Long awaited real time strategy game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty went on sale after a 12-year wait due to Blizzards “when it’s ready” mantra. Such is the popularity of any game associated with Blizzard that it recieved coverage in the mainstream media.

Channel 4 news featured a full report by Benjamin Cohen on the launch of Starcraft II, a positive piece that also showed the great contributions the UK games industry makes to the economy with a series of interesting stats and even a call for tax breaks.

The Daily Star has issued (1) an unreserved apology for the the fake story about the 'GTA Rothbury’ which we covered (2) last week. After a torrent of games industry indignation and rumoured legal threats the paper has agreed to pay and undisclosed financial settlement which GTA makers Rockstar will donate to a charity:

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which has recently touted 50% cuts to the departmental budget, has announced that the UK Film Council will be axed to save £3m per year.

These cuts are part of a series of cost-cutting measures by the DCMS that involve the merging or abolition up to 16 public bodies like the Film Council.

The UK Film Council chairman Tim Bevan was quoted by the BBC understandably calling it "a bad decision" and up to 75 people may lose their jobs.

Yesterday The Daily Star, in an incredibly sloppy piece of journalism, ran a story that Rockstar was working on a new Grand Theft Auto game based upon the murderous rampage of Raoul Moat.

This was of course total rubbish; the only evidence was an obviously mocked up GTA cover using images taken from the many newspapers websites that covered the story. Basing a story entirely on an image blatantly made using Photoshop from a random forum is a classic example of lazy and incompetent journalism bashing video games to garner headlines.

Today Gamers’ Voice is happy to announce that we are working with TIGA in their efforts to persuade the Coalition Government to introduce video games tax relief in the UK, with the two organisations planning several joint strategies.

Gamers’ Voice has begun emailing MP’s asking for their support by signing Stewart Hosie MP Early Day Motion “COMPUTER GAMES TAX RELIEF” We will be running a list on our website detailing all those MPs who've responded and signed the new EDM.

TIGA CEO Dr. Richard Wilson said:

The Coalition Government's decision to not award tax relief for the UK computer and video games industry could jeopardize future investment, according to Robert Kotick, chief executive of Activision Blizzard.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Kotick said, “For us to continue to invest in the UK there needs to be an incentive provided for us to do so, the talent pool in the UK is among the best in the world for what we do. But we really need to see some more incentives. We are seeing great incentives in Canada, Singapore and eastern bloc countries.”

Video gamers now make up just under a third of UK society, That's according to new statistics released by the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) and the Interactive Software Federation. The report, which is called the “broadest, most in-depth study of adult gamers and non-gaming parents in Europe” by Simon Little, the Managing Director of Interactive Software Federation of Europe includes many telling statistics on UK Gaming and Gamers.  

• 32 per cent of UK citizens classify themselves as gamers

After the disappointing announcement in the budget that tax breaks for the UK computer and video games industry after all three political parties backed them before the election, an Early Day Motion (EDM) by Stewart Hosie MP was tabled on the subject.

Chancellor George Osborne's first Budget has scrapped tax relief for the Video Games industry, calling them 'poorly targeted'. At a time when the UK is in danger of no longer being in the top tier of game developing countries this approach seems short-sighted, especially when the worldwide value of the industry is expected by to grow to $86.8 billion (£58.6 billion) by 2014.

In response to the likelihood that Tax breaks for the UK games industry will not be forthcoming anytime soon Jim McGovern MP has tabled the following Early Day Motion.