Top British games developers are said to be furious over a stunt at a Newcastle industry event that cheekily encouraged them to relocate to Canada - less than a week after the UK Government axed tax relief plans for the sector.
Industry attendees of the Game Horizon Conference in Newcastle last week had mock Canadian passports placed on their seats by relocation firm, QuickStar Global.
Inside the 'passports' were a list of benefits for relocating British games businesses to Canada, where developers can currently get tax relief of up to 40 percent.
One anonymous British developer called the Canadian government agencies responsible "vultures".
"As a British developer it makes me disappointed and angry to see the Canadian government agencies circling the UK like vultures as soon as word was out that the Government u-turned on our tax breaks," the anonymous dev told CVG.
The VIP party of next week's Develop Conference in Brighton will be sponsored by Nova Scotia Canada, which currently hosts a website describing the 'crazy costs' and 'very difficult' staffing in the British games industry compared to Canada.
Our source bemoaned the decision from the organisers of Develop and Game Horizon to take sponsorship from companies keen on pinching talent from the UK.
"Where's the support for our industry?" they asked. "No level playing field. We get little or no assistance for trade shows abroad and now even our trade shows at home are happening with the 'support' of 'Canadian agencies'.
"Are things now so tight that we can't find British companies to sponsor our events rather than having the Canadian Government preying on our talent and companies? It's a shocking reflection of our industry today."
When asked for comment, Dr. Richard Wilson, CEO of UK development body TIGA, said Canada will continue to muscle in on the UK games scene until a tax relief is introduced.
"The Canadians are aggressively competing to make their country an attractive place to make video games," he told CVG. "Until the UK introduces games tax relief the UK video game industry will be at a competitive disadvantage."
