Despite being the third largest market in games for 30 years (until very recently, dethroning Japan at the #2 spot), things seem to be slowing down for the UK According to The Guardian, an ever increasing number of UK game developers are leaving the country to pursue more lucrative deals.

The games industry is a very large part of the UK’s economy, contributing £1bn to the country’s GDP. Recently, however, the country has been sliding down international ratings in the face of competition from the Canadian and French markets, where there is much more assistance from the government. To combat this, communications minister Lord Stephen Carter is considering measures to provide more assistance to the industry.

The Canadian government not only gives tax breaks to game developers in order to bolster the fast-growing industry, but they also help speed along immigration process. Over 30,000 former UK residents now reside in British Columbia, many of them working in the games industry – lured in part by the incentives offered by the Canadian government.

The chief executive of Tiga, Richard Wilson, said in regards to subsidies for the games industry, “We�re not asking for a handout, we�re not asking for a subsidy to stave off ¬collapse, we�re asking for an investment to allow the games industry to be even more successful. There�s no principle which the government can cling to and say there shouldn�t be a tax break for a specific industry. Quite apart from the massive bailouts for banks, there have also been smaller schemes that have been effective for other industries."

Carter is understood to be evaluating whether or not support can be given in subsidies or tax breaks. His final report will be given next month and is expected to give gaming a far more pivotal place in the UK government.

Some progress is already being made; next month, Tiga is joining forces with the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts to help games companies hire better staff. Wilson says pressure from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats was making the government more receptive.

"I don�t think we�ve ever pushed it as coherently or effectively as we have done over the last 12 months. We�re now having meetings with Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Treasury officials where they�re not kicking the idea out of court," Wilson says. "Although I find the rate of progress extremely frustrating, we still have a good chance to get something."