While we are still trying to see all the consequences of the global pandemic and the extent of the impact that this crisis will have on the overall development of the world economy, it is very clear today that gaming is one of the most stable global industries.
That is why we are not surprised that the revenue of the global gaming industry, and especially mobile games, increased further in 2020. Not only are the profits growing, but the most famous consoles have also got their long-awaited new versions, and the battle royale phenomenon has exploded once again into mainstream culture, as seen by the success of Fall Guys. The success of this game has completely overshadowed new releases in the rest of the entertainment world such as film and music.
Our gaming community in Serbia has already proven its success in this competitive global market. Our service companies are part of the development of some of the world’s most famous titles, and a large number of studios from Serbia have built their position in our industry by working diligently for the past twenty years.
Top Eleven is the most successful game produced in Serbia, but it is just one of many made by Serbian teams that are earning our industry (and country) over 100 million dollars a year. There are over 75 companies and teams across Serbia today that deal with the production of games, in a country that currently does not have a single program in our formal education that teaches people the development of games.
The top professionals in our industry are taking responsibility for their own development, learning online, and through collaboration. Our formal education is still far from the world-class game development and design programs that we need to start reaching the heights of the top gaming hubs like San Francisco, Berlin, and Barcelona. While we can look at this fact with discouragement, I think it should be approached in a completely different way. We have made all these amazing achievements together, in teams and communities, without any systemic support – how successful can we be if we build a system that supports us in our efforts to put Serbia on the global map of gaming?
And I mean build, as in – we build it, together as a gaming community, through collaboration and hard work. The most beautiful thing about working in the gaming industry is that we all work together. This is an industry in which collaboration is the foundation of growth and success. Cooperation on key issues goes without saying and the activity of our community is truly impressive.
In just two years, we have formed SGA, an organization that today brings together virtually all gaming companies in Serbia and is actively working to support their development. We also started Nordeus Hub, which offers support to anyone starting or is in process of game making or publishing. Even our universities are announcing new programs in game making, working in a collaboration with the gaming community, transforming education in a way we haven’t seen so far in Serbia.
So imagine a few years from now, universities and our gaming community collaborating together, building on what we have already achieved, sharing the learning and experience to our students and gaming enthusiasts from other industries, creating together, playing together, building new successful games and studios.
Isn’t that the future you would like to be a part of? Well, it is on us to build it as being part of SGA, Nordeus Hub, or any other gaming community gathered with this vision in mind. These communities will also work passionately for you, to support you on your creative journey to success. We will all grow together, achieving the vision of putting Serbia on a global map of gaming.
Milos Djuricanin
