The lockdown boom in video games has put the spotlight on the global success of British game makers, attracting the attention of deep-pocketed US giants looking to snap up valuable pandemic-proof businesses. Electronic Arts, the California-based global gaming giant, announced a surprise £945m bid for Codemasters, the maker of Formula One racing games. EA's offer, which has been recommended by the Codemasters board, is almost £200m more than that tabled last month by its rival Take-Two Interactive, the maker of games including Grand Theft Auto, which is expected to rejoin the bidding war with a sweeter deal. The gaming industry has proved to be a coronavirus winner, with tens of millions of consumers looking for relief from lockdown boredom and Britain's pedigree ensuring excited investors sent stocks soaring. Industry veterans are not surprised by the latest boom, pointing to Britain's history of creating world-class games The handful of UK game developers that are listed on the London stock market, including the Warwickshire-based Codemasters, have all experienced share price surges of more than 100% this year.

A UK tax policy intended to boost the domestic video games industry has been used by some of the world's largest entertainment companies to avoid paying tens of millions of pounds in corporation tax, a Guardian investigation has found. WarnerMedia, which owns the British game development companies that make the Lego and Batman: Arkham series, has claimed up to £60m in corporation tax relief, according to company filings. Sony, the owner of PlayStation, claimed almost £30m. Japanese multinational Sega claimed up to £20m, according to audits of its UK subsidiaries that make the strategy-based Total War games and the hit sports series Football Manager. Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR), which enables game developers to claim back up to 20% of certain production costs, was introduced in 2014 after years of lobbying by the industry.

Note: Whilst the campaign is labelled as EIS eligible the Company has £150,000 remaining of its SEIS limit. We will, therefore, be looking to seek SEIS relief on the first £150,000 invested into the campaign and EIS relief on the balance. Any tax relief is dependent on personal circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. Development Bank of Wales will not be claiming tax relief on their investment. We built IntelAgent to fix customer services!