Canada seeks to lure U.K. video game developers

In June, the British government scrapped a proposed tax break for video game developers. Now, Canada is swooping in to try to lure the disgruntled geeks to its shores.

The video game industry is competitive and growing, and Canada is a world leader, trailing only Japan and the U.S. in terms of jobs.

At last week's Develop conference in Brighton, England, people from the Canadian gaming industry were handing out pamphlets disguised as Canadian passports, lauding the opportunities Canada has to offer budding game developers.

QuickStart Global, a human resources firm with Canadian video game industry clients, has taken credit for the stunt, which has sparked a bit of controversy overseas.

"As a British developer it makes me disappointed and angry to see the Canadian government agencies circling the U.K. like vultures as soon as word was out that the government U-turned on our tax breaks," one anonymous attendee told CVG.com, a computer and video game news site.

Nova Scotia was a sponsor of the conference, aimed at British game developers.

But Canada's been luring video game developers from the U.K. and around the world for years, said Julien Lavoie, spokesman for the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC), which handles public affairs and business needs for Canadian video game companies.

“Our industry's been growing at a record pace for a number of years,” he said.

There are major industry hubs in Montreal, Vancouver, and more recently, Toronto, said Lavoie, citing examples like Ubisoft in Montreal, which makes popular titles like Assassin's Creed, and

Electronic Arts in Vancouver, which makes a number of popular sports games.

According to a March, 2009, ESAC report, the gaming industry in Canada is responsible for up to 14,000 jobs and generates $1.7 billion in direct economic activity.

Tax breaks are a huge driving factor in that growth, Lavoie said, with Quebec, B.C., and Ontario all offering them up for developers.

Quebec was the first to offer tax breaks. Once the industry started to expand there, other provinces followed suit.

“Quebec kind of led the way,” he said.

But not all our gaming gurus come from abroad, said Lavoie. There's plenty of homegrown talent.

“Tax breaks are a part of the equation, but there's also talent,” he said, noting Canada has many excellent universities that offer programs in coding, animation, graphic design, and other industry-related fields.

Canada's multiculturalism also plays a role. Video game companies value a workforce with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

“Video games, generally speaking, are produced for the world market,” he said.