In a move that could have oppressed German game developers looking jealously towards the southwest, the French Parliament has approved a plan to allow game developers creating games with a "with a cultural dimension" a tax credit equaling 20% of development costs up to 3 million euros a year. That's a pretty sizeable chunk of change aimed at keeping developers in the country, providing a sharp contrast to Germany, where some game developers are looked on and treated like borderline criminals.

So what determines if a game has a cultural dimension? Anything from the story the music, the look and feel, etc., so while a game about killing space aliens on a made up planet might not fall under the criteria, killing space aliens in the Louvre to the music of Jean-Marie Leclair just might.

Devs shouldn't start counting their euros yet however, as the European Commission is currently looking the plan over to see if it constitutes a EU policy violating subsidy. Michael Fahey

France Approves Video Game Tax Credit [GamePolitics.com]

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