Australia introduces tax break for games

The Australian government unveiled its Digital Economy Strategy, which includes a brand new tax break for game studios.

The Digital Games Tax Offset is a 30% tax relief "to support Australia taking a greater share of the AU$250 billion global game development market," the announcement said.

The aim is to support business growth and change "to the way Australian businesses can claim depreciation of intangible assets like intellectual property and in-house software," the announcement continued.

It's the first ever federal tax incentive for the Australian game development scene, the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association noted in a release welcoming the announcement.

"This is a very welcomed day for Australian-made video games," said IGEA CEO Ron Curry. "The Government's new investment commitment today will do many things. It will spur the creation of brand new Australian game development studios, give existing Australian studios the support they need to take on ambitious new projects and accelerate their growth, plus attract further blockbuster AAA studios to Australia, all of which will create game development jobs in every state."

Chair of IGEA and managing director at Koch Media Roger Clarke added: "It is clear from today's decision that the Morrison Government has noticed how innovative and successful Australia's game developers are, as evidenced by standout titles like Big Ant Studio's AO Tennis 2 and SMG Studio's Moving Out, to the amazing local independent studios like Mighty Kingdom and Hipster Whale who are exporting their games and services around the world, as well as the investment being poured into the Australian economy by international studios such as Sledgehammer Games, Gameloft, Wargaming, and Firemonkeys."

The Digital Games Tax Offset is part of a wider strategy that saw the government invest AU$1.2 billion ($928 million) in the digital economy.