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Gaming industry boom

2024-03-17 09:12:00, Aktualitet CNA

Let's imagine for a few moments that you are sitting with a group of friends and start discussing your interests, what do you like to do in your free time, regardless of your profession?

If you start talking about a game and aren't surrounded by people with similar interests, chances are others will laugh at you and consider you 'addicted' to games.

However, when someone is having the same related discussion about a TV show, movie or song, you will be considered 'anti-social' if you are not involved in the conversation. The irony of the gaming industry and how it is perceived in comparison to film and other entertainment industries is so apparent in Albania.

The gaming industry has exploded in the 21st century and is growing more and more in recent years. Whether on mobile or computer, or on specialized gaming platforms such as Playstation or X Box, games are attracting more and more people, mainly children and young people.

According to Statista, about 3 billion people in the world are game users. In Albania we cannot talk about a real game industry, but in recent years there have been efforts to build a community, as well as small startups in this field.

According to the information in the market, what is seeing great growth is definitely online games. The amount spent on them captures frightening figures. With the change of generations, the demand for online games has increased significantly, creating a competitive environment in the gaming industry in the country.

The improvement of technology has pushed this industry to another level, both in terms of accessibility and for the creation of increasingly high-quality and attractive games.

Technology, the driving engine

The online gaming industry has experienced rapid and continuous growth in Albania, making this area a significant challenge and a great opportunity for local developers. But we are not yet at the pace that technology offers.

What does this mean? Although there is a movement with a local community in this industry and efforts to bring locally created games, the sophisticated global competition makes it very difficult to pass.

However, with the increase in the use of the Internet in Albania, the demand for existing online games has marked a significant increase. An ever-increasing number of gamers have sought fun and challenging experiences in virtual environments, paving the way for a rich online gaming market.

Mobile devices have played a key role in the growth of online gaming in Albania. Many games have been developed with a special focus on mobile platforms, making them easily accessible to a wide audience.

If we are going to talk about the development of this industry, we will have to look for local talents. Globally, one of the most fruitful aspects of this industry is the development of local talent.

Albanian developers have shown high skills in the Information Technology industry, however with the creation of various online games we are still behind.

Tomi Kallanxhi, head of "Big Media Expert", tells "Monitor" that although there has been an increase in domestic demand, game developers in Albania cannot face the challenges of global competition.

"The global market is so developed that, to be competitive, the challenges are great. First, we need Albanian developers with a 'gaming' direction, who will have to be trained for this.

Secondly, if we want to be globally competitive, they must use innovation and high quality of games to meet the expectations of international players", says Mr. Kallanxhi.

Asked how the environment of developers and the creation of a talent base for the game industry in Albania can be fostered, the IT expert says that there is a fundamental need for changes in educational curricula.

"Although for years, the demand for ICT workforce has increased, with school programs or courses, etc., in the case of game developers, no investment has been made in this direction.

We need a collaboration between the University of Arts and the Faculty of Natural Sciences to promote a talent base in this direction", he says.

Esmerina Hidri, the co-founder of "BEEZ Games", says that, in the beginning, their startup aimed to provide services to foreign companies that developed games.

"While our team worked on games designed by others, we at the same time aspired to establish our presence as a studio, with a vision to develop our own products. This dual approach not only improved our capabilities, but also generated the company's initial revenue.

With the capital we had collected and with the team, in December 2022 we announced that we would build a game created entirely by an Albanian studio in Albania", she said.

Can players make money? The answer is "yes".

There are many people who are professionals in video games and live with it. An example is from the Fortnite tournament in 2019. A 16-year-old named Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf won over $3 million in front of over 2 million people watching live in the stadium.

How the pandemic affected sales growth

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has affected many sectors in people's lives, creating fundamental changes in many areas of the economy and society. One of the sectors that has experienced a drastic change is that of the online gaming industries.

In Albania, but also in the world, the increase in sales of online games has been a visible phenomenon, directly influenced by the pandemic situation.

Social distancing and the closure of public activities led many people to seek alternative forms of entertainment and social connection. In this context, online games have played an important role in adapting consumers to these changes.

One of the main factors that has influenced the increase in sales of online games is the increase in the use of the Internet and the development of e-commerce.

At a time when many outdoor activities were banned, local businesses reported that online gaming offered a form of balance between entertainment and social connection, allowing players to communicate and play together despite physical distance.

In economic terms, the increase in demand was translated into positive for the businesses that offered this service during that period.

The gaming industry is expected to maintain rapid growth and could reach a value of $321 billion by 2026, says a new PwC report.

Gaming industry boom

Other reasons

An integral part of the gaming industry's rapid rise up the entertainment hierarchy has been the role of digital marketing and digital media platforms.

Platforms like Twitch, YouTube and even Facebook Gaming have revolutionized the way gamers interact with their fan bases and communities.

These platforms have, for years, democratized content creation, allowing players regardless of geographic locations to stream their gameplay, engage with fans in real-time, and create communities that are extremely loyal and highly engaged.

This highly innovative window of personalized viewability and engagement is a 'gold mine' for advertisers.

Traditional advertising is usually about capturing a broad audience. Digital marketing within the gaming ecosystem allows for hyper-targeted advertising, ensuring brands reach their desired demographics with precision.

In-game advertising, influencer partnerships and sponsored content have become the norm, and brands are willing to invest billions to ensure their presence is felt within these hyper-segmented and targeted streams.

The integration of brands within the gaming universe is a testament to the evolution of the industry.

Today, it is quite common to see well-known brands and celebrities appearing within the virtual gaming world.

These cross-collaborations allow fans to build a deeper connection and affinity, creating even more brand loyalty within these global digital communities.

Hundreds of billions of dollars for games

According to estimates, the gaming industry generated about $200 billion in 2022. This is a huge increase in just two years compared to 2020, when the industry is estimated to weigh about $155 billion, while it has almost doubled in the last five years.

The COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on the movement of citizens gave further impetus to the growth of the gaming industry.

Experts' predictions for the future are that the gaming industry will continue to grow, at an average of 12-13% per year, surpassing the value of 500 billion dollars by 2030.

The Chinese, Americans and Japanese spend more

According to the data, China and the USA lead the list of countries where the gaming industry generates the most revenue.

Both countries generate about $45 billion a year each.

After them comes Japan, where this industry weighs about 20 billion dollars. South Korea, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Italy and Brazil complete the list of the 10 countries that generate the most income.

In the calculation of these expenses, only the purchase of games and microtransactions within the game are included, so the expenses for the purchase of platforms are not counted./ Monitor.al