State Aids for Digital Games in the European Union: A Symbiotic or Parasitic Relationship?

The document analyzes state aid mechanisms for digital games within the European Union, examining the relationship between national/regional state interventions and the games industry. It investigates whether this relationship is symbiotic or parasitic, focusing on tax incentives, grants, and credits introduced across various EU member states. The scope of the analysis covers schemes implemented in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom (pre-Brexit), from France's initial scheme in 2007 to Ireland's 2022 tax credit regime.

The methodology involves interrogating European Commission decisions approving these state aid measures, which are publicly available. The paper also conducts a comparative analysis of the form and structure of these measures, considering the commodification of the nation-state and culture. A critical law and political economy perspective is applied to trace patterns in both Commission approvals and national regulatory regimes.

Key findings indicate that the European Commission approves state aid measures for digital games by positioning them as cultural forms under Article 107(3)(d) TFEU. However, divergences in national tax support regimes lead to varied approaches by the Commission in approvals. The Commission's decisions are driven by multiple rationales, including protecting the EU's internal market and demonstrating a pragmatic understanding of digital games as a cultural form, aligning with the marketization and commodification of culture within creative industries discourse.

The paper concludes that the state aid regime for digital games in the EU operates in a simultaneously symbiotic and parasitic manner. It offers support for creative production while being intrinsically linked to the logics of capitalism. This dual nature highlights how policy interventions for digital games development are driven by both cultural and industrial rationalizations, with the Commission's independent policy view striving to support the EU as a supranational institution, which does not always align with the specific needs of the games sector or individual member states.