Legal Niches

Georgia Tax Incentives May Lure EA to Atlanta

By pete_gallagher

Atlanta is one of a handful of locations Electronic Arts is considering for a new development studio as it attempts to find more developer-friendly locales in a bid to cut infrastructure costs.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle notes that Louisiana and Florida are also in the running for the new location, while Texas has already been ruled out. The new studio would employ up to 300 people and perform tasks that are currently done in the more expensive state of California.

Georgia introduced legislation last year that would enable videogame developers to qualify for tax credits of up to 30%, a top reason EA is considering the state according to spokesman Jeff Brown, 'The tax credit is definitely one of the things that attracted us to Georgia.'

He added, 'If we can find an abundance of talent and a pipeline through a local university that gives us access to talent in both art and engineering, that's where we start. rest of it is really a cost equation.'

The article claims that Atlanta is home to 70 computer game makers, most of whom are in the Atlanta area.

Hi-Rez Studios Chief Operating Officer Todd Harris attested to Georgia's developer friendly attitude, saying, 'The economic incentive act that was passed is very, very compelling and one of the nation's best.' Hi-Rez is located in Alpharetta, Georgia and currently working on a game called Global Agenda.

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on December 18, 2009 (boomark / email).