Barcelona is not only the European headquarters of King, the company behind Candy Crush. Nor is it solely the host of the Mobile World Congress. The Catalan capital has become one of the main European centers for mobile video game development, a sector that already contributes nearly 6 billion euros to the European economy and supports more than 63,000 jobs. The picture drawn by Mobile Matters, the new report presented by King in Barcelona, places the city among the major European hubs for an activity that combines creativity, technology, and international projection.
The Swedish company has taken advantage of the document's presentation to highlight the strategic role played by mobile video games within the European digital economy. Currently, more than 1,000 specialized companies operate in Europe and generated revenues of 7.53 billion euros in 2025, a figure that could exceed 8 billion euros in 2028. The research, prepared by the consultancy Nordicity for King, estimates that mobile video games contributed 5.89 billion euros in gross value added (GVA) during 2025, in addition to generating more than 63,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
Although the report focuses on Europe as a whole, it also dedicates a specific section to the Spanish case. And it is here that Barcelona's growing weight within the sector emerges. The city already concentrates more than 120 developers specialized in mobile video games and has become one of the main European hubs for this activity. A positioning supported by various factors: a growing entrepreneurial culture, the presence of specialized services, institutional support, and the capacity to attract international investment.
In fact, the community generates more than half of the sector's revenue at the state level, an activity that reached 722 million euros in turnover, supported 2,670 full-time equivalent jobs, and contributed more than 103 million euros in gross value added to the Spanish economy. The report also forecasts that this contribution will continue to grow, reaching 108.4 million euros in 2028.
The concentration of talent, investment, and entrepreneurship has contributed to consolidating one of Europe's main hubs for innovation in mobile video games, strengthening its competitiveness in an increasingly global market. Added to this is the celebration in Barcelona of the Mobile World Congress, considered the main global event dedicated to the mobile industry, which has helped reinforce the city's international visibility as a technology center.
A reality that, according to José María Moreno, general director of AEVI, reflects the maturity achieved by the Spanish sector. "The Spanish video game industry is a dynamic and increasingly mature sector within the European creative economy," he highlights, attributing this growth to creative talent, technical capacity, and the entrepreneurial spirit that have allowed many companies to connect with international audiences.
Mobile is already the main gateway to video games
One of the main messages left by Mobile Matters is that mobile video games have ceased to be a complementary category to become the dominant segment of the global market. It currently represents 55% of all global revenues from this activity and is the most common way for millions of people to play. In Europe alone, more than 300 million users use smartphones or tablets to play, which is equivalent to 61% of the continent's population.
The player's profile has also transformed. Far from the traditional image associated with the sector, three out of four European players are adults and the average age is 31 years. The growth of mobile has also expanded the diversity of audiences and has boosted genres such as strategy games or puzzles, two of the categories that are increasing the most in usage time.
Beyond leisure, video games have become a laboratory for technological innovation. As King highlights, this ecosystem brings together disciplines such as design, programming, artificial intelligence, data analysis, and digital creativity. The European Commission itself has pointed out in various reports the sector's role as a driver of advances in areas such as artificial intelligence, real-time graphics, and other technologies with applications that transcend entertainment.
The market faces, however, an increasingly competitive environment. The report warns of the growth of new technological hubs in countries like China or Turkey, which compete to attract talent, investment, and specialized companies. King argues that Europe must continue to strengthen the conditions that allow the sector to innovate, grow, and maintain its capacity to compete on a global scale. A race in which Barcelona already plays in the European first division and aims to further strengthen its position.