The introduction of tax breaks for videogame creators could tempt leading Scottish game developers like Realtime Worlds to relocate to Ireland.

Last week at an economic forum in Dublin, former Allied Domecq chairman and ex-Granada chief executive Sir Gerry Robinson urged the Irish government to target Scottish game developers with five-year tax holidays.

With leading lights including APB and Crackdown studio Realtime Worlds and Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar North, the Scottish games industry accounts for 700 jobs and a £50 million annual turnover, reports Herald Scotland.

Having previously given consideration to relocating to Canada in order to take advantage of the tax breaks afforded game developers, Realtime Worlds studio manager Colin Macdonald said moving to Ireland wouldn’t be out of the question.

“If the package on offer in Ireland was attractive we’d have to give it serious consideration. Dundee is a great place to be based, one of the main hubs for computer games in Britain, but at the end of the day we’ve got to look after our bottom line.

“Ireland is a lot closer to home than Canada, so Scottish policy-makers should regard it as a potentially serious threat,” he added. “They need to make sure a level playing field here or they will lose some of us and lose out on a potential boom.”

A spokesman for the Scottish government said that while there is a range of support available to the domestic games industry, its hands are tied when it comes to introducing further backing for the sector.

“Of course, our view is that Scotland should have control of key fiscal levers in order to do more. This is a clear example of the need for radical change which at least provides full fiscal autonomy for Scotland. Until we have those powers we’ll continue to make the UK government aware of the implications for the Scottish gaming industry. We’ll also work with the industry to provide evidence of the impact.”