SR&ED for video games & interactive media
A frame-budget problem can lead to experimental engineering.
An ambitious game, by itself, does not.
Follow the specific question through the engine, netcode, rendering or simulation work. The SR&ED review belongs to that investigation, not to the title as a whole.
Start with the engineering limit
- Rendering work where known techniques could not meet a defined frame budget on the target hardware.
- Netcode or synchronization experiments where available approaches could not resolve the measured lag, prediction or scale problem.
- Physics, simulation or procedural systems whose behaviour could not be predicted from the available knowledge.
- Engine or build-pipeline work undertaken because the existing tools could not satisfy a defined technical constraint.
Separate the investigation from making the game
Art, animation, audio, writing, level design and standard gameplay scripting are part of making the game, but do not qualify on that basis alone. The same applies to documented engine features and a routine port. Keep those activities outside the experimental engineering record unless the facts support a different conclusion.
Use the build and profiling trail
Version-control history, profiling captures, build data, technical design notes, milestone reviews and crash telemetry can show how an engineering question evolved. Keep the target hardware, scene or load condition with each result; performance numbers lose meaning when their context disappears.
SREDlog can bring approved GitHub activity into the project and organize uploaded records. Perforce records can be uploaded or referenced, but there is no live Perforce connector.
Frequently asked questions
No, not as a whole. Review the specific engineering investigation separately from the art, design, content and routine implementation around it.
No. The engine choice does not decide the answer. Using documented features is generally routine; review separate engine or systems work against both CRA requirements.
Commit history, build data and milestone records can inform a proposed allocation, but they do not prove every hour. Keep the method and reviewer approval with the result. See time tracking.
Follow the frame budget back through the work
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These industry examples are prompts for a fact-specific review, not categories guaranteed to qualify. Work must be conducted in Canada and meet both current CRA requirements; support work must directly support and be commensurate with eligible work. This is general information, not tax advice, and has not been reviewed by an independent qualified tax professional. See our editorial policy.