The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) seeks to raise 183 million pesos in 2026 for the collection of a Violent video game tax.
“It is proposed to establish a special AD VALEM Tax of 8 percent to the provision of digital video game services with violent content,” says the Budget of Expenditure of the 2026 Federation, which was delivered by Edgar Amador Zamora, Secretary of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic.
According to the document, recent studies have found a relationship between the use of video games of a violent nature and a higher level of aggression among adolescents, as well as negative social and psychological effects such as isolation and anxiety.
Carlos Lerma Cotera, Undersecretary of Revenue of the SHCP, said that the collection of a special violent video game tax has the objective of influencing a decline in those products.
In Mexico, the use of video games has grown in a sustained way, positioning itself as a daily activity for various sectors of the population.
The imposition of violent video game tax occurs at a time when such an industry has high growth in Mexico.
To the cut of the first half of 2025, 72.6 million people of almost all ages are video players in Mexico, reveals The Competitive Intelligence Unit (CiU).
“This mass adoption has promoted the development of local communities, eSports events and a growing national game development industry,” according to the consultant.
Video games have become a space of cultural, creative, coexistence and social expression, thus reflecting the dynamics of inclusion and connectivity that characterize the new generations, says the analysis company.
In this way, the generation of income from the video game industry reaches 42 thousand 785 million pesos during 2025, amount 3.7 percent higher in its annual comparison, resulting from the affordability in access to video games, diversification in its offer and the growing adoption of game devices.
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One of the main factors for industry’s growth is the massification of smartphones between all socio -economic levels and age groups of the population, which has allowed to reach an accounting of 59.7 million ‘mobile’ gamers to the second quarter of 2025, that is, 82.3 percent of the total video players in Mexico.
The Competitive Intelligence Unit recalls that the video game console market has established itself as the most relevant segment within the global gaming industry.
Unlike mobile or casual games, consoles users tend to be intensive players: they invest more time, resources and faithfulness in their favorite platforms.
“This intensity of use translates into higher income per unit, recurring sales of titles, subscriptions to digital services and specialized accessories,” he said.
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