UK government plans tax breaks for 'culturally British' games
The long battle for UK tax breaks for games industry pros may finally be over, with the government stating in its recent Digital Britain report that it "has committed to work with the industry to collect and review the evidence for a tax relief." Here's the kicker, though. In order to be worthy of these potential tax breaks, the games must be "culturally British."
What this means is unclear, but games would need to be put through a test to determine whether they can be deemed "culturally British," in a way similar to the UK film industry. Certain British games, such as LittleBigPlanet -- whose narrator is a British national treasure -- and Fable 2 -- with its cockney characters and very English humor -- would be shoo-ins. Other games, such as Burnout Paradise, might need to make a few changes. Perhaps we'll see London landmarks like Big Ben or the London Eye introduced in a future DLC pack.
