The video game industry continues to grow unstoppably despite the return to normal once the coronavirus crisis has been overcome, when with the confinements the public got hooked on this form of leisure.
According to the Spanish Association of Video Games (Aevi), the companies that are part of the sector invoiced 2,012 million euros in 2022, which represents a growth of 12% compared to the previous year, when revenues were of 1,795 million euros. In relation to 2019, the year before the pandemic, the increase was 36%.
"For the first time the Spanish video game industry surpassed the barrier of 2,000 million euros, a figure that brings us closer to the levels of countries such as France or the United Kingdom", celebrates Alberto González, the president of the employers' association.
According to the study, this increase has taken place even with a decrease in the hours of consumption of video games, which stand at an average of 7.42 hours per week, 8% less than in 2021. The increase of income is also significant, taking into account the number of users, which have practically remained stable at 18.2 million, compared to 18.1 million the previous year, which represents an increase of 0, 5%
This very pronounced increase in income compared to the last two indicators is explained by inflation, which has increased the prices of consoles, and also by new business models that are trading upwards in the online world. "The freemium method, which first offers the service for free and then requires small payments to continue using the game, has become popular in mobile games, which are precisely the fastest growing format in the industry", he explains to this newspaper Carles Sora, director of the Center for Image and Multimedia Technology (CTIM) attached to the UPC.
In fact, the results of the employer's yearbook reveal that online turnover was 1.18 billion euros, 23% more than the previous year, driven almost equally through the application market (503 million) and that of online platforms (581 million), plus multiplayer services. At the same time, physical sales (consoles, accessories, PC games) fell by -6%.
Òscar García, director of the ENTI video game school attached to the UB, explains that the mobile phone and the new business models linked to this device reflect the expansion of the business beyond the console and the amateur consumer profile, known as a gamer In fact, the study shows that 47% of users in Spain are women and that penetration among consumers over 45 is already 31%.
In online gaming, the report also highlights the role of the fledgling eSports sector, based on the internet broadcasting of video game competitions mainly linked to sports. Despite the noise made by its protagonists (such as YouTuber Ibai or ex-football player Gerard Piqué), Aevi assures that the turnover of electronic sports businesses was 34 million euros, a figure that has remained stable with respect to the results of the previous year but which has grown by 26% compared to the results of the year 2020.
Regarding the business ecosystem, Aevi is confident of the strength of the industry in Spain, where there are 618 creative studios employing 6,187 people. Catalonia is the community with the most companies, 156, which represents almost half (47%) of the country's total. It is followed, in that order, by Madrid (132), Andalusia (102) and Valencia (56). According to the directors of the two university centers, "Barcelona has managed to position itself as a pole of attraction for companies in the global arena thanks to the efforts over decades of institutions and companies to promote this creative industry".
The presence of specialized university degrees, fairs and events, and the city's digital industry have contributed to creating a strong fabric of multinationals and small studios. The Chinese company Neatease has recently landed in the city through Anchor Point and companies such as IO Interactive or FunPlus have strengthened their presence in the city.
They join large companies with a presence in the city such as King, Ubisoft or Scopely. The local company has also grown the interest of the big leaders in the sector. Among the biggest sale stories are that of TakeTwo by the giant Social Point, Digital by Activision Blizzard (now acquired by Microsoft) and Novarama, which has given its shareholding to the Chinese firm Tencent.
