TIGA: We WILL get video games tax relief

CEO tells us it's just a matter of time

Wilson says having Activision on TIGA's side will help massively in the campaign to reintroduce video games tax relief. "It'll lend weight to our arguments," says Wilson, "because I've been saying to MPs that if we lose games tax relief then you stand the chance of losing investment. Now that we've got one of the biggest, if not the biggest games company in the world onboard, it gives a huge amount of credibility to our case."

Wilson also thinks the video games industry is exactly the sort of industry the coalition government should want to promote.

"The coalition government says it wants to rebalance the UK economy away from an over-dependence on financial services, and away from an over-dependence on the public sector," he points out. "Of course the wonderful thing about the video game industry is that it is high technology, high skills, export focused - it fulfils every part of the criteria they want."

"It was a blow last week," he admits, but optimistically points out that "it's official Labour and SNP policy to introduce games tax relief, and we know there are some Conservatives and Liberal Democrats who are supportive of games tax relief."

As well as this, he also says "a lot of people in the media are supportive, and a lot of people in higher education support games tax relief, because they want their students to get jobs in the gaming industries. There are other creative industries that support us and sympathise; some of them vocally so. There's a strong coalition that wants this to happen."

Wilson is currently lobbying MPs across the country in a bid to persuade them to reintroduce video games tax relief, but he says everyone can play a part in lobbying. "I hope that all people in the UK games industry, whether they work in the industry or if they're consumers of video games, will raise this issue with their MPs," he says.

"I hope that they'll put as much polite pressure on people across the political spectrum to support the proposal, because it's good for the UK economy, good for UK consumers and it's actually good for the coalition government. Why would you not want to generate revenue and jobs?"