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Portugal’s rising video game industry


Portugal’s rising video game industry - portugal news
Portugal’s rising video game industry - Portugal Business News




Portugal news – Portugal’s video game industry is rising and is expected to reach revenues of around 258 million dollars in 2024, while the annual growth rate is expected to exceed 11% by 2027, according to Portugal’s Trade and Investment Agency, AICEP Portugal Global.

 

Portuguese video games companies have also increased their turnover by more 65% since 2018 and forecasts are optimistic for Portugal’s video game industry.

 

In Portugal, mobile games have a large market share and should reach a turnover of around 56 million dollars, with the number of players already exceeding one million, that is 10.6 percent of the population, while the number of gamers is expected to reach 11.7% in 2027.

 

The number of companies operating in the video game industry in Portugal increased from 36 to 114 between 2018 and 2022, while the number of employees went from 91 to over 500.

 

Globally, the revenues generated by the video game industry surpass 455 billion dollars, according to Statista estimates for 2024, and will reach around 666 billion dollars in 2029, with an annual growth rate of almost 8 percent. In 2024, there are around 3 billion users of video games globally, which means that one out of every three people around the world play video games.

 

The European Union is fostering competitiveness in the video game industry through the Creative Europe project, to support the creation of narrative games or interactive experiences. Within the EU, there are about 4,600 video game companies, according to the European Media Industry Outlook. Most video game companies are micro or small businesses, with less than ten people, and in Portugal it is no different, according to AICEP Portugal Global.

 

In December 2023, Portugal created the Lisbon Gaming Hub, under Unicorn Factory Lisboa that supports the development of startups. This was an important milestone for Portugal’s video game industry as Lisbon’s Gaming Hub creates a focal point for startups, investors and multinationals linked to the sector.

 

Lisbon attracted a number of investors in the video game industry including US company Fortis Games, as well as OnTop Studios, Phat Fingers, The Gang, and GameDev Técnico that is comprised of students from various universities and the Association of Portuguese Video Game Producers, which represents the domestic companies in the sector.

 

In Central Portugal, the municipality of Castelo Branco now integrates the European project GAME-ER, that aims at developing video game clusters in Portugal, France, Chéquia, Italy and Scotland over the next three years. The program has a total funding of three million euros under Horizon Europe, to provide support for innovation and research.

 

Portugal also has an increasing talent pool in the video game industry, since the country had around 7,100 students in areas related to gaming or multimedia in 2021.

 




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