£73m of video game tax relief paid out in 2016-17

73m in video games tax relief (VGTR) was paid out in the 2016-17 financial year, representing an increase of 60 per cent year-on-year, according to the latest figures from HMRC.

VGTR was paid out relating to 280 claims in 2016-17, which shows a growth of 115 per cent compared to this time last year. Almost 119m has been paid out to 420 claims since the introduction of VGTR in 2014.

The report also notes that 90 games which claimed VGTR were completed in 2016-17, with a UK expenditure of 163m. This brings the total number of completed projects to 295, and a total of over 690m in UK expenditure.

So far, 835 games have applied for certification since 2014, with 400 receiving final certification and the remaining 375 receiving an interim certificate – both of which qualify them for VGTR. Iin 2016-17, there were 225 qualifying video games, with 449m UK expenditure and 549m total expenditure.

Dr Jo Twist, CEO of Ukie,said: The landscape of the UK games sector would be completely different without the evident contribution of the Video Games Tax Relief. The VGTRdirectly 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 schemegives to the sector is vital in continuingto drive investment, employment, innovation, and to maintaining the competitiveness of our sector.”