2 new gaming companies come to Luxembourg

(DAH/ADW) The ICT sector is set to become the third pillar of Luxembourg's economy thanks to investment and new BTS in telecommunications.

Video games, alongside IT and technology in general, are in increasing demand due to their impact on communication and the internet. Two new internet video games companies are on their way to Luxembourg following in the footsteps of Onlive and Zynga. News that was first announced by Jeannot Krecké, Minister of Economics, and François Biltgen, Minister of Telecommunications during the ICT Spring Conference.

Last Wednesday two new companies Nexon and Kabam announced they are to set up their European centres in Luxembourg.

Krecké and Biltgen are promoting investment in the growth of ICT sector. "It's not only tax advantages but also the infrastructure that is so attractive for companies here in Luxembourg", claim the two ministers. They also point out that networks and the data centres available in Luxembourg will facilitate the introduction of cloud-gaming and with investment resulting good conditions for cloud computing and electronic archiving.

ICT – Third pillar of Luxembourg's economy

Financial centres and industry will not be the only ones to benefit from the growth of the ICT sector, which according to Biltgen will become the third pillar of Luxembourg's national economy. By 2013, 80 percent of the country's population will be connected to the internet via fibre optic networks.

"The ICT Conference is a truly European event and Luxembourg has become quite important for the ICT sector", said Biltgen. 2000 participants were present on the first day of the conference with government officials visiting a few start-ups.

Due to the lack of experts in the field, more attention will be given to ICT in education. As of the next academic year the secondary school of Esch/Alzette will offer a new BTS course on the internet and telecommunication.

Bringing more business to Luxembourg

The projects of Luxembourg for ICT and organisation Luxembourg for Business combine to demonstrate that tax revenue is not the only attraction of this country. Jeannot Krecké would like to see more businesses opting for Luxembourg. Branch offices create a good image for the Grand Duchy. The more businesses choose the country, the more others will follow.

Kabam for instance, an American start-up company offering a variety of online games, has already created new jobs. Their only office in Europe is due to be set up in Strassen and the company has already employed 25 members of staff. The number should increase to 50 by the end of the year. At the moment their focus in the Grand Duchy is on game translation and customer support.

It was only two weeks ago that OnLive, a company providing games through cloud computing, announced its intention to set up in Luxembourg. “This country offers a short latency period thanks to the data centres and good fibre optic networks. In the short or long term, Luxembourg is the best choice”, says Charlie Jablonski, OnLive VP of Operations. Telecom Luxembourg is the partner of OnLive.