Abragames talks about its participation in the Legal Framework for Games

The Chamber of Deputies approved in October 2022, the bill (PL 2,796/2021) which regulates the manufacture, import, sale and development of electronic games in the country. The project known as Games Legal Framework, according to deputy Darci Matos, aims at “the equalization of taxation will allow greater isonomy. Currently, the legislation considers electronic games as games of chance, like slot machines, which makes taxation extremely high”.

Read too: Legal framework for the games industry can boost the sector

But Marco's idea wasn't born out of nowhere and much less from a single person. A Abragames, Brazilian Association of Digital Game Developers, also participated in the creation of the text. And it was through Rodrigo Terra, in an exclusive interview, that the president of Abragames spoke a little more about the subject.

1. How was the text conceived?

The text was initially thought by the deputy Kim Kataguiri and we followed its unfolding when it was starting to be discussed in Congress. There were some queries about the initial content of the text and so Abragames began to participate in the process as a representative of the video game development sector and help to format the text in a way that the industry could be better represented.

2. Where did the idea for the Marco Legal dos Games project come from?

It is an old demand of the sector. O Games Legal Framework it was understood as an instrument to remedy some historical problems that we have in the country, such as a taxation of electronic games that does not make sense and that comes from a time when the country did not differentiate between games and games of chance.

It was an initiative of deputy Kim Kataguiri and this movement was very important to make the games sector as it is today understood by the government, both for development and consumption. We have issues like taxation, distribution and qualification of what is a video game that need to be changed.

Through Games Legal Framework we can see a good start for this conversation and that way it will be possible to differentiate once and for all what a game is and what a game of chance is. It also helps to improve the productive ecosystem of electronic games being developed in the country. It is very important that the state can be one of the drivers of this industry, as it happens in other countries.

3. Was a survey carried out among companies and national studios to discuss the text?

Yes. When Abragames was approached to participate in the production of the text, we consulted with our associated studios, affiliates and regional entities. We collected everyone's initial impressions and what was clear is that the text needed some modifications and additions to further contribute to the development of the sector.

4. What adjustments still need to be made?

We understand that there are some better definitions for the issue of research in development and we know that this needs to be a little clearer within the Games Legal Framework.

Another point that we believe can be changed in the text is about which tools are essential for the game development ecosystem. Nowadays, studios need specific software, structures and hardware for development, which need to be understood as part of the industry.

Read too: Interview | Experts analyze the Legal Framework for Games

It is also necessary to have the normalization of what is understood as an electronic game by the government and what tools and professions are important for the development of a game. Abragames believes that it is still necessary to work together with the government to define what game consumption equipment is and what professions are part of the development of a game. Today, Marco Legal states that the essential profession in the games industry is the programmer, but we have 3D artists, game designers, screenwriters, sound designers, composers and all of them need to be within the law as essential.

It is also necessary to have a greater opening for the discussion of clearer and more direct tax policies for the games sector.

5. What does Marco change for Brazil?

First, Marco Legal makes a historical correction in terms of classification and understanding of what electronic games are and how they were specified beyond the entertainment industry. It creates a differentiation that has long been requested by the industry and by the consumer itself, who ends up being indirectly impacted by the understanding that games are games of chance.

The second point is that it opens up a space within the government to create mechanisms to promote the industry, whether incentive or resource, such as the development of undergraduate courses, an improvement in business environments, import negotiations through NCM and creation of spaces, such as the Manaus Free Trade Zone. All this is very important to show the world that Brazil is a country that is investing in the sector.

Another important factor that changes from now on is the government's position within the game development industry. The sector developed independently from the beginning. Of course we had some initiatives over the years, but they were punctual. We understand that this is the moment to establish premises with the government and Marco Legal is a great opportunity.

6. What is the difference between this project and others we see around the world?

O Games Legal Framework it ends up being a very Brazilian instrument and with some specific local particularities for what the country needs at the moment, but we see that in the rest of the world there are some measures similar to what is being developed here.

Canada, for example, includes games as cultural assets and this makes public organizations include games in their public notices in different areas. South Korea, for example, created, over the course of 15 years, a series of mechanisms to foment the local game development industry. Poland, on the other hand, has developed mechanisms to facilitate a business environment for its studios.

Each region of the world does a great job to evolve the local gaming sector, always aiming at cultural export and an incentive for technology development, especially when we talk about the advancement of metaverse.