After many years of battling, the European Commission has finally green lit tax relief for UK game companies, meaning the outlook for British gaming just got a lot brighter.
There's been resistance from Brussels for some time as it wasn't convinced that games were culturally equivalent to film and other sectors that currently enjoy the tax relief system.
But now it's given the go-ahead, games studios will get production costs slashed up to 25% so long as they meet certain cultural requirements.
Games will be ranked using a point system based on whether the game is set in the UK, if British talent was used to make it etc etc.
British boon
"We are delighted that the Tax Breaks for UK Games Companies has been approved. There are hundreds of people in the companies that will benefit and the trade bodies that serve those companies, that have been working tirelessly for years to get to a giant sigh of relief today," James Brooksby, CEO of Born Ready Games, told TechRadar.
"For companies like us, it means more investment in our own games, creating our own IP and jobs along the way and more interest in helping us do that from a now invigorated investment community."
TIGA, the trade association representing the UK video games Industry, said it expects to see around £188m in added investment for UK devs in the next five years.
Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said: "Tax breaks for games production will help the UK fight its way back to the forefront of video game development."
If this isn't an incentive for Rockstar to set GTA 6 in London, we don't know what is.
