georgia posts

When Electronic Arts shut down Pandemic Studios last month, one of the reasons cities was that their California location was simply getting too expensive to support. Even though EA is supposedly going through a restructuring that will result in another 1,500 of their team members losing their jobs, they are apparently looking to build a new game development studio in a cheaper setting.

The Atlanta Business Journal reports that EA is looking at a site in the metro Atlanta, Georgia area for a possible studio that could hire up to 300 people. Sites in Savannah, Georgia as well as Louisiana and Florida are also being considered. Georgia already has a tax credit program in place that saves game developers up to 30 percent. The metro Atlanta area is already home to game developers like Hi-Rez Studios, Tripwire Interactive and CCP.

[Via GamePolitics]

Last month, the state of Georgia announced new tax breaks for game developers who created their titles in the state. Now Wisconsin has joined Georgia in offering the game industry more incentives in making titles in their territory. According to a press release from Film Wisconsin, a new law has been passed that gives qualifying game developers a 25 percent tax break on their work

As the press release points out, Wisconsin is already home to Raven Software, one of Activision's busiest and most acclaimed in-house developers (Heretic, Hexen, Soldier of Fortune I and II, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Quake IV and many others). Other developers include Human Head Studios and Big Rooster, both of which were formed by former Raven Software team members.

While other states in the US have tried to regulate the sales of certain PC games (only to have those same laws thrown out in court on First Amendment constitutional grounds) the state of Georgia's attitude towards games seems to be, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em". Earlier this week Georgia's current governor Sonny Perdue signed into law a new tax incentive plan to draw in more entertainment companies, including the game industry.

According to the newly passed Entertainment Industry Investment Act, qualified game projects made in Georgie will get a 20 percent tax cut and they will get an addition 10 percent cut if they include some kind of animated Georgia state logo in their productions. As the press release announces the state is one of the few in the nation that gives video game productions the same tax breaks that are given to movie and TV shows that film in the state. Georgia has a number of game developers that might be helped by this move including Red Orchestra developers Tripwire Interactive along with High-Rez Studios, the makers of the upcoming MMO Global Agenda.

[Via GamePolitics]