Blitz CEO joins Tiga's letter lobbying campaign
Philip Oliver publishes his request to the UK government to provide tax breaks for a "level playing field"
Blitz Games Studios is backing calls for tax breaks for UK companies, with the company's CEO, Philip Oliver, deriding overseas subsidies as "skewing the marketplace".
The developer said it put its weight behind the move by Tiga and Sheridans to encourage videogame businesses to send letters to industry secretary Peter Mandelson and culture secretary Andy Burnham that highlighting the impact that overseas tax breaks are having.
"This is a global industry and these overseas subsidies are skewing the marketplace, making it harder to grow our business and develop our own IP," Oliver wrote in his letter.
"What we need is a level playing field and if tax breaks are needed to get that, then I'm in favour. One area where we invest a huge amount, without any support, is in education outreach."
He continued: "We're currently running our hugely popular student and lecturer Open Days and we regularly work with universities to ensure they are well informed about current industry practice. Tax breaks for this investment would enable us to cement the industry-education partnerships that are essential for the digital industries of tomorrow."