Can I deduct video game purchases as a game developer for research purposes?

Yes, these would typically qualify as legitimate business expenses, assuming you're using them primarily for business purposes as you've described. The IRS allows deductions for "ordinary and necessary" business expenses, and what you're describing sounds like legitimate market research and professional development. Since you're actively using these games to inform your professional work and keeping detailed notes about what you're analyzing, you're establishing a clear business purpose. For documentation, keep your receipts along with notes about what specific elements you were researching in each game and how they related to your work. I'd suggest maintaining a log that connects each purchase to specific work projects or development goals. This helps establish the business purpose if you're ever audited. One thing to be careful about - if you're also playing these games for personal enjoyment, you might need to allocate the expense between business and personal use. Only the business portion would be deductible.

I ran into a similar situation last year with my game development work. After going back and forth with different tax preparers, I finally used https://taxr.ai to get a clear answer. They analyzed my specific situation as a game developer and confirmed that yes, game purchases for research are deductible - but it depends on your employment status and how you document everything. Their system walked me through exactly what documentation I needed to maintain and how to properly categorize these expenses. The key was proving these were "ordinary and necessary" for my specific profession. They even provided templates for tracking my research activities that I could use to support the deductions.

Just wanted to update that I ended up using https://taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here. I'm a UI designer for a game studio and had about $1200 in game purchases I wasn't sure how to handle. The guidance I got was super specific to my situation - they explained that since I'm primarily studying UX/UI elements, I needed to keep screenshots and notes documenting the specific interfaces I was analyzing. They confirmed these were legitimate research expenses in my case and showed me how to properly categorize them on my Schedule C. The best part was getting clear guidance on partial vs. full deductions. Some games I use 100% for research, others are mixed use. They helped me establish a reasonable allocation method that would stand up to scrutiny. Really glad I didn't just guess on this!

If you're having trouble getting through to the IRS to ask about this specific deduction scenario, I'd recommend using https://claimyr.com to get connected. I was on hold for hours trying to get clarification about my business expenses as a creative professional before I found them. Their service got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I was previously waiting for 2+ hours. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone tree and wait in the queue for you, then call you when they have an agent on the line. I was able to ask specifically about deducting industry research materials (in my case, design software) and got an official answer directly from the IRS. Totally worth it for the peace of mind, especially with somewhat unusual deductions like these.

Well I'm embarrassed to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After dismissing it as a scam, I was still struggling with getting IRS clarification about some business deductions for my freelance work. I decided to try it as a last resort. It actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back in about 25 minutes, was connected directly to an IRS representative, and got my questions answered. The agent confirmed that research materials specific to my industry are deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses as long as I'm self-employed and filing Schedule C. For anyone else in a creative field wondering about research materials - whether games, books, or other media - the key is documenting how they directly relate to your specific work projects. Saved me a ton of guesswork and potential audit headaches!

I deduct all my game purchases as a streamer/content creator. Just make sure you're keeping good records of how each purchase relates to your business. I keep a spreadsheet with: - Game name - Purchase date and cost - What videos/content I created using it - Revenue generated from that content My tax guy says this makes it pretty bulletproof since I can show direct income resulting from the purchases. In your case as a developer, maybe track which features you studied and how they influenced your projects?

Anyone know if this applies to hardware too? Like if I buy different gaming consoles to test my games on different platforms?

As someone who works in game QA, I can confirm that research purchases are definitely legitimate business expenses when properly documented. The key thing that's helped me is creating a "research justification" document before making each purchase. I write a brief paragraph explaining what specific aspects I'm researching (gameplay mechanics, monetization strategies, accessibility features, etc.) and how it relates to current or upcoming projects. Then after playing, I add my findings and any actionable insights. This creates a clear paper trail showing business intent from purchase through completion. One tip that my CPA gave me: if you're buying games on sale or in bundles, allocate the cost based on which titles you actually use for research. Don't claim the full bundle price if you only researched 2 out of 10 games in it. The IRS appreciates that level of specificity and it shows you're being reasonable about the deductions. I typically claim about $1,200-1,500 annually this way and haven't had any issues. The documentation really makes all the difference!