Games-specific and broadly applicable schemes relevant to game developers — updated September 2026
| Country | Scheme | Type | Rate / Benefit | Cap / Limit | Cultural Test? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | ||||||
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | VGEC Video Games Expenditure Credit |
Games-specificRefundable | 34% headline (~25.5% net after CT) |
80% of total core costs or UK core costs, whichever lower | ✅ BFI Cultural Test (16/31 pts) | Replaces VGTR from Apr 2025 for new titles. VGTR (25% effective) still valid for pre-Apr 2025 titles until Mar 2027. Min 10% UK spend. |
| 🇫🇷France | CIJV Crédit d'Impôt Jeux Vidéo |
Games-specificRefundable | 30% | €6M per company per year | ✅ Cultural content (via CNC approval) | Must be managed by CNC. Dev costs must exceed €100K. Excludes extremely violent or pornographic content. One of Europe's most established games-specific credits. Eligible expenses currently covered only through 31 Dec 2026 — a provisional agrément obtained before that date extends eligibility for the project. |
| 🇮🇪Ireland | DGTC Digital Games Tax Credit |
Games-specificRefundable | 32% | €25M per project | ✅ Cultural certification (Dept. of Culture) | Active since Jan 2023. One of the highest per-project caps globally. Available to Irish tax-resident and EEA-branch companies. Claimable annually or at completion. Budget 2026 (EU-approved Jul 2026) expanded the credit to cover post-release content (DLC/updates) for up to 3 years post-launch, with the scheme itself extended through 31 Dec 2031. |
| 🇮🇹Italy | Tax Credit Videogiochi | Games-specific | 25% | ~€12M annual budget (pooled); application-based | ✅ Italian nationality certification (DGCOL) | Introduced 2021. Managed by Ministry of Culture. Limited annual pot — oversubscribed in recent rounds. Must apply for provisional nationality before development starts. |
| 🇩🇪Germany | Federal Games Funding Computerspielförderung |
Direct Grant | 25–45% (of eligible costs) |
€2M per project; total fund €125M/yr from 2026 | No cultural test, but cultural/creative merit assessed | Grant (not tax credit) — subject to budget cycles. SMEs get up to 45%, large companies 25%. Tax-based credit system announced in the 2025 coalition agreement is still not legislated as of Sep 2026 — still in draft/proposal stage pending state-government approval, with recent German industry reporting suggesting no near-term tax relief for studios. |
| 🇩🇪Germany | FuE-Fördergesetz R&D Tax Incentive |
R&D Credit | 25% (SMEs 35%) | Up to €3.5M/yr (rising to €4.2M from 2026) | No | Horizontal R&D credit, not games-specific. Covers personnel, R&D partnerships, and (since 2024) depreciable assets. Can be claimed retroactively up to 4 years. From 1 Jan 2026 ("Wachstumsboostergesetz"), the assessment-base cap rises from €10M to €12M (driving the €4.2M/yr figure at the 35% SME rate) and a new 20% flat-rate overhead allowance can be claimed alongside personnel/contract-research costs. |
| 🇩🇰Denmark | Cultural Digital Games Scheme | Games-specificGrant | Up to 50% | Project-based; limited annual pot | ✅ Cultural and educational criteria | One of the earlier European games-specific schemes (original EU Commission approval year unconfirmed in this update — treat "2017" as unverified). Now administered by NIMBI GameLab (est. 2024, under the Ministry of Culture), running three funding rounds in 2026. Focuses on cultural, artistic, and educational games. |
| 🇧🇪Belgium | Wallimage Games Support | Games-specificCo-investment | Varies | Regional; Wallonia-based | ✅ Cultural/artistic criteria | Regional fund for Wallonia covering cultural, artistic and educational digital games. EU Commission-approved 2019. Not a national scheme. |
| 🇪🇸Spain — Canary Islands | Video Game Development Deduction Deducción I+T Videojuegos (REF) |
Games-specific | 45% (vs 12% in mainland Spain) |
No hard cap stated; deduction on eligible production expenses | No | Canary Islands-specific deduction on eligible video game development costs — personnel, materials, services, trials, external advisory. Nearly 4× the 12% deduction available in the rest of Spain. Compatible with ZEC 4% CT rate below. Studios including those behind Blasphemous and Sonic Dash have relocated here. |
| 🇪🇸Spain — Canary Islands | ZEC — Canary Islands Special Zone Zona Especial Canaria |
Investment | 4% corporate tax (vs 25% mainland Spain) |
Cap on tax base scales with headcount; min investment €50K–€100K depending on island | No | EU Commission-approved low-tax zone. New entity must be incorporated in the Canary Islands with local management. Also exempt from transfer tax, stamp duty on corporate actions, and lower local VAT equivalent (IGIC). Compatible with the 45% video game deduction above — up to 54% total incentives stacked with the 4% CT rate. |
| 🇲🇹Malta | Full Imputation Tax Refund System 6/7ths Shareholder Refund |
StructuralRefundable | ~5% effective CT (nominal 35%, 6/7ths refunded) |
No cap — applies to all distributed trading profits | No | Not games-specific but covers software and video game development as qualifying trading activity. Company pays 35% CT; non-resident shareholders claim a 6/7ths refund on dividend distribution, netting ~5% effective rate. Royalty/passive income attracts a 5/7ths refund (~10% effective). EU-compliant, long-standing system. Malta Enterprise's Business Development Scheme also lists game development as eligible for cash grants/tax credits (this update found figures around up to €300K/75% of costs rather than the 10–35% previously stated here — exact banding and end-date unconfirmed, verify directly with Malta Enterprise before relying on either figure). Malta's 2026 budget separately added a €400K iGaming Incubator and €4M for esports. |
| 🇨🇾Cyprus | IP Box Regime 80% IP Profit Deduction |
IP / Innovation | ~2.5–3% effective CT (on qualifying IP income) |
No cap; scales with nexus fraction (proportion of own R&D) | No | 80% deduction on qualifying IP profits — software, games, patents included. CT rate rose from 12.5% to 15% effective 1 Jan 2026 (OECD global minimum alignment), giving ~3% effective rate on IP income. Capital gains on sale of qualifying IP fully exempt. Particularly attractive for IP-holding studios. Tax Dept. circular clarifying that ad/in-app revenue from games qualifies is still pending as of Sep 2026 (previously expected end-2025) — significant for mobile developers once issued. OECD BEPS-compliant; benefit scales with in-house R&D ratio. |
| North America | ||||||
| 🇨🇦Canada — Québec | TCMT / CTMM Tax Credit for Multimedia Titles |
Games-specificRefundable | Up to 37.5% (of eligible labour) |
No hard cap; ~€295M total paid in 2024 | No (interactivity requirement only) | Largest provincial games credit globally by volume. 2024 budget changes introduced non-refundable component (2.5%, rising to 10% by 2028) and salary exclusion threshold (~CAD $18K). Québec retains 42% of Canadian games jobs. |
| 🇨🇦Canada — Ontario | IDMTC Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit |
Games-specificRefundable | 40% | Labour cost basis; project caps apply | No | Labour-based credit on eligible Ontario salaries. Other provinces with similar schemes: Manitoba (40%), Nova Scotia (up to 50% qualifying / 25% total spend). |
| 🇺🇸United States | Section 41 R&D Tax Credit | R&D Credit | Up to 20% (of qualifying research) |
No specific cap; payroll offset up to $250K for startups | No | Not games-specific. Covers qualifying R&D activities. Federal credit; many states offer additional credits. Startups can offset payroll tax with up to $250K/yr. |
| Australia & New Zealand | ||||||
| 🇦🇺Australia | DGTO Digital Games Tax Offset |
Games-specificRefundable | 20% federal (+10–15% state top-ups) |
AUD $20M federal cap; state incentives stackable | No | NSW adds 10% rebate; Queensland adds 15% — effective rate up to 30–35% for qualifying projects. Federal rate is 20% refundable on eligible Australian development expenditure. Introduced after years of lobbying; previously animation and VFX got relief but not games. |
| 🇳🇿New Zealand | GDSR Game Development Sector Rebate |
Games-specificRefundable | 20% | NZD $3M per studio per year; min. NZD $250K annual spend; total fund NZD $40M/yr | No | Introduced 2023 directly in response to Australia's DGTO threatening a talent drain across the Tasman. Administered by NZ On Air. 43 studios received funding in the 2026 round (~NZD $21.9M paid out). Covers original and work-for-hire development; where both a client and contractor claim the same costs, the client takes precedence. Open to incorporated studios only (min. spend threshold). |
| Asia-Pacific | ||||||
| 🇯🇵Japan | IP360 METI Content Industry Grant |
Direct Grant | Up to 50% (of eligible costs) |
¥10M (~$62K) for indie/startup support; ¥40M for localisation; ¥20M for promotion | No | Launched 2025/26 by METI as part of Japan's national target of ¥20 trillion in overseas content revenue by 2033. Unusually, the startup support strand is open to individuals and unincorporated developers — not just registered companies. Requires prototype and business plan with international distribution intent. New IP only (no sequels/remakes). Supplementary budget of ¥35bn (~$228M) earmarked for the wider content industry push. |
| 🇨🇳China | HNTE High & New Technology Enterprise |
R&D / Tech | 15% CT rate (vs 25% standard) |
No cap on rate reduction; R&D super-deduction capped separately | No | Not games-specific but widely used by Chinese game studios. Reduces CT from 25% to 15%. Stackable with a 200% R&D super-deduction on qualifying expenses generally; a higher 220% rate (through 31 Dec 2027) is specifically for integrated-circuit and industrial-mother-machine enterprises, not general tech/software/game studios. Company must own core IP, have 10%+ of staff in R&D, and derive 60%+ of revenue from high-tech activities. Foreign-owned studios can qualify if incorporated in mainland China for 1+ year. Regulatory environment for foreign game distribution remains restrictive (licence required via local partner). |
| 🇰🇷South Korea | Ministry of Culture Subsidies + R&D Credits | Direct GrantR&D Credit | No games-specific tax credit (~$52M annual subsidy budget) |
Project-based grants via KOCCA; R&D credits 12–25% for SMEs | No | No dedicated games tax credit as of Sep 2026 — a live political debate, with the Korea Game Industry Association (K-GAMES) actively lobbying for production cost credits equivalent to film/TV relief. A bill extending the existing video-content tax credit to games has been accepted for deliberation and is being pushed for inclusion in the 2026 Tax Reform Bill, but is still not passed. The Ministry spent ~$52.5M in 2024 subsidies on game development and export promotion (administered via KOCCA). General R&D tax credits (12–25% for SMEs, 7–15% for mid-size) apply. Separately, South Korea's existing esports tax credits are set to expire 31 Dec 2026 unless extended. |
| Other | ||||||
| 🇹🇷Turkey | Technopark / Technology Development Zone Regime | Games-specificInvestment | 0% corporate tax (within Technopark) |
N/A — structural exemption, not credit-based | No | Companies in approved Technology Development Zones pay zero corporate tax on software/game revenue. Employees also exempt from income tax. Export revenue deduction (80%) available outside Technoparks. Exemption currently runs through 31 Dec 2028, not open-ended — re-verify closer to that date. New 2026 rule: firms with ≥5M TL exempt earnings must allocate 3% of that to qualifying investment vehicles (capped at 100M TL/yr). ~850 studios; Istanbul ranked 2nd European games hub. |
| 🇹🇷Turkey | TÜBİTAK / TTGV Grants | R&D Grant | Varies | Project-based | No | State R&D grants covering personnel, engine development, AI, and game development projects. Separate from Technopark tax exemption. Part of HIT-30 (High-Tech Initiative to 2030) programme. |
Spotted an error, an outdated rate, or a scheme we've missed? Let us know.