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Challenges and opportunities in the video games industry

The pilot project “Understanding the value of a European Video Games Society” was launched in January 2022. Discover the outcome of the second workshop with key actors and stakeholders from the European video games ecosystem.

30 stakeholders participated in the second workshop of the European Video Games Society, exchanging and pinpointing the challenges and opportunities European video games sector faces in financial, legal, social and cultural aspects. The visual summary is divided into three parts. First, an introduction to the core themes of the market research, followed by the challenges and opportunities of the video games industry, and lastly the conclusion and next steps. The core themes of the market research are Market overview and financing (identifying the critical factors for success in the video games industry), Regulatory framework (analysing the existing EU legal framework regarding the video games industry and its users & identifying its strengths, gaps and potentials), Education and skills’ needs (Understanding the education in video games related subjects, the current labour and skills’ needs and the working conditions found within the video games industry) and Cultural dimension of the video games industry (investigating the socio-cultural impact of VG diffusion and its popularity, exploring its potential in entertainment, education, heritage, well-being and beyond). The challenges and opportunities are the following. regarding financing aspects: 1. Gap within public support schemes between the development phase and the distribution phase. 2. Significant differences among European countries on the incentives put in place to support the industry. 3. Need to foster distribution through partnerships and the creation of new platforms. 4. Call for further assistance for small companies and start-ups on the distribution phase, mostly for their first game. Regarding Legal aspects: 1. Necessity to bring protection measures up-to-date. 2. Need to make consumer protection rules and IP regulations coherent across EU countries. 3. Implementation of soft regulatory instruments: fix the classification of companies (NACE codes) to improve data collection and evidence on the video games market. 4. Relevant opportunities to be seized: 5G infrastructure for mobile gaming; include video games as part of State aids exemption and build on good practices in terms of co-regulation (PEGI). Regarding educational and skill's needs: 1. Significant skill shortage, notably ICT skills and artistic/creative skills. 2. Unpreparedness of the educational systems for skills needs in the video games sector. 3. A sector with large potential to harbour ICT careers and close the gender gap. 4. Role of video games as tools for education. Regarding the socio-cultural dimension. 1. Lack of recognition of video games by society as culture and digital cultural heritage. 2. Video games as places for social connection, integration and representation. 3. A proliferation of discourses analysing the societal value of video games: traditional stereotypes are gradually abandoned and the cultural dimension of video games is increasingly explored. In a nutshell, the European video games industry faces challenges at both national level and pan-European levels. However, the industry has great potential for future growth, improvements and social contribution. Efforts coming from the industry, policy makers and the general public are needed to achieve this goal. A series of focused workshops, interviews and surveys will be launched in the future for European Video Games Society. For more information on the project or to join future workshops, please reach out to EUvideogames@ecorys.com.

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Workshop 2 - Summary
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Workshop 2 - Visual summary
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Last update

30 January 2023

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