One of the biggest players in the British video games industry, Realtime Worlds, has called in the administrators. Making 60 employees redundant last week apparently wasn't enough, and now the remaining 200 staff at the company's Dundee headquarters face unemployment. Hit Read More for full details.
The development studio, founded by Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto creator David Jones, was responsible for the first Crackdown and the recently released APB. Following years of work and hype, APB was a commercial and critical disappointment. This is likely to be the main reason behind Realtime Worlds' current situation. However, the government's decision to scrap plans for tax breaks for the industry doesn't help. The loss of another UK games giant has once again caused industry experts, as well as some MPs, to comment on the obvious benefit that such a tax relief scheme would bring to our games industry, and the economy as a whole. Hopefully this will prompt a positive response from the government. In the mean time, lets hope the administrators find a buyer for Realtime Worlds so that APB fans can continue to enjoy the game and no more talented developers lose their jobs.

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