French lawmakers have approved an amendment that would introduce a €0.055 tax for every gigabyte of data entering the country. The measure, adopted during a late-night parliamentary session on October 30, 2026, is intended to make major digital companies contribute more to public finances. However, its potential impact could extend to the video game industry and, indirectly, to players.

The amendment would target content providers and content delivery networks rather than charging households directly through their internet subscriptions. Companies such as Steam, Sony, Microsoft and other publishers could fall within its scope. Internet service providers would be responsible for measuring the volumes transferred by each company every quarter, without examining the private nature of the data packets.

The proposal includes a limit on the annual amount payable: the tax would be capped at 15% of a company’s revenue generated in France or 2% of its worldwide revenue. Based on an estimated 200 billion gigabytes of annual data traffic cited in the amendment, its authors expect the measure could generate up to €10 billion.

For games, the most immediate concern would be large downloads and updates. At the proposed rate, a 50 GB title would represent a gross tax of €2.75, while a 100 GB game would generate €5.50. A download between 150 and 210 GB, as is increasingly common for some major releases, could correspond to between €8.25 and €11.55. A 30 GB patch would add an estimated €1.65 to the publisher’s potential tax burden, while repeated installations could create additional costs.

The impact could be particularly significant for free-to-play games. An online title with a 100 GB client would generate €5.50 in tax for each download, even when the player spends nothing in the game. For games supported by a minority of paying users, large seasonal updates and millions of non-paying players could make the French market less profitable if companies passed the cost on to publishers or altered their distribution strategies.

Cloud gaming would face a different calculation. Services such as GeForce NOW and Xbox Cloud Gaming can reportedly consume between 10 and 20 GB per hour, depending on the resolution and streaming conditions. A player using such a service for 40 hours per month could therefore generate between 400 and 800 GB of traffic, corresponding to a gross monthly tax of €22 to €44 under the proposed rate. The amendment’s structure could make this model especially exposed because usage continues throughout a gaming session rather than being concentrated in a single download.

Some publishers could respond by increasing game prices or subscription fees, reducing file sizes through stronger compression, lowering default texture quality or limiting preloading options. These outcomes are possibilities rather than confirmed measures, since the amendment does not establish how companies would ultimately absorb or pass on the cost.

Using a VPN to appear outside France would not offer a straightforward solution. The source text points to possible account sanctions for bypassing regional pricing rules, payment systems tied to the cardholder’s region and higher latency when traffic is routed through a distant server. These issues could be particularly problematic for competitive multiplayer games.

The measure is not yet in force. The amendment, identified as No. I-1358 and introduced by Socialist MP Laurent Lhardit, was initially rejected in committee before being approved in the Assembly by 11 votes to 10, with 14 abstentions. The government opposed it, and the proposal must still pass through the Senate and continue through the budget bill’s legislative process.

Its legal future is also uncertain. The amendment could face challenges relating to the European single market, open-internet rules and equality before taxation. It could also be removed during further parliamentary negotiations or through other constitutional procedures. For now, the proposal represents a potential risk for digital distribution and gaming services in France, not an immediate charge on players.

Sources: Jeuxvideo.com.