6 PORTUGUESE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY The video games market has already overtaken the cinema market, and more and more people prefer to sit in front of a screen to be the protago- nist of their adventure or the star of their team. Statista estimates that video game consumption in Portu- gal will reach 258 million dollars this year. Mobile games are the favourite and are expected to reach 56 million dollars, or around 52 million euros. The number of gamers is already over a million, at 10.6 per cent of the pop- ulation, and is expected to reach 11.7 per cent by 2027. The turnover generated by video game companies in Portugal has also risen sharply in recent years. From 5.4 million in 2018, it will increase to over 38 million in 2022, representing an average annual growth of 65.2 per cent, according to the Portuguese National Statistics Institute (INE) data. During this period, the number of companies dedicated to this indus- try increased from 36 to 114 and the number of workers from 91 to over 500. The gross value added (GVA) generated doubled from 12 million euros in 2021 to 23 million in 2022. These figures leave room for optimism and growth, resulting from many hours of fun and entertainment. In Portugal, the video games market is experiencing growth, especially in mobile gaming, due to the increased capacity of smartphones and tablets and the fact people can take advan- tage of travelling or waiting times to play. But home gaming is also an op- tion for many gamers, especially for titles that can be enhanced with bet- ter sound and picture quality or the right accessories. According to Statis- ta forecasts, the average income per video game user in Portugal will be 242 dollars in 2024. These figures reflect the market size, but when you look at the video games industry from a global per- spective, you realise how important it is and how it is evolving. The revenue generated by the global video games market will exceed 455 billion dollars by 2024, according to estimates by Statista. By 2029, it will be around 666 billion dollars, with an annual growth rate of almost 8 per cent. By that year, there will be around 3,000 million video game users worldwide, meaning that one in three people worldwide will be playing at least some of their leisure time. A large part of the revenue related to video games will be generated in China (129 billion dollars in 2024), and it is predicted that the average spend per user will exceed 816 eu- ros by 2029. The coming years will undoubtedly bring new business op- portunities for Portuguese companies that reach the right markets or estab- lish partnerships with some of the leading players in the sector. The European Union (EU) has en- deavored to stimulate the competi- tiveness of this sector by supporting the creation of narrative games or in- teractive experiences, mainly through the Creative Europe project. Accord- ing to the European Media Industry Outlook, around 4,600 video game companies are in the EU. Most of them are micro or small companies with fewer than ten people and the scenario is the same in Portugal. New Gaming Hub fosters new projects The opening of the Lisbon Gam- ing Hub in December last year, part of the Unicorn Factory Lisboa pro- gramme to support the development of startups, was an important mile- stone for the industry. Several video game companies found a new home in what aims to be a centre for in- novation and a meeting point where contacts and partnerships can be eas- ily established. On the two floors of the new Gam- ing Hub there are 13 private rooms and 12 coworking spaces. This space aims to boost the growth of the vid- eo games industry in Portugal and to create a point of contact between
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