BFI Certification Unit joins Game Republic

17th February 2017: Game Republic is pleased to announce that the BFI Certification Unit has joined the largest games network in the North of England as an Affiliate member. The BFI (British Film Institute) is a charity governed by a Royal Charter and a government arms-length body, combining a cultural, creative and industrial role. The BFI's Certification Unit is responsible for certifying film, high-end television, animation television, children's television and video games as British, the first stage in accessing the respective Creative Sector Tax Reliefs.

The Unit is also responsible for marketing and promotion of the creative sector tax reliefs, helping to educate creative companies across the UK about how their projects could benefit. Since the introduction of the Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR) in April 2014 the Certification Unit has presented the VGTR at a number of events and conferences such as EGX Rezzed, PG Connects and Game Horizon, as well as running annual Video Games Days, which have taken place in London, Nottingham and most recently in November 2016 in Leeds.

Anna Mansi, Head of the BFI Certification Unit said: "We're delighted to be joining Game Republic as an affiliate and see this as an excellent opportunity to engage with games development companies across the north of England. We're seeing a great range of projects apply for the VGTR from developers of all sizes and joining Game Republic will help us spread the word to even more UK companies."

"It's fantastic that the BFI and its Certification Unit has joined the network," said Managing Director Jamie Sefton. "The BFI Certification Unit can now attend more of our events and our games developers will have even better access to the knowledge and expertise from the Certification Unit on the cultural test and receive vital tax relief on their games."

In the year 2015 - September 2016, 167 UK games received final certification for VGTR, a huge 117% increase from the previous year - as well as 170 games receiving interim certification, a 50% increase. Since its introduction in 2014, VGTR has been a huge boost to the games industry, with companies and games of all sizes and budgets benefiting from a 20% return in the development costs for games that pass the "cultural test". You can find more information on VGTR and the cultural test on the BFI website and on the Game Republic blog.