The video game sector continues to level up in Catalonia. More than 4,600 professionals are part of the Catalan gaming industry, which is made up of more than 230 companies. Now, the sector aims to continue growing through a strategy that strongly commits to boosting the internationalization of video games developed in Catalonia.
This strategy, designed by the Taula del Videojoc to accelerate the development of the sector, is materialized in 60 actions to be promoted during the next year, which aim to influence the professionalization of the sector, its social impact, internationalization, and financing, with special interest in eSports.
The future of the sector in Catalonia is so ambitious that one of its future reference points will be the Tres Xemeneies of Sant Adrià. Precisely opened to the public recently with the excuse of the prestigious European nomadic biennial Manifesta, the three characteristic chimneys and their old turbine building have been reserved to host the Catalunya Media City project, linked to audiovisuals, digital culture and, of course, video games.
The sector continues to grow in number of companies, professionals, and turnover, and includes globally recognized studios. Among the companies operating in Catalonia are international firms such as the British King, the French Ubisoft, the Californian Scopely, the Saudi Sandsoft, the Chinese NetEase Games, the Danish IO Interactive and the Swiss Fun Plus. All of them join multiple native Barcelona companies, such as Digital Legends Entertainment, Playstark Games, 2Awesome Studio, A&L Games and Social Point, created in the Catalan capital but later acquired by the American Take-Two. The ecosystem, also boosted by the fact that Barcelona hosts the Integrated Systems Europe, is not only made up of development companies, but also by incubators, such as GameBCN, and spaces such as the one that opened as the largest gaming center in Europe in 2022, promoted by Asobu eSports in the Som Multiespai shopping center.
To strongly address the objective of the sector's internationalization, the Taula del Videojoc will promote a specific strategic plan, which will take Catalan video games to international sectoral fairs and promote training to penetrate new markets. The training will be aimed at professionals in a sector that also wants to strengthen support for emerging talent.
To this end, the Taula del Videojoc will look at projects emerging from training centers to take them to video game incubation programs, and will generate spaces where students and young talent come into contact with companies to facilitate their incorporation into the labor market.
To foster exchange within the sector, meeting points will also be created among the multiple video game events already organized in Catalonia, and the commitment to incorporate entrepreneurial profiles into sectoral training programs and to continuous training for its professionals will be maintained.
With the aim of facilitating the essential financing required by the sector, the strategy has also set the objective of favoring the access of Catalan companies to European public financing opportunities, as well as accompanying them in the search for private resources and in improving the tax advantages of this sector. In addition, the strategy proposes developing an ethical code for the industry and creating resources to advise families, educational centers, and facilities such as libraries, when managing the use of video games by younger users.
X-raying the sector
This strategy aims to accelerate the upward progression of a sector that is already growing. The number of video game development companies and studios has registered an increase of more than 20% in one year, exceeding 230, mostly located in Barcelona. With this figure, Catalonia concentrates 30% of the sector's companies at the state level, and half of the total state turnover, which in 2022 was more than 709 million euros, 7.5% more than the previous year.
Catalonia concentrates half of the turnover and professionals dedicated to the video game sector at the state levelThus, the sector wants to continue growing in a context in which it has already consolidated itself as a powerful industry in the Catalan economic ecosystem. Within this upward trend, the number of professionals in the sector is also growing, reaching more than 4,600, half of the personnel of video game companies at the state level. In parallel,the proportion of women dedicated to this field has also increased, with a female presence of 27% in the workforces. This has been confirmed by the Taula del Videojoc, promoted in 2017 by the Generalitat and now with 48 organizations, including entities, associations, universities, and incubators, along with the Generalitat.
Furthermore, the profile of video game professionals in Catalonia is young—90% are under 45, and nearly half are under 30—and have higher education: 99% have higher education, both university and vocational training. During the last academic year alone, Catalan universities trained 1,330 students linked to this field. These are the future professionals called to continue articulating and strengthening this sector, to advance in the consolidation of video games as a strategic ecosystem for Catalonia.