Enhancing the Digital Games Tax Credit (Section 481A)

This pre-budget submission from Imirt, the Irish Game Makers Association, argues that Ireland's Digital Games Tax Credit under Section 481A, introduced in November 2022, has signalled support for the video games sector but has not stimulated substantial domestic growth or foreign direct investment because of structural limits in its eligibility criteria. Addressed to the Department of Finance and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, it positions Ireland as a strong candidate for a games hub, citing its storytelling and animation heritage, technical talent, English-speaking EU status, and links to US tech and entertainment markets, while noting intense competition from other EU states and the UK.

The submission makes two recommendations for Budget 2025. The first is to permit tax credit claims for partial game development projects, such as satellite studio work on art, programming, or narrative, which would mirror existing film credit practice and align Ireland with competitors like Canada and the UK. The authors argue this would attract foreign investment, support scalable domestic studios that reduce emigration of senior talent, and lower financial risk during pre-production and prototyping. The second is to revise the cut-off point for qualifying expenditure to include post-launch activity, recognising that modern games operate as long-term live services and that post-launch spending often exceeds pre-launch investment. Imirt proposes capping this support at three years from initial launch and argues it would sustain year-round employment, develop specialist roles in live operations and analytics, and encourage multinational studios to establish lasting operations in Ireland.