The concept of the golden age of Spanish video games has always been associated with the 1980s, microcomputers, and 8-bit games; until now. With the emergence of digital markets and the indie boom, the Spanish video game industry has exploded, reaching levels of quality and international success that were unthinkable before. A growth that began at the beginning of the last decade and seems to have reached its peak during the past 2023; a year that, for many players, is the best in our industry in terms of quantity and quality.

The best year for the Spanish videogame industry

As if they had all agreed upon it, or as if it were a scene from a superhero movie, it seems that 2023 has been the chosen year for many developers in the Spanish video game industry to release their latest works, thus gifting players with a probably unforgettable year.

Studios of the caliber of Tequila Works, Fictiorama, Deconstructeam, or The Game Kitchen, which already sound like veterans and have rightfully earned the reputation of being synonymous with quality, decided to launch their video games in 2023. They were joined by several of the most talented solo developers in the national territory, such as Octavi Navarro, Dr.Kucho, Francisco Téllez, Alva Majo, or ViJuDa, and young or novice studios full of ambition, talent, and very clear ideas such as Talpa Games, Team Ugly, or Tanuki Game Studio. All escorted, of course, by two of the longest-standing active studios in our country: Devilish Games and Pendulo Studios.

The result is a varied cast of video games that stand out for their originality and overwhelm with their quality. Not long ago, we were content if one of this magnitude appeared in a year; now we have the difficult task of choosing whether to start with the suffering with the exquisite 'Blasphemous 2'; get lost in the narrative of 'American Arcadia', 'The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood', 'The Library of Babel', or 'The Fabulous Fear Machine'; experience unique proposals like 'Minabo', 'Do not Feed the Monkeys', or 'Painting Werther'; feel the retro nostalgia again with 'UnMetal', 'Moons of Darsalon', or 'Super Woden GP'; suffer and cry with 'Laika: Aged Through Blood', 'Wordless', or 'Ugly'; live the horror of 'Midnight Scenes' or 'The Kindeman Remedy'; enter the VR with 'Call of the Sea' or 'Red Matter 2'; or laugh and enjoy with 'Pineapple on Pizza', 'Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara', or 'Pan y Federico'.

Growth in the number of video game trade fairs and events

The expansion of the video game industry has also translated into an increase in the organization of events and their greater relevance. The editions of Gamelab Barcelona, Gamergy, and Dreamhack attracted thousands of national and international visitors who were able to attend talks, try out games in development, participate in tournaments, and enjoy the increasingly thriving world of eSports. It is also noteworthy the growth of events aimed at the most independent sector of the video game industry, highlighting the Indie Dev Day, which has established itself as the indie event par excellence in Spain, but also fairs spread throughout the country such as the Guerrilla Game Festival, Granada Gaming, or Valencia Indie Summit, which attract professionals and enthusiasts interested in discovering the latest developments in the sector. All this must be added to the numerous retro fairs that populate the national territory, events aimed at the press such as the presentation of the white book of DEV or the DeVuego Yearbook, talks such as the OXO Talks or Women in Games, congresses and workshops focused on training, etc.

Finally, it is worth noting that, both in-person and online, jams continue to play an important role in the Spanish industry, serving as a source of experience for developers who see them as a way to increase their portfolio, establish connections with other workers, and experiment with different ideas that could potentially become commercial video games in the future. In 2023, more than 10 jams were held in our country, with the Indie Spain Jam being the most popular, with 177 video games created.

Economy: the industry grows but is not immune to global problems

In 2023, over 300 new video games were published in Spain, making it the most prolific year in the history of the industry. If we also count ports or updated versions of games, the figure rises to almost 400.

About 60 studios have seen the light, but in an industry like video games where many companies do not go beyond their first release, the important thing is that many studios have managed to consolidate themselves through hard work, opting for slow but steady growth, without giving up creativity and originality, such as Mc2games, Out of the Blue, Talpa Games, Chibig, Piccolo Studio, Aeternum Game Studios, or Brainwash Gang.

DEV's white book estimated that in 2023, about 10,000 people worked directly or indirectly in the video game market and forecasts were for growth until 2025. However, the beginning of 2024 has shown that the production of excellent video games does not always imply profitability and success for studios or good conditions for workers. The global video game industry is experiencing a significant economic crisis, and layoffs have sadly become frequent, also in important national studios such as Novarama, Digital Sun, or Pendulo Studios. It seems that we are experiencing a moment of change, in which the industry must seek a new balance, focusing on creating projects with realistic budgets and expectations that do not compromise the stability of companies.

Finding Stability in 2024

If in 2023 everything seemed prosperous, 2024 has presented itself with complicated turns in the form of layoffs, showing that, although the video game sector is powerful in economic terms, it still seems unstable at the labor level. As globally, it seems to be a transitional year in which the focus is on the worker and their rights, and important initiatives are being created such as the CSVI, Video Game Union Coordinator, to fight for a healthy, inclusive industry and advocate for the interests of industry members, trying to improve their working conditions.

Regarding releases, after a frenetic 2023 in which the major national productions were concentrated, a quieter 2024 is expected in which the main developers are working on new projects, thus leaving much room for surprises and for new studios to take advantage of the free space in the market. Nevertheless, high release figures are again expected, and some names are already marked on the calendar such as Aureole, Slam and Roll, Hermetica, Operation Highjump: The Fall of Berlin, Camper Van, or Asphalt Legends.