Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy has pledged to support the country’s games developers by whatever means possible.

After it was reported that tax holidays for game creators could tempt leading Scottish studios like Realtime Worlds to relocate to Ireland, Murphy said that new local tax relief measures could be introduced.

“We’ve been talking about tax breaks and I’ve been listening to what they have said,” he told the Evening Telegraph and Post following meetings with local businesses at the Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce.

“We are looking at how to make the city even more of an attractive place for games companies to come and locate to… France has introduced tax breaks and we want to talk more about that and we will listen to any strong case being made. We want to do whatever we can to help. We can take Dundee’s name across the world.”

The Scottish games industry reportedly accounts for 700 jobs and a £50 million annual turnover. As well as APB and Crackdown studio Realtime Worlds, Scotland also plays home to Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar North and Crackdown 2 creator Ruffian Games.