European Video Games Industry Charts its Future at Canary Islands Conference
Santa Cruz de Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands will set the stage for a conference on European video game policy and virtual environments on July 12-13.
The move acknowledges the Islands’ growing status as a hub for digital arts and video games and, alongside economic benefits, a growing recognition of the sector’s cultural influence and its potential for greater integration within a broader creative and cultural ecosystem including film and TV.
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Organised by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport under Spain’s E.U. presidency, the event has the stated aim of “promoting dialogue between European institutions, member states, and the European video game industry, as well as to enhance the cultural and creative value of video games in Europe,”said a Ministry of Culture source.
The conference itself is bannered “Culture and Video Games.” It seeks “an exchange of views and experiences among public and private representatives on how the video games industry is adding value to the economy at an European level,” said Cristina Morales, deputy director general of information society content at the Secretary of State for Digital Advancement, Ministry of Economy and Business.
The conference will provide an international forum for the presentation of projects, training opportunities, and networking within the video game sector and virtual environments.
“For us it is a strong recognition that the Spanish presidency of the E.U. has chosen the Canary Islands for a workshop on E.U. policies for the video game industry,” Pablo Hernández, president of ZEC, told Variety,
“The work of the Government of the Canary Islands on their culture and economic departments, the Islands Councils and the Canary Islands Special Zone, has created an industry of more than 20 companies and more than 200 workers within two years from almost nothing,” he continued, citing video games such as “Paw Patrol,” “Hotel Transylvania” and “Human Fall Flat” among titles being created in the Canary Islands, “thanks to talent, infrastructures and tax incentives.”
Notably, video games are eligible for Canary Islands’ tax relief – as its film and TV sectors, including animation – which ranks among the highest in the world.
The Islands are attempting to mirror their successful efforts in other cultural sectors, such as animation and film, in a bid to emerge as a global powerhouse in the video game industry also.
Morales suggested that conference discussions will extend beyond the impacts and potentials of tax incentives, to include “the impact of this industry, different public instruments to support videogames companies, professional skills and talent and the role that video games companies are playing in the development of new technologies such as metaverse and virtual worlds.”
July 12 includes a session titled, ‘The Value of the European Video Game Industry’ which will delve into the ‘importance [of the industry] in the present and future of European creative and cultural industries.’ Later, July 13 will see a discussion on talent to feed into the industry looking at the “current position and the challenges to overcome.”
The economic heft of the European video game industry is significant, contributing over €23 billion ($25 billion) to the global video game market’s impressive €179 billion ($195 billion) total revenue in 2022. According to forecasts from media and tech research firm Omdia, the total consumer spend across Europe is predicted to grow by 19.6%, reaching a whopping €35.6 billion ($39.1 billion) in 2027.
Alongside these economic benefits, there is a growing recognition of the sector’s cultural and leisure influence. According to Omdia, France’s universe of gamers is far larger than cinema goers in France, even in the 55-64 demography.
Indeed, where gaming sits in the cultural landscape is an increasingly pressing question for European governments to answer. Any clear classification as culture would open the way for governments across Europe to fund video game titles, as film and TV.
The European Parliament’s Culture (CULT) Committee, led by French MEP Laurence Farreng, approved a resolution in November last year, urging the creation of a common strategy on the industry’s challenges and opportunities. The Parliament “calls on the Commission and the Council to recognise the value of the video games industry as an important cultural and creative sector with great potential for further growth and innovation,” it said.
The resolution reflects the growing significance of the sector at a pan-European level. “Gaming has become a vital part of cultural life for half of Europeans,” Farreng said at the time the resolution was approved. “Yet, we still don’t have a European vision for the industry.”
The Parliament’s resolution is in no way legally binding but does show which way the winds are now blowing in the E.U. corridors of power.
Over the past year, the European Commission, in coordination with the Ecorys Europe consortium, has facilitated a series of workshops focused on this very subject. The conclusions and report resulting from these workshops will be presented at the conference.
The event is likely to acknowledge the demographic shift in video gaming, with an emphasis on the increased female participation (47.8%) and the youth-dominated player base, wherein more than 70% of young Europeans between 6 and 24 years old are video game users.
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