New European Parliament report recognises Europe’s video game industry’s role in the creative and cultural economy
Today, the European Parliament’s Culture Committee adopted a report on esports and video games, led by rapporteur Laurence Farreng, on the sector’s important place in the EU’s creative and digital economy.
“We welcome this forensic look at our sector and the recognition of our role in the creative economy, as well as the value of IP creation, the many benefits of video game play and our long-standing best-in-class minor protection systems. We call on Europe’s political leaders to create the conditions that help Europe lead the way in video game innovation and creation.”
Ann Becker, Head of Policy and Public Affairs of Video Games Europe
“We are pleased that the MEPs working on this report have recognised the need for investment and funding for European games industry SMEs, who make up the majority of this sector. In particular, we welcome the call for national incentives and support, and the call for modernising European state aid rules and the General Block Exemption Regulation. Furthermore, we are grateful for the attention given to ensuring Europe has the skillset and talent pool necessary to address the talent shortage in the sector.”
Jari-Pekka Kaleva, Managing Director of EGDF
In 2020, the sector provided more than 98,000 jobs – a 7.6% increase from 2019 - in mainly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – recognised by the report as of vital importance to the European economy. In 2021, Europe’s video games market revenue remained stable at €23.3bn, while the player base increased by 6%, driven primarily by women and 45–65-year-olds.
On esports, we welcome the recognition of the borderless nature of esports, the importance of video game publisher IP rights and acknowledgement that esports differ from sports.
Both organisations look forward to a continued dialogue with EU policy makers on the future of Europe’s video games and esports.
You can take a look at the full picture of Europe’s video games sector in Video Games Europe’s Key Facts about Europe’s video games sector for 2021 report here and EGDF’s 2020 Industry Insights report here.
Any journalist interested in an informal briefing with the Video Games Europe or EGDF teams on the EU policy issues affecting our sector should get in touch.
Note to the editors:
- Key Facts about Europe’s video games sector for 2021
- EGDF Industry Insights report for 2020
- The Guide to Esports
