R&D tax credits for media & gaming.
Under the Dubai Program for Gaming 2033, the UAE is building a media and gaming hub. The qualifying R&D is in the underlying engineering, not the content — and the discipline is proving precisely which part.
How qualifying R&D shows up in media & gaming.
The UAE regime tests every project against the five OECD Frascati criteria. Here is what each looks like in an engine, a pipeline, or a stream.
Novel
An engine, pipeline or algorithm not readily available.
Creative
Original engineering, not content or asset creation.
Uncertain
Whether it hits the performance target is uncertain.
Systematic
Planned profiling and iteration, properly documented.
Transferable
Results reproducible across platforms and devices.
The kind of work that qualifies.
Illustrative projects across upstream, downstream and the energy transition. Eligibility is always confirmed project by project.
Rendering & physics
Rendering, physics or netcode achieving performance a standard engine cannot.
Streaming & compression
Streaming or compression methods that beat available codecs on a hard constraint.
Real-time AR/VR
Real-time immersive systems requiring novel technical solutions.
Multiplayer at scale
Networking and synchronisation for scale or latency with no established pattern.
Content pipelines
Tooling and pipelines that solve an engineering problem existing tools cannot.
Procedural & AI systems
Procedural generation or in-engine AI advanced beyond what existing technology allows.
Genuine R&D, not routine engineering.
The value we add is drawing this line correctly — claiming what qualifies, and defending it, while leaving out what does not.
- Advancing an engine, pipeline or algorithm beyond what existing tech allows.
- Solving rendering, netcode or streaming problems with no established answer.
- Real-time systems where the performance outcome is uncertain.
- Systematic profiling and iteration to resolve the uncertainty.
- Content production, level design and asset creation.
- Using a game engine or tool to its documented capability.
- Routine porting or configuration to a platform.
- Creative and narrative work with no technical uncertainty.
£50M+
claimed across 450+ UK companies with a 100% audit success record — including complex, engineering-heavy claims in energy and industrials. The same chartered method now applies to the UAE.
“Very easy to use, great support and transparent pricing. The team guided us through every step of our claim.”
VoxSmart — technology client
A UAE media or gaming case study will feature here as claims complete under the new regime.
Is making a game R&D?
The content is not — but the underlying engineering often is. Where an engine, pipeline or algorithm was advanced beyond what existing technology readily allows, that development can qualify.
We use an off-the-shelf engine. Can we claim?
Using it to its documented capability does not qualify. But extending it to solve a rendering, netcode or performance problem with no established answer can.
Does AR/VR work count?
Frequently — real-time immersive systems routinely involve genuine technical uncertainty that requires novel solutions, which is what the criteria reward.
What evidence will we need?
Contemporaneous records: the technical uncertainty, the work done to resolve it, and project-level cost and staff-time allocation. We build this as the work happens — and pre-approval is mandatory before claiming.
Building media or gaming technology? Let’s find what qualifies.
We assess your projects against the five criteria, handle pre-approval, and build the evidence — before a single figure is claimed.
