14 DAY TRIAL // The government of the United Kingdom has passed an emergency budget for the year and one of the casualties of the cost cutting which is affecting much of Europe are the proposed tax relief schemes for the video game industry, which has a strong presence in Great Britain.
Bobby Kotick, who is the chief executive officer at Activision, has stated that, “I think it was a terrible mistake. There are so many other places that are encouraging the video games industry.”
The CEO has also said that the company he leads will evaluate the new situation and will only make a decision once it has a better view of how the new United Kingdom tax rules affect it.
The United Kingdom offices of Activision Blizzard are based in Slough, Berkshire and the company employs about 600 people.
It's unlikely that that the video game publisher would actually eliminate all its presence from the United Kingdom, as it is one of the most important markets for video games, but a reduced presence is a possibility.
TIGA, the trade body which represents the video games publisher and developer in the UK, has said that a decline of about 9 percent has been registered over 2009.
Before the 2010 general elections the two parties that are now allied in government, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, said that they were interested in supporting the tax relief plans for the video games industry that Alistair Darling had drawn up.
In June the realities of the economy were cited as reason when the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, who heads the finances of the nation, dropped the plans.
Activision Blizzard is battling with Electronic Arts for the title of biggest video game publisher in the world and both companies have been restructuring in the last few years in an effort to cut spending and streamline their business.