The announcement was made at E3, the Electronics Entertainment
Expo in Los Angeles. The fund is designed to provide the financing
required by entertainment software developers to accelerate growth,
while reducing the need to tie up a publisher’s funds until the
game has been completed and delivered.
Douglas Alexander, UK Minister for E-Commerce, who is visiting
E3 to support UK companies, said:
"Some of the world's leading games
developers are already found in the UK. Our developers have gained
a reputation for being innovative and original. Titles developed in
the UK typically dominate the global best-seller lists. This fund
will enable the UK games industry to build on this success,
providing exiting new and innovative games to entertain us
all."
Key benefits for developers include:
- Lowering the break even threshold for games by increasing
royalties;
- Improving returns on hit games; and
- Removing of financial uncertainty if the publisher fails to
make advance payments.
- Advantages for the publisher include:
- Not locking up the publisher's capital resources until games
are completed and delivered;
- The ability to increase the number of games under development
by easing cash flow constraints; and
- The removal of the development expenditure from the publisher's
balance sheet.
David Reilly, director of digital media for Scottish Enterprise,
Scotland’s main economic development agency, added:
“Scotland has an enviable reputation for
creativity in game development. Fund4Games is an important move
that will create more opportunities for game developers in Scotland
and the UK. As the first such fund in the UK it is also a further
demonstration of the innovation in financial services in
Scotland.”
For further information see: www.fund4games.com
