NESTA report predicts downturn in UK games development sector

According to a report from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and Arts (UK endowment for the maximization of UK’s creative and innovative potential”>NESTA), the UK games will be dropping down from third position to fifth in 2009’s global rankings. Reason why is at the full article.

According to a report from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and Arts (UK endowment for the maximization of UK’s creative and innovative potential”>NESTA), the UK games will be dropping down from third position to fifth in 2009’s global rankings.

Blame was leveled at lack of funding, a shortage of skilled workers and poor online development. Expected to fill the gap left by UK are Canada, Korea and/or China.

Chief Executive of NESTA, Jonathan Kestenbaum claimed that the problem wasn’t that UK devs are becoming less skilled but that they are being lured away. He said:

The generous tax breaks on offer from other countries are resulting in a mass exodus of some of the best talent in the U.K. In order to put a halt to this, the U.K. needs to wake up to the value in this sector and beat these foreign incentives with our own supportive measures.

Perhaps lending credance to Jonathan’s statement is the fact that it was mostly UK devs who made Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360, PS3) not too long ago. Anyone’s who’s played the game is likely to agree that there’s certainly no shortage of developing know-how from whoever made that game.

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Via NESTA website