Here we are, a few days after the Gamescomwhich is, without doubt, the world's most important trade show for the video game industry. WALGA, with the support of Awex and in collaboration with other regional associations and agencies, was present on a national pavilion in the business zone.
The Belgian pavilion welcomed the largest Walloon delegation in its history, with almost 100 participants, representing some 30 companies (studios, start-ups, service providers) as well as a dozen project leaders supported by WALGA and Azimut. The latter were able to present their projects for the first time and meet professionals from all over the world.
Eight studios presented their games directly on the Belgian pavilion, while dozens of other companies took advantage of the meeting spaces, totalling hundreds of meetings. WALGA members representing public investment structures, such as Wallimage and ST'Art Invest, also took advantage of the meeting spaces to meet numerous French-speaking Belgian studios and potential international partners, such as Quebec and Brazil.
Schools and training courses were also represented, with a delegation from the Haute Ecole Albert Jacquard, which is expecting record enrolments this autumn, with over 600 students in the five-year Bachelor's and Master's courses in video game development. One of Gamescom's objectives is to facilitate access to internships in major international companies, as no fewer than 200 places will be needed in the next academic year. With the help of WALGA, contacts have been established in Europe, Brazil and Japan.
In addition, the WALGA space on the Belgian pavilion welcomed not only the dozen or so incubated teams, but also a unique streaming studio throughout the show's professional area. Thanks to our members active in video game streaming, Le Cercle des Créateurs Digitaux (Chrys Belgium and Enguy) and Chloé (Stream'Her), twelve developer interviews and game presentations were broadcast on Twitch. In all, 7h30 of live stream, 216 unique viewers and 50 new subscribers. You can find them on the channel WalgaTV.
Wednesday, August 21 at 5:30 p.m., during the ' receptionBelgian Beer CaféOn the Belgian pavilion, we had the opportunity to present the 2023 figures for the video game industry in Belgium.
WALGA, which was able to gather information from some thirty of its members representing the main studios in Wallonia, is taking advantage of Gamescom to publish more detailed figures on our ecosystem.
Below, you will find the evolution of the sector compared to 2022 with a contextualization of the 2023 figures and the outlook for 2024:
- Number of companies With around thirty studios and service companies, the number is stable compared to 2022. Growth has been significant since the start of 2024, following the first public funding disbursements obtained under the stimulus plans of Wallimage in Wallonia and the Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, with around ten new companies created.
- Number of jobs 268 in 2023, compared with 228 the previous year, despite a reduction of around 30 jobs at Appeal, mainly external collaborators, due to the end of the studio's two major projects.
Public funding of projects has also had a positive effect on employment, as a large proportion of a video game studio's expenditure is allocated to workers, whether internal or external to the company. Access to the Tax Shelter has enabled established studios to launch new projects and increase production levels. For 2024, more than half the companies plan to increase the number of employees, with the other half remaining stable.
- Sales figures At around 11 million euros, it remained stable compared with the previous year. With development cycles lasting two years or more, we'll have to wait until the end of this year, or even next, for public investment to have an impact on studios' balance sheets. For the leading Walloon studio Appeal, having been acquired by THQ Nordic, only the sales of services are taken into account in the 2023 figures, sales being made by the parent company.
Only 14 new games were marketed in 2023, of which 4 were self-published and 4 by a publisher. Walloon studios aim to bring around 50 new games to market over the next five years, which should ensure significant growth in overall sales.
Two-thirds of studios offer subcontracting services for third parties, in Belgium and half of them internationally, ensuring regular income alongside the development of their own games.
- The extension of the Tax Shelter to video games has produced its first effects on project financing (original creations, co-productions and sub-contracting), but all players involved in the value chain have had to learn how to use the financial incentive. A dozen studios have received producer approval to benefit from the Tax Shelter, eight projects have obtained work approval and four have been financed for a total amount of approximately €500,000.
In its second year, the amount is set to grow significantly thanks to greater awareness of the mechanism and WALGA's international promotion.
In order to increase the amount invested in Tax Shelter for video game projects in Belgium, WALGA is advocating a revision of the current spending ceilings of 2.5 million for video games and 15 million for audiovisuals. For larger companies such as Appeal in Charleroi or Larian in Ghent, which, following the worldwide success of Baldur's Gate 3, is opening a studio in Poland without creating jobs in Belgium, the level of eligible expenditure will have an impact on future production and the number of local jobs.
The development by WALGA, with the help of Awex, of relationships with ecosystems on every continent (Quebec, Brazil, Japan, Morocco) can also generate economic activity and additional jobs. If bilateral collaboration agreements are established, this will facilitate the use of the Tax Shelter for co-productions between international and Walloon studios.
For further information or to request an interview, please contact us by e-mail at : contact@walga.be
Royalty-free photos with copyright notice "©WALGA".
