In this month’s episode of Marketplace Europe, CNN’s Anna Stewart and Nina dos Santos go behind the scenes at some of the continent’s top games studios to learn how they are trying to open up the industry to new demographics.
As the video games industry is hitting revenue records, developers are seeking to reach more users than ever before. The Studio Director of Sports Interactive, Miles Jacobson, explains the recent success of the Football Manager game series, “Football Manager 23 has become our most played game and we’re 60% up on players year-on-year. Part of that is because one of the ways that games is really growing is through subscriptions.”
He adds that this business model which can be found on Microsoft and Apple Arcade, tends to bring in a lot of new and returning customers. Apps such as these are now the industry’s biggest source of revenue in Europe.
Editor-in-Chief for Maximum PC, Guy Cocker, says “Europe has an amazing reputation within the video game development community.” Included in some of Europe’s biggest games are Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed from France’s Ubisoft, and Saints Row and Tomb Raider from Sweden’s Embracer Group.
By nature, this industry is one that is constantly evolving. Miles shares the main changes in the sectors that he has noticed in the last few years, “The expectation from consumers is much higher than it’s ever been now. It’s the technological changes that really keep the industry fresh and exciting. It’s kind of trying to predict what’s going to be next technology wise.”
Nina dos Santos later meets Jo Twist, CEO of British gaming industry body Ukie, who wants to change the overall perception of gamers. “It’s so important that our politicians and our decision makers understand the value of this sector in the UK and its contribution to the UK economy. People often think it’s a kid’s thing but actually, the average age is thirty something. Its fifty-fifty roughly gender split across all platforms.”
