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[lherre]

This week, the Spanish Association of Video Game Development Companies and Entertainment Software (DEV).published a research about the videogame industry in Spain:

Some key points:

- There are 480 companies in 2016 vs 400 in 2015.

- The profits are tremendously distributed unequally between them. 83% of the videogame companies generate only the 8% of the total turnover (their turnover is typically less than 2M euro). As opposed to this, it exists a 1 % of companies that generate the 50 % of the turnover (typically more than 50M euro).

- One of every 4 companies (23 %) are basically working for free. They haven't any income or profits since they are in "development stage".

- The profile of this companies: less than 5 workers and funded in the last 5 years.

- 83% males/17% females

- 55% of the companies have difficulties to hire the appropriate profiles for some positiions because there is no appropriate formation.

- The income/business of this companies in Spain the past year was 510 million euro (grow of 24 % vs 2015) but far from other countries (France 3.677, Germany 1.820, UK 1.490 or Finland 800). The source is "Dutch Game Garden" (not sure how reliable is).So with more companies than other countries Spain generates less money.

- Foreign investment is still anecdotal (only 7% of the total)

- The only big batch of subsidies to the sector from the government resulted in one company. Mercury Steam got almost the 40% of the government funds (loans/grants) in 2014 (8 million euros in total for 2 projects: multiplatform project called "Aleph" for new systems and another one called "NAKED").

You can check the official document with the quantities here and the companies granted with funds: (http://www.minetur.gob.es/PortalAyu...nts/Listado_PropuestaProvisionalConcesion.pdf)

- They compare in the study Spain and Poland and put The Witcker and the Polish industry as an example of a big success.in the last year.

There is more in the white book published:

http://dev.org.es/images/stories/docs/libro blanco dev 2016.pdf

 

[Psyrgery ES]

Thanks for the information Iherre!

I've always felt that Spain has fallen far behind in game development compared to other similsr countries and the lack of proper formation looks like the main cause, which the report points out.

It feels as if there hasn't been much contribution from Spain to the gaming market besides the Commandos series, which is sad because I am sure there's quite a lot of talentes people out there.

Furthermore, politicians here seem to hate entrepeneurs and talent too, which doesn't help at all. I don't expect investmentd in the field anytime soon.

 

[Dahaka]

Severance Blade of Darkness - one of the best games from Spain (ever)

iirc some of them formed MercurySteam later (also in Spain)

 

[His Majesty]

The only Spanish game I know is Lords of Xulima by Numantian Games released in 2014. It really took me by surprise, such an amazing turn-based RPG. Seems like a lot of other people also liked it because development on a sequel has already started.

Just look at this map.

 

[lherre]

Severance Blade of Darkness - one of the best games from Spain (ever)

iirc some of them formed MercurySteam later (also in Spain)

Yeah, great game.

 

[FantasticMrSnake]

- They compare in the study Spain and Poland and put The Witcker and the Polish industry as an example of a big success.in the last year.

What other game came from Poland apart from the Witcher?
That one is a very particular case, I guess that most studios in Spain are indies doing mobile games, the witcher was a pc game based on well known books/novels (I'm not taking their credit away, they made a fantastic job and an incredible game (specially 2 and 3) )

 

[LordCiego]

And some people cant even form a company and have to work as a self-employment person, which sucks in Spain because in a sector like software development where you are not going to get an instant return of your investment, you have to pay an average of (simplifying) 250€ to the state every month and the economic situation in Spain right now makes it a huge investment, even more with how difficult its to get a loan knowing how risk averse the Banks here are to non tradicional businesses.

 

[correojon]

What other game came from Poland apart from the Witcher?
That one is a very particular case, I guess that most studios in Spain are indies doing mobile games, the witcher was a pc game based on well known books/novels (I'm not taking their credit away, they made a fantastic job and an incredible game (specially 2 and 3) )

Yeah, you could´ve made the comparison the year Mercury Steam released Lords of Shadow and it would go the other way around, not a good comparison IMO. Anyway, Spain´s game industry is almost non-existant compared to any other country around us. People usually aren´t consciuous of the enormous market there is and think videogames are this cheap, low revenue toy as opposed to the huge music or cinema industry, when reality is closer to being the other way around.

 

[Kresnik258]

Virtual Toys have run into hard times lately haven't they? Wonder if them letting staff go led to some indie studios popping up which increased the number of studios.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

Maldita Castilla is a great ghost and goblins type of game made in Spain

 

[Ethelwulf]

Well I know that King has offices in Barcelona, are they part of that 1%?

 

[Taij]

What other game came from Poland apart from the Witcher?
That one is a very particular case, I guess that most studios in Spain are indies doing mobile games, the witcher was a pc game based on well known books/novels (I'm not taking their credit away, they made a fantastic job and an incredible game (specially 2 and 3) )

This war of mine
Sniper Ghost Warrior
Lords of the Fallen (kinda)
Dying Light
Dead Island
Hard Reset
Superhot
Fortnite (at least started there)
Bulletstorm

A bunch of other games.

 

[patapuf]

What other game came from Poland apart from the Witcher?
That one is a very particular case, I guess that most studios in Spain are indies doing mobile games, the witcher was a pc game based on well known books/novels (I'm not taking their credit away, they made a fantastic job and an incredible game (specially 2 and 3) )

Techland is polish, so Dying light, Dead Island ect.

People can Fly/Epic is/was also polish.

Some recent smaller games i looked up on wikipedia: Superhot, This war is mine, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Hard West.

It's not sweden or the UK but Poland seems to be doing well.

Edit: beaten lol.

 

[Maledict]

I know this is about Spain, but have to say the figure for the U.K. in that last is bizarre, and terrible if true. I didn't realise how far the UK games industry had fallen that its less than half the size of France and significantly below Germany.

 

[Mdk7]

What other game came from Poland apart from the Witcher?
That one is a very particular case, I guess that most studios in Spain are indies doing mobile games, the witcher was a pc game based on well known books/novels (I'm not taking their credit away, they made a fantastic job and an incredible game (specially 2 and 3) )

Painkiller
Dead Island
Dying Light
Shadow Warrior (2)
Bulletstorm
Bulb Boy

Just to name the first that come to my mind.

 

[patapuf]

Does the report make any predictions about the future? Like whether the industry in Spain will grow or if things will stay like this for a while until the overall economic situation is better?

 

[lherre]

Does the report make any predictions about the future? Like whether the industry in Spain will grow or if things will stay like this for a while until the overall economic situation is better?

Yes.

They have some projections from 2014 to 2019.

- Number of companies will grow to 1141 in 2019 from the above mentioned 480.

- Number of employes will grow to 10113 from 5664 in 2016.

- And the intention of the industry to shift resources to e-Sports, VR, Cloud gaming, new platforms in the next years, etc.

 

[Zafir]

I know this is about Spain, but have to say the figure for the U.K. in that last is bizarre, and terrible if true. I didn't realise how far the UK games industry had fallen that its less than half the size of France and significantly below Germany.

I just don't think there's ever been much incentive to open up shop here. The government was going to add benefits, but dragged their feet on it for ages. I'm not sure if they did eventually go through.

 

[lherre]

I just don't think there's ever been much incentive to open up shop here. The government was going to add benefits, but dragged their feet on it for ages. I'm not sure if they did eventually go through.

The data is not from shops, it's from development companies.

 

[His Majesty]

This war of mine
Sniper Ghost Warrior
Lords of the Fallen (kinda)
Dying Light
Dead Island
Hard Reset
Superhot
Fortnite (at least started there)
Bulletstorm

A bunch of other games.

you forgot the amazing Hatred and Raven's Cry

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

Good info.
Also working inside this industry for a couple of years I will say is full of "mafia" people and companies that bully smaller studios, backstabbing, etc...
Havent seen as much when I worked in other countries, but seems to be par of the course in spain. We talk bad about our politicians but we reap what we sow, and its a pity because we have a bunch of underapreciated creative people in Spain.

Not even adding how HORRIBLE is even starting an indie studio there becuase of the taxes, is actually better to go anywhere in the EU and build shop there.

 

[Zafir]

The data is not from shops, it's from development companies.

You do realise, that is a phrase?

I don't actually mean shops lmao.

Edit: Anyway, to answer my question apparently those tax reliefs did go through in 2014. Hasn't helped massively, but I imagine Brexit isn't helping now. I can't imagine it's very enticing to move to a country which doesn't want immigrants.

 

[Adry9]

- 83% males/17% females

Holy shit...

 

[lherre]

You do realise, that is a phrase?

I don't actually mean shops lmao.

Edit: Anyway, to answer my question apparently those tax reliefs did go through in 2014. Hasn't helped massively, but I imagine Brexit isn't helping now. I can't imagine it's very enticing to move to a country which doesn't want immigrants.

Sorry, English is not my main language and I didn't catch the phrase at first.

 

[FantasticMrSnake]

Techland is polish, so Dying light, Dead Island ect.

People can Fly/Epic is/was also polish.

Some recent smaller games i looked up on wikipedia: Superhot, This war is mine, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Hard West.

It's not sweden or the UK but Poland seems to be doing well.

Edit: beaten lol.

This war of mine
Sniper Ghost Warrior
Lords of the Fallen (kinda)
Dying Light
Dead Island
Hard Reset
Superhot
Fortnite (at least started there)
Bulletstorm

A bunch of other games.

Wow, didn't know all those games where from Poland, or Techland, very nice!

 

[Zafir]

Sorry, English is not my main language and I didn't catch the phrase at first.

It's okay.

Honestly you could have fooled me.

 

[forknknife]

Creative professions in Spain are simply fucked. The whole austerity economic policies have in the process killed the will for people to carry on any sort of entrepreneurial endeavors. People just can't take the risk of setting up a business, which seems totally understandable.

And maybe that'd be ok if we were at least progressing in our education and modernizing the country structures, but no, we just wait with our heads in the sand waiting for the crisis to pass us by add if it had nothing to do with our own actions, as if it was a climate phenomenon.

Because of this, i think Spain is going to be so far behind so many other countries which is very worrying seeing how Europe could disappear eventually (really hoping not)

 

[Rafus]

Good info.
Also working inside this industry for a couple of years I will say is full of "mafia" people and companies that bully smaller studios, backstabbing, etc...
Havent seen as much when I worked in other countries, but seems to be par of the course in spain. We talk bad about our politicians but we reap what we sow, and its a pity because we have a bunch of underapreciated creative people in Spain.

Not even adding how HORRIBLE is even starting an indie studio there becuase of the taxes, is actually better to go anywhere in the EU and build shop there.

Yep, if you work here is always better to find a foreigner investor. They always pay better and they are a lot more profesional and serious.

 

[lherre]

Good info.
Also working inside this industry for a couple of years I will say is full of "mafia" people and companies that bully smaller studios, backstabbing, etc...
Havent seen as much when I worked in other countries, but seems to be par of the course in spain. We talk bad about our politicians but we reap what we sow, and its a pity because we have a bunch of underapreciated creative people in Spain.

Not even adding how HORRIBLE is even starting an indie studio there becuase of the taxes, is actually better to go anywhere in the EU and build shop there.

Do you have some examples (without names) of this bad practices?

 

[Business]

Severance Blade of Darkness - one of the best games from Spain (ever)

Word. I played it on a Geforce 2 MX and those real time shadows were incredible.

 

[Solrac]

this country is pretty much doomed, we are like 30 years behind in everything compared to other countries... we have potential, but no control on it, a shame.

 

[kami_sama]

this country is pretty much doomed, we are 30 years behind in everything compared to other countries... we have potential, but no control on it, a shame.

Yeah, if there's a word for us, it's wasted. So many competent people, that end up going to other countries.

 

[Darak]

The game industry in Spain has always been both heavily mismanaged and heavily subsidized. This is a deadly combo since companies with poor leadership are being kept alive artificially by government funds, leaving no room for new players. Those few big companies have close ties and frequently reach agreements in areas such as salaries and hiring, which creates a hostile environment for unhappy workers (not to mention an insane amount of politics and backstabbing).

In addition, there is little chance for company growth in Spain. Small companies and individuals face extremely harsh tax conditions, which will easily kill indies and small studios. I'd like to know how many of those 400+ companies are actually operating, since closing your company in Spain is expensive (even if you have no debt). Keeping it alive but performing zero commercial activity is an usual practice.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

As people are saying here, we have a lot of potential, but shitty practicies, unfair policies and little professionalism brings everything down.

Do you have some examples (without names) of this bad practices?

Without giving names one of the big ones (there are not many, just think of the usual suspects), bought up prizes in game expos, treating workers badly, etc..., also theres a medium one basically and investor, not very known because its a little bit in the shadows of releasing actual games that bully a lot starter companies, treat you as a friend at first then start asking for favours, not money most of the times, but think like giving good reviews to shitty games en masse in steam greenlight and other similar things. They are kind of a joke, with lots of studios knowing tje shit behind it and laughing of the guy that is the boss there, because he is a little crazy.
Also some smaller indies love backstabbing each other, and talking shit behind others back, intead of working everyone as a group to bring the industry up to a good standard.
I also worked with an investor were we had to cut ties with them after 2 years because theres was very little professionalism with them. Sometimes we didnt even understand were they were getting the money from to pay the expenses of going to videogame expos around europe, because they were clealry not making any money.

Most of this spanish investors seem to act lole the same stealing and lying spanish politicians we hate so much.

I havent seen so little professionalism in the videogame industry as in Spain.

 

[SuperMega]

Yes. Problem with spanish games industry is basically one: TAXES. They kill you from day one without mercy.
If you get a foreign publisher/investor to give you some money for your game (actually we are part of that anecdotal 7% of spanish companies who get foreign investment from a publisher), only around 55% to 60% of that investment arrives to your bank account to actually make the game, so we have to budget for double the usual amount that the game would normally cost, which is something that can scare people off out there specially on the indie side of things.
That does not put us on a very advantageous position against other devs who can make their budgets tighter.

Things is, the spanish system for entrepeneurs and freelancers is basically laughable. Totally outdated and old as fuck. Is actually thought out for people who want to start, for instance, a bakery, or a fruit shop. Businesses that can actually sell stuff from day one, but it doesn't work AT ALL for companies who need months/years to have a product to sell. Also the amount of paperwork is ridiculous and slow.

So there you have it.

Oh, and there is a lot of talent in Spain. That's not the problem. There are some cool games that already came out this past years or are coming in the following months with a spanish seal: Love U To Bits, Nihilumbra, Gods Will Be Watching, Dead Synchronicity, Paradise Lost, Kromaia, Deadlight, Candle, Blues & Bullets, Ziggurat, Rime, Ghost 1.0, Unepic, The Guest, Moonlighter, Crossing Souls and hopefully Rise & Shine...haha.
Lots more.

Now at least there seems to be a lot of companies you can send your CV out to. I had to go abroad 15 years ago to work in UK if I wanted to follow my dreams and work in the games industry. So hey, that's better.

 

[Mawnster]

I was introduced to the videogame industry and more precisely to point and click games thanks to Runaway: A Road Adventure, developed by Pendulo Studios. They're a small Spanish company and their most known game is Yesterday, sometimes called New York Crimes. Back in 2012 they had to resort to crowdfunding because they didn't have enough money to develop their newest game 'Day One'. They needed 300k but they only reached a 12% of what was needed, so they had to cancel the project.

This is one of the many examples. It's simply not feasible, and as a Spaniard, it makes me kinda sad.

 

[N30RYU]

Commandos Behind Enemy Lines is one of the games as spanish I'm more proud of

 

[Naeval]

Oh, and there is a lot of talent in Spain. That's not the problem. There are some cool games that already came out this past years or are coming in the following months with a spanish seal: Love U To Bits, Nihilumbra, Gods Will Be Watching, Dead Synchronicity, Paradise Lost, Kromaia, Deadlight, Candle, Blues & Bullets, Ziggurat, Rime, Ghost 1.0, Unepic, The Guest, Moonlighter, Crossing Souls and hopefully Rise & Shine

This man speaks the truth.

 

[Naeval]

Add Aragami to the list of cool spanish games