The UK has the best coders, artists and creative people – Criterion VP

Criterion’s vice-president Alex Ward has said that he “firmly believes” the UK has “the best coders, artists and creative people” in the world, adding that he longs for the country to be “back leading the [industry] like it was in the 1980s.”

“I do wish the UK was back leading the world like it was in the 1980s,” Ward told Develop magazine.

“I firmly believe we have the best coders, artists and creative people here.

“My heroes are still [Jeff] Minter, [Archer] MacLean, [Antony] Crowther, [Andrew] Braybrook and the like. And let’s not forget the great software houses of Quicksilva, Alligata, Llamasoft or Gremlin Graphics.”

The UK game development scene has hit the headlines on numerous occasions over the last few years following the high-profile closures of British studios Black Rock, Bizarre Creations and EA’s own Bright Light.

It was assumed that the government’s snub of tax breaks played a substantial role in each of the studios’ closures.

As a result, many publishers chose to locate their bigger development teams in other countries where tax credits provided more ideal financial relief.

Tax breaks to UK game development studios were eventually introduced by chancellor George Osborne earlier this year, offering a significant financial boost to the games development sector.