EU controls are putting the brakes on UK games industry

Is the UK falling behind in the global race to develop multi-million pound games? Credit: Oliver Berg/DPA/Press Association Images

The big game now is against the EU.

Grand Theft Auto V is a roaring, storming international success. But the Kingdom of its birth says the chances of future success for the UK's games industry are being hampered.

The government here - along with the games industry - wants tax breaks to encourage more games designers. Yet the EU has put the brakes on that, with an investigation into whether such tax concessions would distort competition.

France and Canada already have similar tax breaks for games developers in their countries. If we don't do something, the UK will continue to slip down the international league table of games firms.

Already South Korea, Canada and China have notched higher than us in the productivity tables. That is potentially bad for other sectors too because video games interact with other forms of media, inspiring films and TV.

The UK is a natural home for great gaming firms - 33 million people play video games here.

I am told the UK games industry has just sent its blistering counter-attack to the EU Commission. We are a nation that is ready to take games very seriously.