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First playable fund, like asking the state to finance your video game

3 years ago babelfish

First playable fund, like asking the state to finance your video game

What First Playable Fund is and how does it work

As the old video games used to say: START . Starting from 12 noon on 30 June 2021 it will be possible to submit applications for access to the First Playable Fund program, the 4 million euro fund ( we talked about it here ), strongly desired by the 5 Star Movement, to protect intellectual property intended to small studios that develop video games here in Italy.

Our country is known for manufacturing, for food, for the tertiary sector, but certainly not for the gaming sector. Although in the immediate post-war period we were already at the forefront in terms of cinema, despite the fact that opera and theater speak essentially Italian all over the world, we really missed the eighth art. Much stronger than us, in Europe, neighboring France, but also England, Germany and above all Poland. The First Playable Fund has the purpose of encouraging the growth of an industry in the sector which, with us, is in fact microscopic.

According to the latest census by IIDEA , the Confindustria of videogames, an actor representing Italian developers, distributors and producers, the companies that develop videogames would be just 160 for 1600 employees. 73% of the firms have been operating on the market for over 4 years and the number of companies with over 500 thousand euros in annual turnover and with more than 20 employees is increasing. A third of the companies today fall within the definition of SMEs (+10 employees) and a fifth have more than 20 employees. In the 2018 census, 17% were enterprises with more than 10 employees and the remaining 83% were micro enterprises.

This is therefore the audience to which the First Playable Fund is addressed, which from IIDEA, through the mouth of Luisa Bixio , number 2 of the Association that brings together Italian producers and developers, make it known that the government's effort, however welcome, is still not enough. : "We would like to bring it to ten million euros", they point out and then recall as another concession, the tax credit signed by Dario Franceschini in 2016 for those who invest in cinema and video games has remained bogged down for a long time due to the implementation decrees and everything 'now remains beyond the horizon line.

But in the meantime you have to make do with what you have. The First Playable Fund, with an initial endowment of 4 million euros, provides for the granting of non-repayable grants in favor of projects which, through the development of the conception and pre-production phases, intend to create a video game prototype for distribution commercial. The concessions are granted in the form of a non-repayable grant, to the extent of 50% of the expenses and eligible costs incurred for the realization of the admitted project. The contribution is recognized in accordance with the "de minimis" and in compliance with the limits established by Regulation (EU) no. 1407/2013, according to which the maximum aid that can be granted for each "single company" cannot exceed the amount of € 200,000.00 over three financial years.

Realities that can benefit from it:

  • they mainly carry out the economic activity of "Software publishing" or "Software production, IT consultancy and related activities";
  • have their registered office in the European Economic Area;
  • they are subject to taxation in Italy as a result of their tax residence, or due to the presence of an operational headquarters in Italy, to which the creation of the prototype is attributable;
  • they have a fully paid-up minimum share capital and a net worth of not less than ten thousand euros, both in the case of companies established in the form of joint stock companies, and in the case of individual production companies and companies established in the form of partnerships;
  • they are duly constituted and registered as active in the Business Register of the territorially competent Chamber of Commerce;
  • they are in full and free exercise of their rights, are not in voluntary liquidation and are not subject to bankruptcy proceedings for liquidation purposes;
  • guarantee, in the event that one also operates in different sectors or also carries out other activities excluded from the scope of the de minimis regulation, with adequate means such as the separation of activities or the distinction of costs, that the aforementioned activities carried out in the excluded sectors they do not benefit from aid granted under the de minimis regulation;
  • have repaid sums due as a result of revocation measures of concessions granted by the Ministry of Economic Development;
  • are not the recipients of a disqualification sanction pursuant to article 9, paragraph 2, letter d), of legislative decree no. 231 and subsequent amendments and additions;
  • whose legal representatives or administrators have not been convicted, with a definitive sentence or a criminal decree which has become irrevocable or a sentence applying the penalty upon request pursuant to Article 444 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, for crimes that constitute grounds for exclusion of an economic operator by participating in a procurement or concession procedure pursuant to the legislation on public contracts relating to works, services and supplies in force on the date of submission of the application.

As regards, however, the projects admitted and that the State undertakes to finance, they must:

  • foresee, through the development of the conception and pre-production phases, the creation of a videogame prototype for commercial distribution;
  • be carried out at its operational headquarters located in Italy, as indicated in the application for facilitation;
  • foresee, each, the realization of a single prototype;
    provide for expenses and eligible costs not less than € 20,000.00 in total;
  • be started after the date of submission of the subsidy application, where the date of initiation means the date of the first title of expenditure / cost eligible for the subsidies;
  • be completed within 18 months from the date of the provision for granting the subsidies, where the date of completion means the date of the last title of expenditure / cost eligible for the subsidies.

Facilitation applications must be submitted, as anticipated, starting from 12.00 on 30 June 2021 and completed exclusively in Italian and in electronic form, using the IT platform that will be accessible from this section of the website and from that of the website. website of the National Agency for the attraction of investments and business development SpA – Invitalia ( www.invitalia.it ).

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/first-playable-fund-come-chiedere-allo-stato-di-finanziare-il-proprio-videogioco/ on Tue, 25 May 2021 10:53:37 +0000.