The United Kingdom may be a beautiful land that has an amazing culture, but it isn’t cheap to live or work there, a sentiment that Activision is making clear in their latest bold proclamation. The latest thing to get Activision and Bobby Kotick up in a tizzy is how the British government has decided to forgo a series of tax incentives that were planned for British based video game developers.
There’s really isn't a good reason as to why the tax incentives were cut, but it all boils down to basic political silliness and other such things. The originally proposed tax-relief plans for the video game industry in the United Kingdom would’ve alleviated the already high production costs the industry faces. Despite being one of the few video game publishers who hasn’t been hit hard by the recent financial burdens that have hit the industry, Activision isn’t too happy about this news. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is apparently so ticked off over the tax incentive cut that he’s threatening to pull Activision out of the British development scene entirely.
If Activision does decided to leave the merry land of Britain that would mean 600 Activision employees would be out of a job. That may not seem like that large of a number compared to some of the mass firings that occurred last year, but 600 people is a lot in the already declining UK development community. Kotick’s claim that he’s willing to move Activision out of the Britain may be a bluff in order to get the tax incentive bill moving again, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we do see some more major cuts happen at Activision, that’s if Bobby doesn’t go through with his plan and screw over even more people.
Things may not look that good right now, but with how other countries are offering tax incentives or financial programs for video game developers, the British government is looking a bit silly right now. We all know that the entire world is in a recession of sorts, so why not try to throw some companies a bone and keep folks employed?
Given the heat Activision is lying down and the industry outcry from others, maybe the British government will wise up a bit and realize that they’re making a mistake that will just further throw the country down the financial hole that they’re already in.
While I can understand the situation Activision is coming from, the company still seems a bit childish if not a bit cheap given their stance and recent earnings. And if Bobby Kotick does decide to give 600 people the pink slip and close an array of studios I really don’t think that’ll help the company’s public image all that much, especially in the United Kingdom.
[via The Telegraph]
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