New "culturally British" test for games

By Johnny Minkley Published 17 June, 2009

Nothing to do with Nick Griffin.

While serious journalists pore over the full thing, Eurogamer Ctrl-F'd "games" and has learned that the Digital Britain report proposes that UK games must pass a "culturally British" test to qualify for tax relief.

The news comes after a long campaign by the industry to secure tax breaks for UK games development, to bring the gaming sector in line with the benefits already enjoyed by the film industry.

The government acknowledged that "a system of cultural tax credits has long helped to sustain a wide range of films that speak to a British narrative, rather than the cultural perspectives of Hollywood or multinational collaborations."

More to the point, Gordon Brown and crew appear now to understand the significant contribution the games industry makes to the UK economy - reporting a turnover of GBP 4.034bn in 2008 - and appreciate that a lack of competitiveness has been driving talent and development out of the UK to countries like Canada, which already offers tax incentives to games companies.

A review is now underway into the "evidence for a tax relief" for "culturally British video games". A lot will hinge on how "culturally British" is defined. A system similar to that employed by the film industry is expected to be used for games.

In the film "Culture Test", overseen by the UK Film Council, movies must score a minimum number of points according to a set of criteria to determine whether they are "culturally British" and therefore qualify for tax relief.

How the games system will work in practice remains to be seen, but film-types Eurogamer has spoken with criticised the movie test, claiming demonstrably non-British movies can be classed as "culturally British" according to the UK Film Council's terms.

Picture of Johnny.

About Johnny Minkley

Eurogamer TV's Johnny Minkley is a veteran journalist with a lifelong passion for games and the games industry. He uses Twitter more than most people use air.

Read more articles from Johnny by visiting the Johnny Minkley archive page.

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Comments (60) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Vice.Destroyer #1 3 years ago

    A culturally british game? Am I to take it that we are talking about the content of the game, rather than whether a percentage of the developers and other contributors are british?

    What is wrong with giving firms whose head offices are registered at Company House a discount? Or am I being thick?

  • sneetch #2 3 years ago

    Any WWII game where you're not relying on the Americans to save the day should qualify.

  • local_celebrity #3 3 years ago

    I would definitely fail the Norman Tebbit test in COD4. I'm always supporting the Arabs and the Russians.

  • mingster #4 3 years ago

    Main rule no. 1 should be do you employ british citizens that live in britain to make your games?

  • RobotRocker #5 3 years ago

    It seems more like film where if its culturally relevant to British society and isnt completley set to a global audience.

    Creative Assembly and Sports Interactive are going to be rolling in it.

  • Oh-Bollox #6 3 years ago

    Any WWII game where you're not relying on the Americans to save the day should qualify.

    None, then.

  • sneetch #7 3 years ago

    @mingster
    Main rule no. 1 should be do you employ british citizens that live in britain to make your games?

    That would be an "actually British" test rather than a "culturally British" test. A game that tells a "British story" could very well be made by migrant workers, after all, integrating and accepting migrants is a very "British" thing.

  • Clive_Dunn #8 3 years ago

    Design doc for Chav 4: Drink Harder ! coming up.

  • AphoticCosmos #9 3 years ago

    "evidence for a tax relief"

    Yes you wankers, Canada's 5 years ahead of us here. Lets' have a quick review and push it through Parliament.

  • BigJonno #10 3 years ago

    Colour me confused on this one. Would something like Fable 2 qualify? The Fables always struck me as very "British" games in terms of writing, humour and the "feel" of the world, as opposed to the majority of fantasy RPGs that feel very Americanised.

  • chrisjm #11 3 years ago

    so virtua chav street stab IV could be developed entirely by the tax payer?

  • Chufty #12 3 years ago

    Hopefully this will encourage more British game development. We traditionally make the best games in the world, and our talent pool is slipping away because there arent enough incentives like this.

  • optimusprym8 #13 3 years ago

    So Armed & Dangerous? Had Scottish accents in it.

    GTA:London but not GTA4?

    Fables are a given I would have thought.

    FIFA titles..?

    Imagine: Pop out miracles for more benefits

  • kangarootoo #14 3 years ago

    Cue sci-fi shooters including futuristic bowler hats and horse drawn carts.

  • Doctor_What #15 3 years ago

    Great idea: you get tax credits but no-one in America will understand the accents so you go broke. Genius.

  • schnide #16 3 years ago

    Can you change the tagline on the very, very small chance that someone Google's him and thinks he's actually got something intelligent to say? Not censorship, just publicity suffocation.

  • dolphan #17 3 years ago

    Fable would surely count. The status of GTA would be an interesting benchmark - sure, it's set in America, but it's always seemed like America seen through a slightly British lens. It would be a bit odd if one of the biggest success stories of British development didn't qualify.

  • Sunyavadin #18 3 years ago

    I hope the GTA games qualify.

    They may all be set in America, but the humour is most definitely from this side of the atlantic, as are many of the cast.

  • TheHitman #19 3 years ago

    @BigJonno

    I agree regarding Fable 2. It does seem a very 'British' game, and not just because it's set in Albion and features a lot of west country accents.

    I think the criteria would have to be a little different for games than movies, at least to begin with. There is an international market for British films as the success of 'Lock Stock', 'Shaun of the Dead' and Mike Leigh and Ken Loach films show. Not sure it'd be the same for games.

  • sneetch #20 3 years ago

    @BigJonno
    Colour me confused on this one. Would something like Fable 2 qualify? The Fables always struck me as very "British" games in terms of writing, humour and the "feel" of the world, as opposed to the majority of fantasy RPGs that feel very Americanised.

    Yes, Fable and Peter Molyneux's other games are very "British", mind you so Overlord is also very "British" despite coming from a Dutch company.

    I wonder if the publishers can claim grants or if it's restricted to the developers?

    @optimusprym8
    So Armed & Dangerous? Had Scottish accents in it.

    Team Fortress 2 would qualify too in that case.

    FIFA titles..?

    Erm, I don't think so, the licence from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association isn't terribly "British". :)

  • Goffee #21 3 years ago

    Skinheads in every game, sorted. That'll make Miley Cyrus a great laugh

  • Dr_Wadd #22 3 years ago

    So how quickly will be see a developer snap up the licence for a game based on "The Avengers"? Surely that would qualify as British enough.

  • mingster #23 3 years ago

    To get tax relief it should be made in Britain by UK nationals.
    Shouldn't matter whether the content is 'culturally British' or not.

  • dadrester #24 3 years ago

    great!... useless cuntnuggets still haven't grasped that in order to make that GBP 4.034bn games must sell well abroad, particularly the US. If the criteria are anything like those the film council outline, there's little point.

  • sneetch #25 3 years ago

    @mingster
    To get tax relief it should be made in Britain by UK nationals.
    Shouldn't matter whether the content is 'culturally British' or not.

    It should be developed in Britain to get the tax relief yes, I personally don't think the "culturally British" thing should be that much of a factor either but the nationality of the people who make up the team should be pretty much irrelevant.

    A company made up of UK citizens and migrants shouldn't be excluded from getting tax relief. The people working on the game will be in the UK, paying their taxes and spending their money there. A company will want to hire the best people for the job regardless of their passports, to penalise a company for not having a racist hiring policy would seem a bit dodgy to me.

  • IneptPercy #26 3 years ago

    Grand Theft Chav?

  • DarthInsinuate #27 3 years ago

    It's a shame that games like Burnout, House of the Dead: Overkill, and Pure probably wouldn't qualify.

    At least it'll keep the forrins out of our games industry.

  • jiveguy #28 3 years ago

    @dadrester
    If it's done in a similar way to the film councils scoring system British developers could make a "culturally British" game while still having mass appeal. Points there are awarded not only on content (although half of them are) being British, but also for it being produced in Britain with British resources.

  • rhubarbandcustard #29 3 years ago

    "Hopefully this will encourage more British game development. We traditionally make the best games in the world, and our talent pool is slipping away because there arent enough incentives like this."

    You can guarantee that some tool would make the claim that the British make the best games.

    Just like you can guarantee that some tool would make the claim that the British are the best at anything else you care to mention.

    It isn't true. It never is. The British are uniformally shit at everything. So there.

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #30 3 years ago

    Gordon Brown = Sad face drawn on someones scrotum

  • RobotRocker #31 3 years ago

    The sub header does make me think though

    If I made a game called "Egg the fat nazi twat", would that be culturally British enough for tax relief?

  • LazyDan #32 3 years ago

    I reckon you just have to localise the accents to British accents and dialogue to qualify. Which I'm all for - if we're going to get games months after the US for 'localisation' reasons then why the fuck do us in the UK never see it? Only casual games (EyeToy, Wii Fit etc.) are ever given British accents for PAL English (unless the voices were British to begin with - e.g. in corny British due to a fantasy setting) because apparently it's alright to alienate 'core' gamers.

  • X201 #33 3 years ago

    You heard it here first...

    Assassin's Creed 3 to be set in Victorian Britain

  • kangarootoo #34 3 years ago

    "A company made up of UK citizens and migrants shouldn't be excluded from getting tax relief. The people working on the game will be in the UK, paying their taxes and spending their money there. A company will want to hire the best people for the job regardless of their passports, to penalise a company for not having a racist hiring policy would seem a bit dodgy to me."

    +1

  • kangarootoo #35 3 years ago

    "You heard it here first...

    Assassin's Creed 3 to be set in Victorian Britain"

    That would rock... except for the notable lack of tall buildings of course.

  • MightyMouse #36 3 years ago

    I lol'd.

  • dadrester #37 3 years ago

    I reckon you just have to localise the accents to British accents and dialogue to qualify. Which I'm all for - if we're going to get games months after the US for 'localisation' reasons then why the fuck do us in the UK never see it? Only casual games (EyeToy, Wii Fit etc.) are ever given British accents for PAL English (unless the voices were British to begin with - e.g. in corny British due to a fantasy setting) because apparently it's alright to alienate 'core' gamers

    play the UK version of forbidden siren on ps2 and say that! totally ruined the game. Admittedly it was completely down to very very poor voice acting.

  • SG #38 3 years ago

    I wonder if Rare of old would qualify then? Banjo Kazooie looked generically American but a lot of the in-jokes were British. Same goes for Conker (although ironically Nintendo were so retarded that they chose not to publish it in the UK and we had to rely on THQ... thank fuck for them!).
    Edited by 1 at 17/06/09 @ 13:57

  • YourMessageHere #39 3 years ago

    "a game based on 'The Avengers' "

    /preorders

    Now where's my not-very-free-roaming peculiar-em-up The Prisoner game?

  • theiceman #40 3 years ago

    Stab Fighter IV or Chav Rider will become best sellers in 2010.
    Mark my words

  • beckyh #41 3 years ago

    I think your tagline should be changed. There is nothing British about Nick Griffin that is worthy of a mention.

  • BigJonno #42 3 years ago

    "It isn't true. It never is. The British are uniformally shit at everything. So there."

    While I'll almost agree with your "I think it's a joke, but God help us all if it isn't" comment, we do make some incredibly good games.

  • sneetch #43 3 years ago

    @kangarootoo
    "You heard it here first...

    Assassin's Creed 3 to be set in Victorian Britain"

    That would rock... except for the notable lack of tall buildings of course.

    I instantly thought "Spring Heeled Jack". That would indeed rock. The buildings in London etc from that time are all tall enough.

    If the game doesn't start or end with a big fight inside Big Ben I'll have a moanathon about it.

    Edit: of course, I'm not quite sure who the assassination targets would be if it was restricted to Victorian Britain.
    Edited by 1 at 17/06/09 @ 15:13

  • sneetch #44 3 years ago

    @LazyDan
    I reckon you just have to localise the accents to British accents and dialogue to qualify. Which I'm all for - if we're going to get games months after the US for 'localisation' reasons then why the fuck do us in the UK never see it?

    They obviously spend that time localising it into other European languages not English. Localising the voices into UK English would be a waste of time and resources and irrelevant to most people (especially those non-UK Europeans who end up playing the English version because they don't get a localised version) as for the most part it'll come down to a choice between god awful American voice acting or god awful UK voice acting.

    Besides if the game is set in LA, for example, do we really need a bunch of mockneys wandering about? "Aa-righ guvnor! Gor blimey it's the bill! Apples and pears!"

  • RexRunti #45 3 years ago

    Looking at the tests for films you can get enough points just for being a british company with british voice actors. Obviously they'll need to change the test for games given how many games are set in fantastical worlds. Fable II is a very british game for example but loses a lot of points because it's not actually set in the UK or have a character from the UK in the lead role even though Albion is clearly based on these fair isles.

    Of course this only applies to games made in the UK so Overlord wouldn't count.

  • callum9999 #46 3 years ago

    It's amusing how British people are quick to go on about how Britain is a rubbish, violent place to live, yet they choose to spend their lives living there instead of moving abroad...

  • teabagger #47 3 years ago

    So they're willing to support an industry on the condition it outputs games that could marginalise large parts of the global audience and therefore not be profitable? Great idea.

  • Ryze #48 3 years ago

    Ooooh - GTA might fall foul of this unless they set it in the UK!


    THis is good for games, as we'll hopefully get more of them set in the UK as time goes on!

  • Zomoniac #49 3 years ago

    FIFA titles..?

    The FIFA titles made by EA Canada, you mean?

  • RedSparrows #50 3 years ago

    'It's amusing how British people are quick to go on about how Britain is a rubbish, violent place to live, yet they choose to spend their lives living there instead of moving abroad... '

    It's just a lazy trope of British popular discourse. Oo get me.

  • Dr_Wadd #51 3 years ago

    @kangarootoo and sneetch

    This sounds like a fine idea. There would also have to be a fight that takes place on the cross-walks of Tower Bridge, possibly with a cameo by the time-travelling ghost of Peter Cushing.

  • Nocturne #52 3 years ago

    Oh dear ... I hate politics.

    The fact that British developers feel the need to kiss the ring of Gordon Brown to succeed is sickening. A free and open society is supposed to return power to the customers, so that they can choose with the wallets which companies are worthy of staying in business. But here we have a political elite, corruptly using its position, it's command of taxes, to fulfil its arbitrary desires. This is degrading to the entire videogame industry. It should not be used as a vessel to promote nationalist propaganda for a morally bankrupt government drunk on its own power. If shame were a feeling these people were capable of, then they would drown in it.
    Edited by 1 at 17/06/09 @ 20:46

  • bad09 #53 3 years ago

    I want only one "culturally British" game, I'll PAY THEM TAX IF THEY DO IT!!!! The Getaway 3 Sony you slags, get back on it! If you don't I'll murder your wife and steal your boy.

    / puffs cigar, swears and burns down a restaurant while shooting old bill like a good south londoner does

    F**king do it Sony you muppets, NOW! If I have to start counting the fingers you haven't got.....

  • RedSparrows #54 3 years ago

    Nocturne, I'd hardly say the current gov were a nationalist-orientated vehicle. If anything, they pander to it too much, rather than 'have' it themselves. 'British culture' is a very, VERY common angle of approach for business and popular rhetoric atm. I'd hardly say that was just down to Gordon Brown.

  • Nocturne #55 3 years ago

    RedSparrows,

    Britain may be undergoing a resurgence in patriotic sentiment, but for Gordon Brown and his cronies to use the power to tax as a means to appeal to that sentiment is sickening. If they believe points can be won with the electorate by such a gesture, than I fear for the future of Britain itself. If anyone but these crooks in Parliament attempted anything similar, then they would be accused of extortion, and rightly vilified.

  • rprince #56 3 years ago

    It shouldn't just be given to all British game companies. That would imply the government are trying to get more people to move to Britain, get more (games) businesses in Britain and make Britain a world centre for games production. That's not what the government does with films and there's no reason to do that with games.

    The government are trying to promote the exploration of what makes Britain unique and export that to the rest of the world. British films aren't there because they're made in Britain, but because they tell British stories with a British sense of humour and with British characters.

    The problem is that games are not only about stories. In fact, what we spend most of time arguing is that they are more than stories because of the interactivity and gameplay. Some games don't have any story. It would be interesting to see a game that is culturally British to play, rather than just have British accents and knife crime. Almost like some boardgames have gameplay mechanics that are typically German, though I guess that's more because lots of those sorts of games come from there. But a game that encourages or depends on the reserved nature Brits are apparently renowned for could be along the right lines.

    As for GTA and Fable, Rockstar and Microsoft Games Studio are hardly strapped for cash. The companies that need to benefit from it would be smaller, possibly independent companies. The ones that take risks and make interesting games. Not the ones that rehash the annual cash cow.

    It looks like the government are offering tax relief. Not grants. There's not free money, the companies would just have to pay less of what they earn to HMRC.

  • guernican #57 3 years ago

    Excellent. Be prepared for...

    Pipesmoker's Revenge
    Ratchet and Clank: the Tweed and Trilby Years
    Bespoke Suit Larry

    By the way, in response to the guy bemoaning the British unwillingness to live this miserable rock. Well, the English-speaking alternatives are too dreadful to contemplate.

  • #58 3 years ago

    lol....
    Hey guys..what do u think about this? just chat with me --I am an open-mineded single girl and I love sports. I want to end my single life by meeting a guy who likes sports too. Let's mingle at the big&tall dating club ___ TallMingle.com _____" which is a popular meeting site for tall singles and admirers!

  • teabagger #59 3 years ago

    Enough idle chit-chat. I'm off to make a game about Morris Dancers.

  • actionfitz #60 3 years ago

    well the Codies 'Colin McRae Rally' series is undoubtably a british game franchise...
    even though the games were developed by Irish, Spanish, French, Italian, English, Scots nationals.
    Nationality of the devs shouldn't be an issue imo.
    Tbh though, to qualify you should just be based in the UK, with your company and employees living and paying thier taxes in the UK.

    it should be less about promoting british culture and more about promoting british gaming business.
    Thats the core issue here. talent is leaving the UK for foriegn shores... and taking thier revenue with them.
    These measures are necessary to stem that flow.

    it shouldnt matter if you game is based in London or Mars.
    my 2p.

  • ph101 #61 3 years ago

    ^ aye