Business for Video Games

A UK based independent games developer is set up as a sole trader. He has released a game but has not made as much money as he anticipated. He cannot pay all the invoices that his business is liable for; this means...

• He is personally liable for payments due to HMRC but

  not to private suppliers.

• He is personally liable for all payments due

• If he closes his business he will not have to pay

  anything back.

• He will not be able to start another business for 5 years.

A UK based small game development studio is forecasting a a good turnover and is trying to work out whether the business should be registered for VAT.

The VAT threshold currently is...

• £64,000

• £85,000

• £72,000

• £95,000

A group of investors is assessing a potential investment into a games middleware company. The investors are particularly focusing on the forecast internal rate of return, because it primarily...

• allows them to see how profitable their investment would be.

• allows them to see how quickly they are going to get their

  money back.

• helps assess the risk of the investment.

• shows them whether the directors can manage cashflow

  effectively.

A game design team in a large studio is working out what analytics it needs to

track in the free-to-play mobile game that it is currently developing. The game

design team starts by defining what the data gathering is primarily for. This is...

• to improve the gameplay.

• to give to ad networks so they can better target the ads

  in the game to their users.

• to show investors how the game is doing.

• to tell press to get more PR.

A games studio's R&D department want to invest in the most recent major area of focus for game developers’, which is..

• E-sports

• F2P Games

• Mobile Games

• VR

An experienced businessperson has started investing in other people's companies. One of their friends asks them why they want to take that kind of risk. They state that their primary reason is . . .

• belief in the management team

• tax relief

• personal interest in what the company does

• chance of making more money than if they put the money in the bank

A recent graduate is setting up their first company. The first step is to register as a company with . . .

• A Bank

• Companies House

• HMRC

• Shareholders

The director of a game development studio has been asked to speak to some students about the role of a game designer. He explains that whilst game designers can be responsible for lots of things, their key role is to . . .

• define the art style of the game

• manage the team

• make the art for the game

• work out the mechanics of the game

The management team of a game development studio is planning their next project.

The CEO says that they should have a soft launch period because . . .

• they can then test the game and fix any issues before full release

• the game will start making money earlier

• it may provide free testers, reducing the cost of professional testing

• it reduces the budget they will need to get the game to market

An established UK game studio needs to raise funding for their new game. They have been advised to set-up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) by their accountant because . . .

• it will make their cashflow more efficient

• it will make the company more attractive to possible investors

• they will be able to split staff between the two companies

• they don’t want to give away equity in their company