This Tuesday, August 29, World Video Game Day is celebrated, an industry that is in full growth in Spain, having reached a total turnover of 2,012 million euros in 2022, an increase of 12% compared to the year before. , according to the Spanish Association of Video Games (AEVI).
The rise of the sector in recent years has caused Spain to become the fourth largest market in the European Union. Of the 18.2 million players registered in the country, 47% are women, a total of 8.5 million, while the remaining 53%, some 9.6 million, are men.
The estimated average hours played per week is 7.42 hours and the age group with the highest percentage of players, 84% of the total, is between 15 and 24 years old. The next range within which more people play would be between 6 and 11 years old, with 79%.
Physical game sales drop
The acquisition of online videogames exceeds, with 1,180 million euros, 29% the figures for last year and contrasts with a 5.7% decrease in physical purchases: what was once the default format has become in the least popular with a turnover that has dropped to 832 million euros.
Situation that finds its cause in the “boom” of “streaming” and the greater relevance given to online games, among which the rapid rise of electronic sports or “e-sports” stands out, whose industry in Spain represents more 3% of the global fabric, with a turnover of 34 million euros, and presents, according to Deloitte’s “Let’s Play! 2022” study, the second largest follow-up in Europe after Poland.
InfoJobs, digital job offers related to video games have grown by 31% between May 2022 and April 2023, compared to the same period of the previous year. Among the most demanded profiles are those who perform technical and creative functions, programmers, designers and developers.
Valencia (the third with the most publications related to videogames) and Malaga, which has recently inaugurated the “Giants Innovation Hub”, a space designed to promote projects related to “gaming” and “e-sports”.
