At the meeting with the Ministry of Culture, the leaders of CGDA and a representative of HAVC presented the concept of encouraging investment in the video game industry.
At the meeting, Hrvoje Mitić, art advisor at HAVC, went through a cross-section of incentives in other countries – similar incentive programs are also used by all major European video game industries – from England, Belgium, France, and even recently Italy. The most similar proposal to ours is the English Expenditure Credit system (previously called Video Game Tax Relief), in which the state returns between 20 and 30 percent back to the studio for every euro invested (from eligible costs such as labor costs and equipment).
Currently, a similar concept exists within the Ministry of Culture for the film industry – Filming in Croatia, but with minor changes it could also work for the domestic video game industry.
The next step is a more detailed elaboration of the exact functioning of such an incentive, and the creation of a cost-effectiveness study for the Republic of Croatia. A UK cost-effectiveness study showed that for every £1 invested through VGTR refunds, the UK has already received £1.75 back.
