In cooperation with the Institute for Digital Economy (www.digitalniekonomika.cz) and the support of Creative Europe – MEDIA (www.kreativnievropa.cz) we prepared an in depth study about current situation of game development industry in Czech Republic. You can download this study named “CZECH VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY – PC, console and mobile game developers in Czech Republic 2019” here.
- There are 76 companies specializing in the development of video games in the Czech Republic. A unique feature of the Czech market is strong presence of domestic companies with only 7% of game development companies being a branch of an international company.
- The game industry is now a major driver of the digital economy with digital distribution accounting for a significantly higher market share than traditional distribution. The total
turnover of the Czech game industry in 2017 reached CZK 2.26 billion (EUR 88 million), which is more than twice the turnover of Czech film production (film and television); for 2018, thanks to a huge success of several game titles, a 34% increase in sales is expected with the total figure exceeding CZK 3 billion (over EUR 116 million). - Video games are a business area belonging to cultural and creative industries. It shows that art, combined with the latest technology, can generate a high added value for the final products. The average growth of this sector between 2015 and 2017 reached 15%.
- In 2018, the number of game developers was almost 1,500, with more than 60% of game companies looking for more staff.
- Up to 45% of game development studios employ at least one foreigner, mainly from the EU Member States; the low proportion of foreigners from outside the European Union is due to complicated employment procedures for workers from non-EU countries.
- For start-ups, access to investors and capital is of key importance. The primary source of funding for game development is own capital – 56% of companies are 100% self-financed, only 24% have been supported by an investment and 12% have used non-financial support (participation in trade fairs or incubation programmes).
- Czech game studios keep pace with global leaders and Czech games are becoming a strong export commodity of the Czech economy. The share of exports in most Czech companies ranges from 90–99%.
- Despite the lack of government support in this sector, video games have made the Czech Republic famous. The main export countries or countries where games are downloaded or purchased through distribution platforms include: USA, Germany, United Kingdom, and Russia.
- In 2018, 31 games were created in the Czech Republic; over the last four years, Czech development studios released 136 games (2015–2018). Development of games for PCs and consoles (67%) continue to dominate over development for mobile platforms, which are the focus of more than a half of the studios today (61%).
- Education in the field of video games is still developing; we have identified only three study programmes focused specifically on this area.
- Systematic support for development of video games is needed and the state should adopt a comprehensive package of measures and tools reflecting the specific needs of the sector. In particular, such package should include visa programmes, direct and indirect support for start-ups, and long-term support for specialized education.
