North Carolina is already home to a number of pixel generating firms, and with the passage of a new law that’s designed to spur growth in the digital media industry via financial incentives, there could be a whole lot more in store for the Tar heel State.

Signed yesterday by North Carolina Governor Beverly Purdue, the new law will take effect January 1, 2011, and incentivize companies to either grow or found their business in North Carolina by providing a 15 percent tax credit on employers’ payments to employees, provided they operate in the development of interactive media, or a platform that runs said media.

One of North Carolina’s most prominent players in this field, Epic Games’ president Dr. Michael Capps comments, “North Carolina is host to a growing hotbed of talented individuals working to develop cutting-edge game technologies and exciting new ways to experience entertainment, visualization and training software. This law provides North Carolina with a tremendous opportunity to grow and develop our community into a world leader for information technology.”

To commemorate the occasion, House Bill 1973 was signed by the Governor at Epic Games’ headquarters in Cary. Driving this bill were State Representatives Pryor Gibson, Grier Martin and Chris Heagarty and Senators Marc Basnight, Dan Clodfelter, Floyd McKissick, Josh Stein, and Clark Jenkins. They, and numerous other state officials were on hand to witness the signing.

“The passage of this legislation marks a significant investment in the future of North Carolina’s interactive digital media industry,” said Alexander Macris, president of the Triangle Game Initiative. “Our state is home to one of the largest concentrations of game development companies in the United States. These incentives will not only help keep North Carolina competitive on the national stage, it will produce compelling ROI for the state’s graduates, skilled work force and research and development infrastructure.”

The bill even garnered the attention of The Entertainment Software Association (ESA – the E3 folks). ESA gave the bill high praise and noted that in 2006, the gaming industry contributed $73.4 million dollars to the state economy, and had 14 various game developers and publishers calling NC home.

“North Carolina is among states leading the charge to embrace computer and video games as a job engine and a magnet to recruit and retain talented artists. These incentives demonstrate the state’s commitment to encouraging the expansion of the entertainment software industry,” said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA. “We applaud Governor Perdue and members of the North Carolina Legislature for taking action that will stimulate technological innovations and the state’s economy for years to come.”