Funds spent on twenty-seven projects, as well as start-up assistance and marketing
The Canadian game industry has received another luxurious multi-million dollar investment from its government, in what is another demonstration of how the country’s game developers are thriving on the world stage.
The Canada Media Fund this month granted CA$12.9 million (£8m) to twenty-seven tech companies – twelve of which are game developers.
Online game project Bot Colony, for example, has been granted CA$1 million. Meanwhile, Btwxt Games has received CA$800,000 and Frima Studio has taken over CA$680,000.
And the Canada Media Fund – which still has CA$10.8 million (£6.6) to spend in its second funds round – is also backing startups and providing assistance in game promotion and advertising.
Over CA$1.5 is being spent on eleven new projects – from games to apps – while CA$1.6 million is set aside for marketing.
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The princely financial support underlines how central the game industry is considered to Canada’s digital economy. The nation is widely considered to have set a global template for supporting its development studios – a model which the UK is despairingly at odds with.
Canada offers game development tax breaks in three regions, saving as much as 40 per cent on production costs. And while there is additional support from the state, there is even further in individual regions.
Ontario's Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, for example, recently unveiled a CA$1.15 billion fund to encourage developers in the region to create more jobs.
Some 250 companies applied for the Canada Media Fund. Due to popularity, the deadline for the second round has been extended to November 12, 2010.
Despairingly?
The real proof of the tax breaks is not in the government spending, it's in whether it generates long-term value for the economy. It seems to me that the jury is still out on that one.
Let's hope the UK powers that be are watching? It's interesting to see the 2 different approaches - As the UK government focus on cutting deep, more forward thinking nations are investing. Hopefully it won't be long before they switch to policies that back industries that can help us trade out of the recession!
