If the steady rise in videogame prices wasn't already testing players' wallets enough, Mexico was preparing to add insult to injury: an extra tax on videogames deemed "violent." But before gamers could hit game over, the government hit pause. And just in time to close out the year on a high note, at least for those playing from Mexico, that is...
President Claudia Sheinbaum announced this week that the federal government will withdraw the proposed 8% tax on videogames included in the 2026 Economic Package. The levy, scheduled to take effect on January 1, would have applied to physical and digital titles classified as unsuitable for minors. Its stated goal was to discourage violent content and help combat broader social violence.
In practice, Sheinbaum admitted, it simply couldn't work
"It's very difficult to distinguish between a videogame that has violence and one that doesn't," the president said during her morning press conference. "So who decides that?" Faced with those unanswered questions, the government opted to scrap the tax altogether and focus instead on awareness campaigns aimed at young people and adolescents.
The proposal had drawn comparisons to so-called "sin taxes" on tobacco and sugary drinks, framing video games as another product requiring fiscal correction. But unlike cigarettes or soda, video games don't come with clear warning labels, and the law failed to explain how violence would be measured, who would classify the games, or how the tax would be enforced across online stores and subscription services.
The tax had too many complications... better to remove it
Even Sheinbaum acknowledged the contradictions. While she noted that many online games can be addictive, expensive, and built around violent mechanics, she concluded that taxation was the wrong joystick to pull. "The tax had too many complications," she said. "We decided it was better to remove it and promote a culture of peace instead."
Critics were quicker (and sharper) in their response. "They argue that consoles generate violence, as if gamers were potential criminals," said Iraís Reyes, a lawmaker from the Citizens' Movement party. "No one becomes a criminal for surviving the apocalypse in The Last of Us, pulling off a Fatality in Mortal Kombat, or catching creatures in Pokémon."
Mexico is Latin America's largest video game market
This wasn't Mexico's first uneasy encounter with gaming culture, though. In 2021, former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador released a list of recommendations for "proper" video game use, warning against chatting with strangers online and criticizing parents for using games as a digital babysitter. "It does affect and cause harm," he said at the time.
The debate, of course, hit a nerve in a country that is not just playing games, but building them. Mexico is Latin America's largest video game market and ranks tenth worldwide. According to estimates published earlier this year, the industry generated more than $2.3 billion in revenue. To put that figure into perspective, the only countries that generated more revenue were (in order): China, United States, Japan, South Korea, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Brazil (via Newzoo).
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