facilitate a series of events around the country to help developers understand the importance of the new Games Tax Relief recently approved by the government. The tour will start in Oxford, England sometime in May, and all of the events will be free for developers to attend. These events will feature input from UK industry veterans as well.

UK video games Industry trade group UKIE called for a merger with Tiga, a trade group representing developers, at its AGM today. UKIE chairman Andy Payne said he was "extending a hand" to Tiga CEO Richard Wilson and the board to explore how the two trade bodies can work together. He said the current split meant the industry only had “half our voice, half our power" with two separate organizations.

"It just feels like we should be one because we are a new industry," said Payne. "It would be easier, for the media and politicians."

TIGA, the trade organization that represents the video games industry in the United Kingdom, has announced the addition of six new board members this week.

The new members of the board are Halli Bjornsson, CEO of Lockwood Publishing; Gary Bracey, Commercial Director at Kuju Entertainment; Elaine Green of Nellyvision; Catharina Lavers Mallet, Head of UK Studios for King; Nizar Romdhane, Director of Ecosystem, Marketing, Media Processing Division, ARM; and Stuart Whyte, Studio Director at Lionhead. Mark Gerhard of Jagex becomes Vice-Chairman.

The video games industry in the United Kingdom should have had tax breaks by now but the European Commission's questions on certain parts of the UK's proposals (mainly having to do with UK cultural tests) have stalled efforts so far. This week UK trade body TIGA urged the EU Commission to make a decision, reports Gamasutra.

Tax relief for the video games industry in the United Kingdom has been delayed because the European Commission was not able to approve the Cultural Test provisions of the plan, according to this GamesIndustry International report. The Cultural Test requires those applying for tax credits to promote the culture of the UK in various ways.

UK games industry trade groups UKIE and TIGA expressed their disappointment in the news, but were optimistic that the government would continue to be committed to tax breaks for games developers.

When a publisher leaves a studio high and dry in the United Kingdom, industry trade body Tiga thinks that such abandoned projects should be eligible for tax relief. Tiga CEO Richard Wilson said that publishers have in the past left some studios in the UK “high and dry” by demanding large development teams for extended periods to then cancel a project with little or no notice at all.

A questionnaire aimed at developers about their opinions on the issue of copyright and game cloning has been launched by UK game industry trade body Tiga. The survey, located here, offers participants 15 questions on a variety of subjects including whether business has suffered from game cloning, questions about IP ownership, some on licensing and copyright enforcement.

UK video game industry trade groups UKIE and TIGA have submitted recommendations for the cultural test that will help the government decide which companies are eligible for tax relief. UKIE and TIGA shared its proposed recommendations with each other so that they could approach the UK government with a "consistent voice" on the topic. In order for a game to qualify for UK tax breaks, it will have to meet the requirements of a points-based test that focuses on "cultural content and contribution." Projects will need more than half marks (at least 16 out of 30) to qualify.

Rebellion co-founder and CEO Jason Kingsley has been honored by British royalty with an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Kingsley is also known for helping to create UK video game-related trade association TIGA in 2001. He is currently the chairman of the trade group. Rebellion has been in business for 20 years and employs around 250 people.

UK video game industry trade group TIGA announced this morning that it has appointed six new board members from Remode, Ubisoft Reflections, Boss Level, Neon Play, Kuju Entertainment and 4T2 representatives. The new board members include Remode managing director Ella Romanos, Ubisoft Reflections General Manager Giselle Stewart, Boss Level CEO Nick Brown, Neon Play CEO Oli Christie, Kuju Entertainment Ltd COO Adrian Hawkins, and 4T2's Mike Hayward.

UK video game industry trade group TIGA is advising the UK government against any plans to abolish the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The recommendation to abolish the DCMS as part of a tax cut package was part of a recent report from the Institute of Economic Affairs.

TIGA CEO Richard Wilson says that the elimination of the department would save very little money.

Today the British government announced that tax breaks for the video game industry are part of the 2013 budget (thanks beemoh). Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to introduce corporate tax relief beginning in April 2013 for various sectors including video games, animation and high-end television industries. Osborne hopes that these tax breaks will "make the UK the technology centre of Europe."

Rocksteady co-founder and game director Sefton Hill has called on the UK government to offer tax breaks to game studios before it’s too late. Hill says it is time for the UK to support its games studios to match the benefits offered overseas or risk losing them.

"A lot of my friends have moved abroad to get work; there's a real talent drain," Hill said in an interview with CVG. "Montreal is a central place for development and it's mainly because the tax breaks they give are so phenomenal."

According to a developer survey conducted by UK game industry trade group TIGA, only 33 percent of developers in the United Kingdom are working solely on games for traditional retail. Only ten percent of those start-ups surveyed said that retail was their area of focus. The rest, two-thirds according to TIGA, are working on digital or social game properties. TIGA claims that just 33 percent of UK developers now work solely on retail, and based on survey results, estimates that the digital and social games sector will grow by 21 percent every year until 2015.

The trade group representing United Kingdom game developers expressed their concerns about SOPA in a press release issued yesterday. TIGA CEO Dr. Richard Wilson said that the bill worries the UK games industry because they could open them up to damaging legal actions and hurt online games businesses.

According to a survey conducted by Games Investor Consulting, 41 percent of jobs lost in the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2011 relocated to other countries with tax codes and incentives that favored the video game and entertainment industry.

Developers joining the ranks of the UK game industry trade group TIGA will be delighted to hear that the group is hosting two events for indies and mobile studios to recieve free consultation from PR experts. In announcing it, TIGA said the initiative is part of a wider goal of supporting the new wave of independent start-up studios that seem to be emerging across the UK. Some of these new studios popping up are the result of massive layoffs by big studios.

UK video game industry trade group TIGA has launched what it calls an education matching service that will help colleges and universities with speakers from the games industry. TIGA education manager Lorna Evans will oversee the matches.

TIGA has publicly urged the Scottish Government to create a Creative Content Fund to help Scottish developers. The fund would be designed to offer up £100,000 investment to developers for new projects, and allow them to get the money the group invested back once a project starts making significant revenue. The fund would only apply to games where the developer owned the IP as well.

In a guest editorial on the UK version of the Huffington Post, TIGA CEO Richard Wilson ask the British government to give the game industry a break ... a tax break.

UK video game industry trade group TIGA said today that high technology businesses in the region were at risk of a "brain drain and skill shortages," complicated and compounded by the existence of tax breaks in other countries. The group has long sought tax breaks and incentives for the video game industry, but the financial downturn and austerity measures in the UK forced the government to abandon any measures that were on the table at the time.

UK video game trade group TIGA issued a short statement on the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) mathematics results. The group said that the significant increase in entries for physics combined with a rise in the proportion of young people achieving A - C grades at GCSE mathematics was "encouraging," but that the country faces a challenge for achieving similar results for the two-fifths of GCSE students who failed to get a passing grade. A solid background in mathematics is fundamental for students looking to have a career in the game industry.

UK video game industry trade group TIGA proposed today that the UK's Coalition Government should open the Small Firms R&D Tax Credit to promote "a high technology recovery and job creation in high technology industries." TIGA made the comments in response to a "consultation exercise" by HM Treasury on the R&D tax credits.

UK video game industry trade group TIGA has joined forces with members of the European Games Developer Federation (EGDF) to voice its concern that the new EU funding programs planned for media and culture and for research and innovation for 2013 - 2020 do not place "sufficient emphasis" on the video game development sector. The groups voiced their concerns at Gamescom this week in Cologne, Germany.

UK video game industry trade group UKIE announced this week that the London Games Festival has been cancelled this year. This is the first time in six years that the annual event has not run. The group said that the event will return in 2012 to coincide with the Olympics. Further, UKIE promises major collaboration with other groups - such as TIGA - on next year's event to make sure that it happens.

If you want to jump into the business of developing and publishing video games in the United Kingdom, then chances are you'll be attending the GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair. Today event organizers announced that they have secured the endorsements of every major video game related trade organization in the UK. This includes the UKIE, BAFTA and TIGA. The event is part of this year's Eurogamer Expo, which takes place September 22 - 25. The event is designed for students, graduates and others who want to get into the video game industry. It will feature career talks, roundtables and question and answer sessions with game developers from the UK and beyond.

"The Career Fair at the Eurogamer Expo is an outstanding opportunity for industry to reach out to the potential employees of the future," commented Sam Collins, UKIE commercial director.

UK video game industry trade organization TIGA issued a warning today that the video games industry in the region continues to experience a "brain drain of skilled development staff." TIGA said that this warning is based on the results of a new survey of 104 UK games businesses which showed that 20 percent of respondents had lost staff to foreign countries over the previous 12 months.

Many of those highly skilled workers have been lost to Canada because companies there can afford to hire and commit funds to research and development due to generous government tax breaks and incentives.. The Entertainment Software Association of Canada recently said that Canada's industry has been "successful in attracting investment and skilled personnel from jurisdictions like the United Kingdom.."