The stereotype of game development often paints a picture of programmers and graphic designers working in dark windowless rooms, in a Vampiric existence.
Miles away from this is the reality of game development in sunny Barcelona — a thriving city of game developments, that features not only startups but international scaleups that have expanded their reach for a better work life balance, access to local talent, and a broad competitive advantage.
40 percent of the world's leading video game companies have a presence in Barcelona, which is home to over 200 companies and 4,000+ employees. The city also hosts the largest eSports centre in Southern Europe, with areas for video games, competitions, training and education.
And it's booming financially — according to The Spanish Association of Videogames (AEVI), during 2023, the sector registered a turnover of 2,339 million euros, representing a growth of 16.3 per cent compared to the previous year.
This increase makes Spain the third market in the European Union, followed only by Germany and France.
I wanted to get a feel for why so many companies are calling Barcelona home. I spoke to Alexandre Besenval, VP and Head of Studio at Sandsoft, a Riyadh game developer and publisher who opened a studio in Barcelona in January 2024.
From cheap talent to a robust local industry
Besenval's game development career includes work at MadBox and Gameloft and Barcelona game development company Social Point, which was acquired by Take2 in 2017.
He describes 2010 to 2015 as "the golden era of mobile gaming" because there were so many tectonic changes on the market with the growth of social platform gaming (Candy crush, anyone?) and the arrival of free-to-play games in the West.
"Smartphones caused a hardware revolution as power suddenly had more powerful devices to access games.
With the arrival of Google Play and the Mac App stores, players could suddenly access thousands of games simultaneously versus single subscriptions."
And in response, Barcelona, already home to successful game developers, was ready.
Besenval has witnessed a mindset change over 15 years, from Barcelona, which was a place for cheap staff, to a stand-alone hub of talent and success in its own right.
Now, employees can access a higher base salary in line with the broader European salary range.
Companies from the UK and the US, such as Scopely, King, Riot Games, and Rovio (Angry Birds), opened offices in Barcelona. In June, David Polfeldt, a veteran of Ubisoft, launched a new game development studio, Bespoke Pixel, in Barcelona. The studio has secured $25 million in funding.
Besenval asserts:
"Now, there is no scenario in which your company can say, 'I'm going to come to Spain because it's cheap.' Now you go because it's full of qualified people who have already worked in two or three big companies in the sector, so you don't have to train them,"
Barcelona also provides a robust educational landscape for aspiring video game professionals with the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya offering a Bachelor's Degree in Video Game Design and Development, as well as University Ramon Llull La Salle, offering related programs like Multimedia Engineering with a Minor in Video Games and Advanced Videogame Development at the master's level.
Luring game developers with tax benefits, less red tape, and skills development
The city has also created an ecosystem of support for game developers.
"One big pain point when you hire a lot of people is getting everyone work visas," explains Besenval. In response, the government offers free local services to expedite visas and help entrepreneurs establish companies.
He notes that there are also "a lot of tax benefits for foreigners coming to Spain," with the introduction of the Beckham Law (named after footballer David Beckham).
The law is designed to attract a wide range of foreign talent, including executives, professionals, and investors. It makes Spain a more attractive destination for international talent and investment by offering a competitive tax environment compared to other European countries.
The city is also home to GameBCN, a global 6-month incubation program that helps video game studios professionalise their production pipeline and maximise their business opportunities.
The program is offered in partnership with gaming companies Marvelous, Socialpoint and Gameloft.is promoted by Ajuntament de Barcelona, Generalitat de Catalunya Department de Cultura and Peninsula.
Despite infrastructure boost, Barcelona's game developers face a crowded market
However, despite infrastructure support, game development is continually in a state of flux. Besenval describes it as "a very one hit wonder-driven industry —- you have almost no company that has managed consistently to be the Pixar of video games."
He attributes that to the crowded marketplace with over 1000 apps (including many games) released on Google Play Store daily.
For developers this creates its own challenges.
"We are much more sensitive to technology than other industries. People still go to the movies today the same way they went to the movies three years ago, but in gaming, you don't play the same way you played three years ago, and three years ago, you didn't play the same way six years ago with hardware changes, and NFT's and VR creating new business models.
But at the end of the day, content is king. You need a good game, whatever the device — NFT or no NFT — and a market with an audience that wants to play it. That's far less predictable.
Some companies have to in effect reinvent themselves constantly year after year. In response, how do we organise the company? How do we manage our creative processes?"
But if nothing else, Spain's interest in gaming shows no sign of abating. According to AEVI, Spanish players dedicate 7.7 hours per week to the game, primarily using smartphones and consoles.
2023 saw over 20 million video players — with women making up 49 per cent of the growing audience. Notably, the most significant user growth occurred among 25-34 and 35-44-year-olds compared to 2022.
Games companies to watch:
Gamin
Gamin provides gamers with a platform to discover new games from indie video game creators and help fund them through crowdfunding campaigns. It's also developed a marketplace where gamers can buy and sell NFTs from these games.
Pixel cream is an independent videogames studio based in Spain with several titles in the market for multiple platforms.
At the beginning of 2015, Pixel Cream started its new project, "Way of Redemption", for PlayStation 4 and PC, awarded with the PlayStation Spain award as the "Best Game of 2015" and nominated for "Best Art" and "Best Innovative Idea". Way of Redemption is the first cross-platform and cross-party game developed by a Spanish studio working with a virtual Sony Computer Entertainment Spain office.
FromDust Studio
FromDust Studio is currently working on creating a new MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) experience called OxySpace.
Catcelona
Catcelona has developed a video game allowing players to search for cats hiding in some of Barcelona's most iconic sights.
Future Nostalgia Studios
Future Nostalgia Studios is a consumer technology company focused on building experiences with character. It's currently building Pocket Frens, a next-generation pet sim that all friends can enjoy together.
Lead image: FromDust Studio.
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