UK games tax relief reaches £73 million in last financial year

The Video Games Tax Relief scheme paid out £73 million in the 2016-17 financial year, according to new figures from HMRC.

According to the figures published earlier today on Creative Industry Statistics, 280 claims were paid out over the financial year which is a year on year growth of 115 per cent. 90 video games were also completed during the year that claimed for VGTR and since the inception of the scheme in 2014, over 420 claims have received £119 million.

Since the scheme was introduced, 835 have applied for certification and the report points out that games can make multiple games during the production process, which means that the figures may show more claims compared to titles certified. Figures may also increase as claims continue to come in for projects developed over the last financial year.

Dr Jo Twist, CEO of industry trade body Ukie said: "The landscape of the UK games sector would be completely different without the evident contribution of the Video Games Tax Relief. The VGTR directly creates jobs, fuels technical and creative innovation, and allows the UK to be a real global player in the games and interactive entertainment sector.

"Government support, particularly through the tax relief, is a huge contributor to what makes the UK games industry globally competitive, and it was encouraging to see support lent to building on the creative tax reliefs in their election manifesto. The certainty the scheme gives to the sector is vital in continuing to drive investment, employment, innovation, and to maintaining the competitiveness of our sector.”