Combined Federal and State Funding for German Games Announced
– 2 min read
Germany's position as a gaming location is being strengthened by the government's draft budget for 2025 and the growth initiative announced by the government. The funding of games will be revised. Funding grants jointly financed by the Federal Government and the States are to be introduced.
The government's draft budget for 2025 and the growth initiative announced by the government state that Germany's position as a games location must be strengthened. The Federal Government will revise the current system of games funding and introduce a funding grant to be financed jointly by the Federal Government (Bund) and the federal states (Länder). It is not yet known exactly how these new funding grants, will be structured. However, this plan shows that the federal government considers the games industry to be important for Germany's economic and technological future.
For the production of films and high-end series, as well as for production service providers, a film funding grant will be introduced, jointly financed by the federal and state government. It will cover up to 30 per cent of German production costs. The federal government wants to implement this together with the states. The fact that such tax breaks will be available for a cultural medium is indeed a breakthrough, but so far these tax breaks have only been announced for film and series production, not for games.
In this context, game - the German Games Industry Association is once again bringing tax breaks into play. The timely introduction of the urgently needed tax breaks for games is crucial for Germany's international competitiveness as a games location, says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game - the German Games Industry Association. "The growth initiative presented today by the Federal Government is a strong commitment and signal for Germany as a games location: never before have all three coalition partners spoken out so clearly in favour of the timely introduction of a tax incentive for games, which is to be implemented together with the federal states. In view of the time horizon of the Growth Initiative, the concrete implementation must now be tackled in this legislative period. With such competitive framework conditions, we as an industry can finally realise our full cultural, economic and technological potential for the future viability of Germany as a business location."
The Federal Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor and the Federal Minister of Finance today agreed on the government's draft for the 2025 federal budget, the financial plan until 2028 and a comprehensive growth initiative. The technical implementation and departmental coordination of the draft budget for 2025 and the financial plan until 2028 will be completed by 17 July 2024, when the Cabinet will discuss them.
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