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Malta game development overview
Malta offers several benefits for game development companies, including a favorable tax system and membership in the EU. The tax system allows for a maximum 5% corporate tax rate for international investors. Malta also has a growing game development community with several international studios located there and educational programs to build a talent pool. Some common business models for Maltese game companies include local development of games for international publishers, licensing intellectual property to take advantage of the tax system, and providing outsourced game services to international developers.
Malta game development overview
- 1. Copyright 2011 RocksolidGames Malta Game Development An Overview by Nick Porsche 1
- 2. BENEFITS Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games 2
- 3. Malta: Locational Benefits •Member of the European Union & Euro Zone • Proven base for international gaming companies • Europe’s foremost regulated online jurisdiction Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games • Very good ICT infrastructure • Highly advantageous tax system • Very attractive working and living conditions • Low wages and non-wage labour costs • English official national language 3
- 4. The Maltese TaxSystem • Full Imputation System approved by the EU • Maltese corporate income is taxed regularly at 35%, but… • Tax advantage occurs on Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games shareholder level • Dividend is paid out to non resident shareholder (can also be a holding company) • Non-resident shareholder is eligible for 6/7 tax refund, effectively resulting in corporate tax of 5% 4
- 5. Full Imputation SystemDiagram Live Game(s) International Investor, Publisher or Licensor EU/Non EU Malta Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games Game Development Ltd. Maltese Financial Game Dev. 5 Authorities HoldCo
- 6. Business Incentive List TaxBenefits: Grants: • 5% Full Imputation Tax System • EUREKA (research based) for intl. Investors - ongoing • ERDF (research and development) • 15% flat tax for intl. games experts (title list) – 2012 Funds: Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games • var.% tax benefits (R&D, IP, • Malta Games Fund worth job creation, etc) 150kpA/€ • var. % for MicroInvest program (ends 31 Dec. 2011) Loans: • JEREMIE (Joint European • 25k/€ tax benefit for Create Resources for Micro to program Medium Enterprises) • 15k/€ tax benefit for • Soft loans (Malta Enterprise educational or promotional due diligence, norm. 33% max. 75% of cost) 6 digital games
- 7. DEVELOPER ENVIRONMENT Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games 7
- 8. Gaming Companies •TRC Family Entertainment • Bigpoint International • AV Technologies Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games • Rocksolid Games (in founding) • Gameforge (non-op) • King.com … and several games related experts and student activities 8
- 9. Game Development Education •University of Malta • St. Martins Institute of IT • Holistic Courses Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games • STC IT-College Pembroke (starting 2012) 9
- 10. Student Competitions • Gamezing– University of Malta, Malta Council of Science and Technology, Malta Enterprise, St Martin’s Institute of IT • GameDev Challenge - St Martin’s Institute of IT Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games 10
- 11. Game Conventions • DigitalGames Malta Conventions • Chinajoy (Malta Enterprise presence) • GC Cologne (Malta Enterprise presence) Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games 11
- 12. Gaming Associated Organizations •University Malta • Malta Enterprise • Finance Ministry Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games • Banking Sector • European Union 12
- 13. Future Challenges • Reclaiming“gaming” terminology from gambling industry • Bundling subsidies and incentives (spread out over departments and organizations) Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games • Building up a local expert resource pool • Forming digital games lobby • Press work and public information (putting Malta on the international Gaming map) 13
- 14. BUSINESS MODELS Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games 14
- 15. Local Development • Developmentteam located in Malta • Team sizes small to medium (1-100+) • Product sold / licensed to intl. games publishers • Digital self-publishing Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games • Most probable types and genres: • Browser-based games (MMO’s, Social, etc.) • Digitally distributed games (App Store, Client etc.) • Skill games (Freemium/”Gambling” hybrids) • Serious games (Gamification) • Pros: Low costs, low tax, EU legislation • Cons: Local talent pool 15
- 16. International Licensing • Licensingcontracts run through Malta Ltd. • Business Development installed in Malta (tbd) • Licensed product sold/sub licensed to intl. Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games publisher • Maximize profit through reduced taxes • Pros: Low costs, low tax, EU legislation • Cons: Off the map, travel costs/time 16
- 17. Live Game Maintenance •Live game sold/moved to Malta • Project management installed in Malta • Live development installed in Malta Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games • Benefit from low personnel costs and expenses • Pros: Low costs, EU legislation, low tax • Cons: Local talent pool • Attention: taxes for the sale apply in country 17
- 18. Distributed Development • Developmentcontracts run through Malta Ltd. • Project management run from Malta • Work with international work for hire teams Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games • Benefit from low international development costs • Pros: Low costs, low tax, EU legislation • Cons: Local talent pool, travel costs/time 18
- 19. External Services • Serviceteams located in Malta • Staff sizes small to large • Services sold / to local and intl. game developers • Most probable services: Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games • Quality Assurance / Testing • Community Management / Games Mastering • Localization / Translation • Market Research and Analysis • Pros: Low costs, low tax, EU legislation 19 • Cons: Connection to international dev/publishers
- 20. Questions? Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games 20