When you think of British developers, studios such as Grand Theft Auto's Rockstar North and the Batman Arkham series' Rocksteady pop into mind. However, in the near future, the development of more AAA titles from this land of rolling green hills and royalty may not be so uncommon following tax breaks announced last week. Games brewed up within the UK can now claim a massive 25 per cent saving if they pass a cultural test.
That's great news for developers, but what does it boil down to for us gamers? Well, we may see big companies like EA pumping more resources into their British studios, teams such as Tearaway's Media Molecule expanding their enterprise, and even more movement in the already rich indie scene. With points awarded for European characters and locations as well, we could see these changes leaking onto the big screen.
Do you want to see more of Europe seeping into your games, or would you prefer it if developers stuck to their original vision regardless of any monetary rewards? Leave your feedback in the comments section below.
[source develop-online.net]
Comments 7
I'm not so sure about the 'set in Europe' bit — a developer shouldn't have to alter their vision — but it seems that there are many other ways to be eligible for this, including hiring UK staff, etc. As such, this is great news!
Yeah, that 'set in Europe' clause is a bit silly. In Australia we have a similar caveat when it comes to film funding and - through some relatives who work in the industry - I've seen how stifling it can be. I think I read somewhere that Mike Bithell's stealth game Volume would pass the "cultural test", though, so it sounds like the laws are pretty reasonable.
@k_andersen You are correct about Volume because even though it is futuristic, it is still set within the UK.
Common sense.
I hope that this isn't the start of a trend where soft bribes are used initially to encourage developers to set games in various locations and then from there goodness knows what else they'll want to add as part of the "cultural" requirements.
I came to this article because I saw a Tearaway screenshot. That is such an amazing game and I never miss a chance to sing its praises!
Yea, I don't like this cultural tax break for the most part. A lot of employees will probably be from the UK so being able to qualify that way is nice and shouldn't be hard due to modern staff sizes, but I hope we don't see publishers pushing for more UK influences just to qualify. Unfortunately, that 25% is a pretty nice incentive to do so.
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