UK video games tax relief payouts up 60% to £73m
Claims more than double year-on-year to 280 in 2016/17
The video games tax relief offered by the UK government is aiding more developers with their projects, having paid out £73m over the past year.
New figures released by HM Revenue & Customs, shared by trade body UKIE, show that relief payouts have increased year-on-year by 60%, reported as £45.5m for April 2015 to March 2016.
From April 2016 to March 2017, more than 280 claims were successfully made by games developers - up by 115% from the 130 claims paid the previous year.
Video games tax relief was introduced in the UK back in April 2014. Since then 420 claims have been made, with a total payout of £119m. Overall, 835 games have applied for certification, with 375 being granted an interim certificate and 400 qualifying for a final one.
Of the games that have claimed tax relief since its debut, 90 titles were completed over the past year and represented a UK expenditure of £163m. The 775 certified games account for a total UK expenditure of £1.6bn.
UKIE notes the 2016/17 numbers may still increase as HMRC continues to receive new claims. Last month, Altara Games' Ella Romanos offered advice to GamesIndustry.biz readers on how to make the most of video games tax relief.