Realtime Worlds collapse a savage blow
- By Graham Huband
- Published in the Courier : 18.08.10
- Published online : 18.08.10 @ 09.07am
(Page 2 of 2)
Founded in 2002 and headed up by Lemmings designer Dave Jones, Realtime enjoyed a meteoric rise in the lucrative computer games industry.
The company has worked on a series of smash hit titles, including Grand Theft Auto and Crackdown, and grew to be a highly respected and influential player in the industry with more than 200 staff on its books.
The firm's reputation for innovation and excellence helped it secure a huge boost in 2008 when a trio of investors agreed to pump $50m into the business.
At the time, Mr Jones said the cash would allow Realtime to "push the boundaries of online gaming," and it is believed a large proportion of the funding was put into the development of APB.
Last October the firm was awarded PricewaterhouseCoopers Hottest Prospect award for the vision they had shown in developing APB, and were tipped to take a significant slice of the $42 billion market.
More recently, senior figures within the company have repeatedly called on the government to provide a tax break to the games industry in the UK.
However, Chancellor George Osborne dashed those hopes in his post-election mini budget when he confirmed the proposed tax break would not be enacted after all.
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10.11am - 18.08.2010 Larry Page - Los Angeles, USA Report This
"Some people are trying to lay the blame on the (games industry) tax breaks being cancelled, but that would not have made any difference as they were not due to come in until April."<br /> No comment from Jim Govern?
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