Alberta offers tax break to digital gaming, media companies

Alberta's growing digital media industry is getting a boost from the provincial government.

The province is offering digital gaming and mediacompaniesatax credit that covers25 per cent of salaries and bonusesfor current and new staff and five per centmore foremployees from diverse or under-represented backgrounds.

Digital gaming and mediacompanies say it will put Alberta on the same competitive fields as businesses in B.C., Quebec and Ontario, which offer similar incentives.

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Trent Oster, who co-founded Bioware and started the international gaming company Beamdog, saidthe tax credit will help the industry in Alberta.

"I'm happy to be an Albertanand to be able to play here with a level playing field excites me greatly," he said at a news conference Thursday morning

"We're the best in the world at interactive content, high-speed simulation, user interface.The next 20 years is going to be built on these technologies.

"Augmented reality, virtual reality are all based on high-performance simulation. The games industry is going to feed that and it's going to grow huge."

HeatherSworin, withCodeHatchCorp., said Edmonton is already on the development map, but she would liketo see the industryexpand not only in the city, but across Alberta.

"We're excited to see how this program will help local studios to expand, both in size and ambition, as we bring our games to a global, highly competitive market," she said.

The province said thereare more than 50 interactive digital media studios in the province, employingmore than 500 full-time workers, who earn,on average, more than$70,000 a year.

The industry contributes roughly $80 million to Alberta's annual GDP, the province estimates.

Further details and the cost of the tax credit will be announced in the provincial budget,which will be introduced next week.