A brief overview of the game development situation in Malta at the turn of 2011/2012.

1. Copyright 2011 Rocksolid Games
Malta Game Development
An Overview
by Nick Porsche 1

2. BENEFITS
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3. Malta: Locational Benefits
• Member of the European Union & Euro Zone
• Proven base for international gaming companies
• Europe’s foremost regulated online jurisdiction
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• 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
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4. The Maltese Tax System
• Full Imputation System
approved by the EU
• Maltese corporate income is
taxed regularly at 35%, but…
• Tax advantage occurs on
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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 System Diagram
Live Game(s) International Investor,
Publisher or Licensor
EU/Non EU
Malta
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Game Development
Ltd.
Maltese Financial Game Dev. 5
Authorities HoldCo

6. Business Incentive List
Tax Benefits: 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:
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• 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
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8. Gaming Companies
• TRC Family Entertainment
• Bigpoint International
• AV Technologies
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• Rocksolid Games (in founding)
• Gameforge (non-op)
• King.com
… and several games related experts and student
activities
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9. Game Development Education
• University of Malta
• St. Martins Institute of IT
• Holistic Courses
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• STC IT-College Pembroke (starting 2012)
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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
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11. Game Conventions
• Digital Games Malta Conventions
• Chinajoy (Malta Enterprise presence)
• GC Cologne (Malta Enterprise presence)
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12. Gaming Associated Organizations
• University Malta
• Malta Enterprise
• Finance Ministry
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• Banking Sector
• European Union
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13. Future Challenges
• Reclaiming “gaming” terminology from gambling
industry
• Bundling subsidies and incentives (spread out
over departments and organizations)
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• Building up a local expert resource pool
• Forming digital games lobby
• Press work and public information (putting Malta
on the international Gaming map)
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14. BUSINESS MODELS
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15. Local Development
• Development team located in Malta
• Team sizes small to medium (1-100+)
• Product sold / licensed to intl. games publishers
• Digital self-publishing
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• 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
• Licensing contracts run through Malta Ltd.
• Business Development installed in Malta (tbd)
• Licensed product sold/sub licensed to intl.
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publisher
• Maximize profit through reduced taxes
• Pros: Low costs, low tax, EU legislation
• Cons: Off the map, travel costs/time
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17. Live Game Maintenance
• Live game sold/moved to Malta
• Project management installed in Malta
• Live development installed in Malta
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• 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
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18. Distributed Development
• Development contracts run through Malta Ltd.
• Project management run from Malta
• Work with international work for hire teams
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• Benefit from low international development
costs
• Pros: Low costs, low tax, EU legislation
• Cons: Local talent pool, travel costs/time
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19. External Services
• Service teams located in Malta
• Staff sizes small to large
• Services sold / to local and intl. game developers
• Most probable services:
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• Quality Assurance / Testing
• Community Management / Games Mastering
• Localization / Translation
• Market Research and Analysis
• Pros: Low costs, low tax, EU legislation
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• Cons: Connection to international dev/publishers

20. Questions?
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