TIGA: Video games should be given ‘cultural’ status

Classing video games as ‘cultural products’ would give the medium "the respect it deserves".

That’s according to trade body TIGA, which told BBC Newsbeat it wants games to be officially classified alongside TV, film and animation. At the moment, games are classified as software under EU law.

"Recoginising games as cultural products would untie the red tape, which unfairly prevents EU member state governments from supporting their national video game sectors," said TIGA CEO Richard Wilson.

UK developer Media Molecule is backing the call for this change, with Tearaway lead creator Rex Crowle adding: "[Games] have so much artistry put into them, they have to be built from scratch. 

"There’s no way to just find content for games, you can’t just point a camera at something. It brings together so many talents, from architectural design to audio design to storytelling."

Earlier this year, UK games tax relief was finally approved by the European Commission. Developers in the report claim if games were classified as cultural products, this would not have been necessary.