Niall O'Donoghue (The Washington Post) interviews game designers John and Brenda Romero about why they started their latest game studio "Romero Games" in Ireland in 2015.
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| “Empire of Sin,” a role-playing-strategy game directed by Brenda Romero, developed in Ireland, published by Paradox Interactive in 2020. Available on Steam, Microsoft Windows, MacOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. See Romero Games - https://romerogames.com - for more. |
John and Brenda Romero talk about what it is like living in Ireland, their family roots, Ireland's creative, cultural, scene, its stories and history. From a business perspective it was important to them that there was a local tech scene, but also a nascent game design scene and that reflects a deep appreciation for the art of games. Games are expressed through great stories and inspired by great locations (scenery, music, stories, arts and history).
It was helpful that Ireland's national and local industry development agencies have a tradition of being accessible to entrepreneurs; that there is a positive attitude in Government agencies and among various gatekeepers to get things done in support of inward investment. There also foresee the potential for the industry in Ireland to grow and mature if there were greater supports for investing in start-up and SME initiatives were available (jobs, industry growth, spin-off benefits cultural arts).
Yet they are puzzled by the absence of targeted tax supports for game development as an artistic creative industry sector. It prompts the question, is it possible that the Irish Government will develop something like the Section 481 Film Tax Credit for the Film/TV industry but targeting the Game Industry? Perhaps a new Section XXX Tax Credit Support scheme for investment in game title projects?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/12/21/john-brenda-romero/
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