THE GAME INDUSTRY OF POLAND

(1)

THE GAMING INDUSTR Y

OF POLAND

(2)

(3)

Market study

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

THE GAME INDUSTRY OF POLAND

Publication date 9.06.2021

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Flanders Investment & Trade Warsaw Al. Ujazdowskie 51

00-536 Warsaw – Poland

T: +48 22 584 73 40 – E: warsaw@fitagency.com

(4)

1. INTRODUCTION

This report puts a spotlight on the game industry, with the main focus on Poland. It consists of information on the current state of the sector, factors affecting the industry, recent trends, changes on the market and an overview of game development studios in Poland. The main objective of this study is to show opportunities in the Polish market within the game industry.

1.1 GAME OR GAMING?

As the definition in the Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.) states, gaming is ‘the activity of playing games on computers and other electronic devices’. The segments within the industry are as follows:

(smart)phone games, console games, downloaded/boxed PC games, tablet games, and browser PC games.

The game development industry (gamedev) is a sector of the economy that is related to the design, development, production, and publishing of games. It creates jobs for game developers, designers, artists, and people involved in marketing and sales, etc. (Wikipedia, 2021).

The gaming industry has a much broader meaning. It is the game industry together with tools and equipment for gamers. Sometimes e-sport is considered to be part of the gaming industry.

1.2 GAME INDUSTRY GLOBALLY

Over the last years, the game industry has experienced a massive boom. The rapid development of the internet and mobile devices opened the gates to new ways within the industry. It became one of the fastest-growing and developing creative industries globally, placing itself ahead of both the music and film industries. Furthermore, it is expected to grow continuously, reaching USD 200 billion in 2023, at an average growth rate of 8.3% year-over-year. The graph below illustrates the income of the global gaming industry (gaming) 174.9 million in comparison with cinema (kino) 42.2 million and music (muzyka) 20.2 million industries in 2020 (Rutkowski E., Marszałkowski J., Biedermann S., 2020)( Krampus-Sepielak et al, 2021).

(6)

Figure 1. Chart illustrating entertainment industry revenue globally

2. THE POLISH GAME INDUSTRY IN NUMBERS

(Rutkowski et al, 2020)( Bobrowski M., Głuszka D., Krampus-Sepielak A., Rodzińska-Szary P., Śliwiński M., 2020)

− 479 million euros industry revenue

− +/- 30% growth every year

− 96% of the income comes from export

− Over 440 development studios

− 9710 people working in the industry

− Almost 500 new game releases annually

− 16 million players in Poland

− 47% of Polish gamers are female

− 596 million dollars consumer market worth

− 11,5 million dollars e-sport market worth

− 54 gaming companies listed on The Warsaw Stock Exchange

− Over 60 courses and university degrees related to games

− Over 3/4 of the Polish Internet users aged 15-65 have played a video game at least once within the recent month (research from May 2020)

In Poland, the game industry is considered as young, yet one of the fastest developing industries from the creative sector. Over the last years, Poland has experienced massive growth in that industry. What is even more promising is that the the Polish game industry has a high potential to grow even more over the next few years. The Polish game industry focuses its production on foreign markets: 96% of industry income comes from export. The key export destination is the

(7)

United States, followed by countries in Europe, mainly the UK, France, and Germany (Rutkowski et al, 2020).

However, the Polish game industry wouldn’t be in this state without highly skilled and ambitious programmers, designers, and artists. Poland is well-known for its young and inexpensive workforce as a result of which the costs in the sector are low. The sector mainly employs composers, developers, marketers, and game testers. Additionally, Polish people have good entrepreneurial skills.

As a home for over 440 studios, Poland has a constant demand for well-trained professionals.

Different universities in the country offer 60 courses or degrees related to the industry among which 26 are meant for programmers and another 17 for artists. This allows to educate young professionals and prepare them well for the needs of demanding and rapidly changing times.

Figure 2. Graph describing the revenues of game development in Poland 2016-2019

On the graph above (Fig.2), you can observe the year-to-year growth of 30% - these numbers account for the Polish game industry and yet do not include revenue of CD Projekt Red (CDPR).

The biggest and most recognizable Polish studio’s revenues increase slower than the Polish game industry itself. The graph presents growth of 7% in 2017, 12% in 2018 and 32% in 2019 (Rutkowski et al, 2020).

(8)

3. THE POLISH GAME INDUSTRY GLOBALLY

Figure 3. Top 10 countries by revenue from video game sales

As it is shown in the illustration (fig.3), taken from ‘Polish state of the video game industry ‘17’, in 2017 Poland ranked 23rd in terms of revenues from video games globally. It shows that Poland is on the good path, but there is still a long way to go before they count among the world’s major players.

The success of China is supported by its customer base. As stated by GMA Marketing, the country owns its success to the fact of having over 600 million e-sport gamers (Marketing to China, 2021).

The e-sport attracts many players country-wise, and while making a trend in the country it encourages game enthusiasts to play themselves as well.

According to research done in the US by Technavio, the growth of the video game market, and especially the mobile game sector, is driven by the ‘increasing penetration of smartphones and improving access to the Internet’ (Technavio, 2021).

Germany, the first country by revenue from Europe (fig.3), is known for its leading economy and high-quality products. Located in the heart of Europe, the country is a host of the biggest game event in the world ‘Gamescom’ held annually in Cologne. Additionally, in 2019 government allocated 50 million euros to the federal budget for the introduction of game funding (The German Games Industry Association, 2019).

(9)

Figure 4. Comparison of the revenues on the selected markets divided into platforms

Data displayed above portray revenues from Poland and the top 6 other countries divided into PC games, console games and mobile games. A Comparison with the leading countries in the industry will allow to draw conclusions and recommendations for the future. Although Poland shows the lowest revenues among portrayed countries, we observe an interesting phenomenon. Unlike other countries, in Poland, PC games account for the highest percentage of revenue. Another factor worth our attention is that mobile games play a secondary role in all of the countries in terms of revenues.

4. FACTORS AFFECTING THE INDUSTRY

4.1 SUBSIDIES AND INCENTIVES

Game INN

A support program offered to Polish game development studios and technology development companies since 2016 by the National Centre for Research and Development. It was created thanks to the Polish Game Association, in the spirit of creating higher competitiveness within the Polish game industry. It is a grant that will partially cover the costs of industrial research and

(10)

development works. In 2020, companies were granted over PLN 150 million (Narodowe centrum Badań I Rozwoju, 2020) (Ministerstwo Funduszy i Polityki Regionalnej, 2019).

IP BOX

A tax instrument that enables the reduction of income tax to only 5%, from the sales of the products or services developed based on intellectual property law. Among many conditions to meet in the application process, the most important is having a company that is conducting R&D activities related to the creation, development or improvement of a qualified intellectual property right (Ministerstwo Rozwoju, Pracy I Technologii, n.d.).

ARP Games

Industrial Development Agency (in Polish, Agencja Rozwoju Przemysłu S.A.) together with the cooperation of the University of Silesia (Universytet Śląski) and The Cieszyn city region, twice a year comes up with an offer to teams that create games. The programme they offer is an accelerator supporting game-related ventures. Their help is geared mostly towards young developers, that are taking the first steps in the game industry. They offer financial, substantive and technical support as well as the use of premises (ARP Games, n.d.).

Tax relief

In 2019, the Polish Ministry of Culture was working on a law aimed at financial support for cultural video games. Inspired by other countries, Poland had the idea to introduce tax relief for the production of games based on European heritage and being produced in Poland. The idea was born to support the competitiveness of the industry worldwide. Currently, there is no news about the progress of this project, nor its rapid implementation (Poland in, 2018).

4.2 WIG.GAMES

The stock market is one of the reasons why Poland is leading the way in the game industry. The Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) has established a special index: WIG.Games. The creation of the index was a logic result of many game studios listed already on WSE. By the end of 2020, there were 54 companies listed and the number is constantly growing – this makes it the world’s leading stock exchange for game developers (Derdevic N., 2021).

The number of listings being particularly high might be a sign of overheating on the market according to the leading newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. According to the experts, if the valuations of companies are based on solid fundaments and remain realistic, there is only a limited threat of

(11)

an investment bubble’. There will be always space for new companies, but they might not have an easy start.

4.3 MAJOR INDUSTRY EVENTS IN POLAND

Poznan Game Arena (PGA) – one of the largest game expos in Poland as well as in Central &

Eastern Europe. The expo is about computer games and multimedia entertainment. Often game premieres or sneak previews are taking place at PGA. So far, the 14 editions brought up together almost 600 000 people (PGA Poznan Game Arena, n.d.).

Inter Extreme Masters (IEM)– Started in 2006 by Electronic Sport League, and since a year ago sponsored by Intel has become a worldwide e-sport tournament. IEM is apart from being the longest-running global pro gaming tour in the world, also a meeting place for e-sport fans. The competition features Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, StarCraft II, and League of Legends tournaments across multiple continents. Since 2013 the event finals are held in Katowice and are broadcasted around the world (Połowaniuk M., 2016).

Digital Dragons – held in Krakow since 2012, it is the most important event for the Polish game industry’s employees. The place where DD Awards, the most important Polish annual prizes in the gaming industry, are granted. It is the biggest B2B event in Central Europe. There are several categories: Best Polish Games, Best Foreign Games, Best Polish Mobile Game, Best Polish Game Design and Best Polish Art Design (Digital Dragons Awards, n.d.).

Game jam - is a meeting of programmers and artists in the spirit of creating a game design within the theme that is announced at the start or just before the meeting. Usually, it lasts from one to three days. Such a game design can become a prototype of a future hit game. Game jams are characterized by a large dose of improvisation, experimentation and exchange of experience.

(Good games, n.d.).

Global Game Jam is the largest creating event in the world. It takes place around the globe at the same time, typically at physical locations (Global Game Jam, n.d.). The biggest Polish game jam is

‘Slavic Game Jam’ (Slavic Game Jam, n.d.).

4.4 5G

5G is the fifth generation mobile network, a new and wireless standard after previous generations of networks. It is designed to virtually connect everyone and everything involving machines, objects and various devices (Qualcomm, n.d.)

(12)

When comparing 4G to 5G, the result is that 5G is 20 times faster in peak times for downloading data. The stability of the connection is better and capacity is up to 100 times bigger.

Implementation of 5G plays also an essential role in the gaming industry. It enhances the experience and makes further developments within the production process possible – for example it will give a boost to the production of VR games. The second positive aspect is low latency, with a reduction of 15 milliseconds, to 5 milliseconds – this will prevent from for example lagging.

Furthermore, the implementation of 5G will allow consumers to play in the cloud, wherever they are – just by using a phone and access to the 5G Internet (Plus, n.d.) (Tomczyk J., 2020).

Figure 5. Map of Poland with 5G range

5. RECENT CHANGES ON THE MARKET

5.1 COVID-19

While many sectors of the economy are struggling during the isolation and pandemic times, the game industry is blooming. The industry was immediately prepared to serve customers digitally and fulfill the increasing demand for digital entertainment. According to Polish Gamers Research conducted in May last year, 31% of adults admitted playing more often because of the pandemic.

In the same report, parents declared that 39% of children played more frequently during the pandemic (Bobrowski et al, 2020).

(13)

On the other hand, there was – of course – the impact on the game development studios. Despite the initial positive impact of Covid-19 visible on the increase of sales, some companies, that didn’t have a hybrid model of working, might see the long-term effect of the pandemic reflecting on their projects. Working on the development of a game involves a lot of teamwork, but when companies work remotely, it causes difficulties and problems with communication. Subsequently, there might be some delays in the premiere of the game or unexpected errors in the productions.

What is more, there is no new equipment available on hand – companies need to subscribe to the waiting list. The prices of the equipment also increased significantly.

5.2 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Over the recent years, the gaming market experienced many changes. One of them is a significant change in perception about gaming. From being seen as a time-waster, it became not only a passion but also a well-paid job. Nowadays, everyone can be a gamer and it is possible to play on almost any device: a computer, a console, a smartphone, or a tablet.

Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic also brought more attention to the sector due to an increase of free time and a higher demand for easily accessible digital entertainment.

Another shift observed among Polish gamers is that they learned to pay for the games. Before many people were downloading games online instead of buying them. Over time and thanks to positive changes in the economy, people earn more and therefore are also able to purchase more non-essential goods. Another reason behind that shift in consumer behavior is the fact that people got more comfortable – they do not want to bother with a time-consuming yet free download of games.

6. TRENDS WITHIN THE INDUSTRY

6.1 CLOUD GAMING

Cloud gaming allows users to have an excellent gaming experience while playing a high-tech demanding game on a simple device like a tablet or a smartphone with a good Internet connection (Sharma R., 2020).

A Polish company called ‘Remote my app’ created Vortex. This product is a perfect alternative if a player doesn’t want to invest in expensive hardware and still wants to be able to enjoy tech- demanding games. It is providing fully customized cloud gaming solutions. Thanks to this product, customers can enjoy playing PC games on a tablet, mobile phone, or even TV. The numbers speak

(14)

for themselves – since its launch in 2017, the application was downloaded over 10 million times in 2 years (Bocheński K., 2019).

6.2 E-SPORT

E-sport is a sport where Pro gamers are competing in a tournament or a championship, in various disciplines of electronic sports, both single- and multiplayer. The winner receives a prize or/and cash. The most popular games played in e-sport are Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, League of Legends, StarCraft II and Dota 2 (Esport Association Polska, n.d.).

In Poland, the e-sport market is worth PLN 45 million. Thanks to the worldwide success of the Polish e-sport teams and single players, the most popular games are CS:GO and League of Legends, followed by World of Tanks, FIFA and StarCraft II. Over the past years, the favorite channel in Poland to watch e-sports remains YouTube streaming (38%), followed by Facebook (26%) and Twitch (18%). Twitch is a video platform that is dedicated to live-streaming gameplay and competitions. Millions of people visit the platform to watch and interact with each other (Bobrowski et al, 2020).

6.3 VIRTUAL REALITY (VR)

According to the Polish Game Research 2020 the popularity of VR games is decreasing from 21%

to 10% among Polish gamers. When it comes to the productions of VR games, Poland maintains a steady output level. Superhot VR is a leader of Polish VR games titles. As it is written in ‘The Game Industry of Poland 2020’ report: ‘ At least a few five-digit-sales successful VR titles come from Poland’ (Rutkowski et al, 2020).

6.4 MOBILE GAMING

Figure 6. Comparison of the revenues in Poland divided into platforms

Globally, the mobile segment is the fastest-growing of all gaming segments. With most of the people owning a smartphone, it is the easiest and most convenient way of connecting to the virtual world of entertainment. In Poland, in 2018 mobile games were classified in second place when it came to the division of income per industry segment (Krampus-Sepielak et al, 2021). However, when most revenues are generated by the PC games sector, the most titles produced in Poland are in the mobile games sector.

(15)

7. AN OVERVIEW OF THE POLISH GAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIOS

From small studios that consist of just a few employees to giants that hire 100+ people and have big budgets to produce AAA games, Poland is a home to over 440 game development studios.

Releasing almost 500 games annually and attracting players in the whole world. As Forbes writes:

‘In one hundred of the most anticipated computer games, Poles work on every fifth.’ Here we put the spotlight on a few of these studios that stand out.

7.1 CD PROJEKT RED

CD Projekt Red (CDPR) is a game studio of the famous, top-selling The Witcher series- this is how the company earned its title of being a global brand - to its latest release Cyberpunk 2077. With its headquarters in Warsaw (Poland) and offices in Cracow, Wroclaw and Los Angeles. CD Projekt is home to over 800 professionals. As the company writes in its mission statement and vision: ‘We strive to create the best Role Play Games in the world, while always keeping gamers’ needs at their core’. The company’s market capitalization is 3 times higher than PGE – the largest energy company in Poland (Ostrowski Sz., 2020) (CD Projekt Red, n.d.).

In October 2019, CD Projekt Red was the first and only company from Poland included in the prestigious list of Bloomberg titled ‘50 Companies to Watch in 2020’

As an article in ‘Gazeta Wyborcza’ states that, CD Projekt’s game Cyberpunk 2077 took 8 years to develop and its release day was repeatedly postponed. Even after such a long preparation time for the developers, gamers experienced difficulties and errors on older consoles. CD Projekt Red apologized and amended some of the errors. Although it harmed the image of the company, Cyberpunk 2077 broke even on the costs of production and marketing within one day after its premiere. After the Board Members officially admitted about knowing that there were errors in the game and still releasing it, CD Projekt Red met with the dissatisfaction of the investors and gamers as well. Additionally, at the beginning of 2021, CD Projekt Red has been hacked and codes to a couple of games have been stolen. The whole situation put the company in a difficult position. It might take time to recover and regain trust from the investors. However, the consolidated financial report of CD Projekt Red shows that the company almost quadrupled their revenue in 2020 – (PLN 2 138 875) compared to the year before (PLN 521 272) (CD Projekt Red, 2021).

(16)

7.2 11 BIT STUDIOS

11 Bit Studios is a Polish producer, publisher and distributor of computer and console games. It is one of the biggest companies in Poland and its most recognized creations are This War of Mine and Frostpunk. They also published Moonlighter and Children of Morta. This Warsaw-based studio was established in 2009 by a group of people experienced in the industry. Nowadays their motto is:’ We strive to deliver meaningful entertainment’ (11 Bit Studios, n.d.). Since the end of the year 2015, the company’s shares have been traded on Warsaw Stock Exchange.

This War of Mine was released in 2014 and reached a breakeven point 2 days after its premiere. In 2019, 11 Bit Studios announced that 4,5 million copies were sold. The game also won in total over one hundred awards.

In summer 2020, the Polish government proposed to add the first computer game This War of Mine to the reading list for schools, as optional reading material. This is the first video game that the Polish Government would add to the curriculum. Currently, there are works on how the game can be introduced at schools and how to implement it.

7.3 TECHLAND

Techland is one of the oldest and most important game development and publishing studios in Poland. The company started in 1991 as a software distribution company and released its first game Crime Cities in 2000 – that year they entered the game development market. The Call of Juarez brought the first breakthrough. Other giant hits that Techland produced: Dead Island sold over 7,5 million copies and Dying Light sold over 18 million copies. Nowadays, the headquarters are located in Wroclaw. Techland has also offices in Warsaw and Vancouver (Techland, n.d.). The company is privately owned. As the CEO of Techland spoke in the PARP report, independence is important to him, especially when it comes to finances, process and people (Rutkowski et al, 2020).

7.4 PLAYWAY

PlayWay is a Polish producer and publisher of games, that are created together with 70 other companies or internal teams. It was established in 2011 by Krzysztof Kostkowski, who has decades of experience in the game industry. The company creates games for PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Android and iOS. During its existence, it has produced and released over 70 games. The company sells its products via the account on platforms as STEAM, AppStore and GooglePlay. Since October 2016 company is listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange and joined the index of 80 largest companies in Poland (PlayWay, n.d.).

(17)

7.5 PEOPLE CAN FLY

Established in 2002 in Warsaw, a company famous of the game Outriders. Nowadays the company operates on two continents. In their home country, Poland, they are located in Warsaw and Rzeszow and own a start-up in Łódź, People Can Fly also has studios worldwide: Newcastle, New York and Montreal. As the company’s LinkedIn profile says: ‘One of the best AAA game development studios in Poland’ (LinkedIn, n.d.). Its goal is to find the right balance between the studio’s heritage and its ambitious plans. In 2020 company was admitted on The Warsaw Stock Exchange (People Can Fly, n.d.).

8. CONCLUSION

The Polish game industry is on the right track to achieve success. Each year it is growing by +/- 30% and reached PLN 2,1 million revenue in 2020. Production is focused on export – 96% of revenues come from abroad. Since such an enormous capital injection comes from sales abroad, the Polish game industry became one of the most important sectors of the Polish economy and culture. The industry’s export key destination is the USA, followed by UK, France and Germany. The sector recorded massive growth and received recognition from the government. There are support programs like Game INN or tax relief that studios can benefit from.

The fastest-growing segment of the Polish gaming industry is mobile gaming. Due to advanced technology such as smartphones and the ease of use of mobile games are attracting more and more customers. However, the highest top-selling segment remains the PC game sector. Although the COVID-19 pandemic brought additional profits, game development studios might feel its negative effect in the long term. What is also interesting, is that the perception of a game being a time-waster changed. People started to realize that gaming can be a potential source of income and a source of education.

The game industry is more importantly about people. Behind every game, there is the work of many highly skilled people. This massive growth in recent years caused a shortage of labour.

Luckily, the situation was recognized by the Polish education system and nowadays, there are plenty of universities, schools or courses to choose from, when one wants to have a future in the game industry. Although Poland is a home of 440 studio games and employs almost 10,000 people in this industry, there are only 10 companies that hire more than 200 people. The game market consists mostly of small studios.

(18)

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY

11 bit studios. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://www.11bitstudios.com/pl/about-us/

Amielańczyk M., Andrzejewski W., Bednarek A., Borkowski M., Borszowski A., Czerniak M., Hekman P., Kamiński M., Kluska B., Krawczyk S., Majka P., Marszałkowski J., Mirowski J., Mochocka A., Orbitowski Ł., Pękała M., Piekara J., Przybyłek M., Schreiber P., Siegel B., Słabig K., Szewczyk O., Tłuchowski W., Urbaniak P., Wiśniewski M., Witczak M., Zgierski J.. (n.d.). PolskiGamdev.pl.

[magazine online]. Retrieved from:

file:///C:/Users/32466/Downloads/Magazyn%20PolskiGamedev.pl%20PDF.pdf

ARP Games. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://arpgames.pl/pl/o-arp-games/

Bobrowski M., Głuszka D., Krampus-Sepielak A., Rodzińska-Szary P., Śliwiński M. (2020). Polish Gamers Research 2020.[online research study]. Retrieved from:

https://polishgamers.com/pgr/polish-gamers-research-2020/general-information-about-our- study/

Bocheński K., (2019). Polski patent na granie w chmurze zdobywa świat. Forbes. [article online].

Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.pl/biznes/vortexgg-polska-platforma-do-cloud-gamingu- zdobywa-uznanie-na-calym-swiecie/3s08hl7

Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pl/dictionary/english/gaming

CD Projekt Red. (n.d.) CD Projekt Red. [LinkedIn profile]. Retrieved from:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/cd-projekt-red

CD Projekt Red. (2021). Consolidated financial statement of the CD Projekt group for 2020.

[report online]. Retrieved from: https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/wp-content/uploads- en/2021/04/consolidated-financial-statement-of-the-cd-projekt-group-for-2020.pdf

Derdevic N. (2021). Why gaming is set to become Poland’s national brand? Emerging Europe.

[article online]. Retrieved from: https://emerging-europe.com/news/why-gaming-is-set-to- become-polands-national-brand/

Digital Dragons Awards. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://digitaldragons.pl/#dd-awards

Esport Association Polska. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://polskiesport.pl/e-sport-od-podstaw- kompendium-wiedzy-dla-poczatkujacych/

(19)

Flanders Investment & Trade (2020). De gaming sector in de Verenigde Staten.[report online].

Retrieved from:

https://www.flandersinvestmentandtrade.com/export/sites/trade/files/market_studies/2020- Gamingsector%20in%20de%20VS_0.pdf

Game Industry Conference (2019). ‘Chart 1. Revenues of game developers in Poland’ (figure 2).

[image online]. Retrieved from:

https://www.parp.gov.pl/storage/publications/pdf/The_Game_Industry_of_Poland_report_2020v4.

pdf

Global Game Jam. (n.d.). About us. [website]. Retrieved from: https://globalgamejam.org/about Good Games. (n.d.). Game Jam. [website]. Retrieved from: https://goodgames.pl/game-jam Krampus-Sepielak A., Rodzińska-Szary P., Bobrowski M., Śliwiński M., Gałuszka D., Grygorewicz M., Pawlikowski M., Dydo M., Strzyżewski M., Wojciechowski M. (2021). The State of Polish Video Games Industry 2020. [report online]. Retrieved from: https://polishgamers.com/wp-

content/uploads/2021/04/Raport_2021_long_FINAL_EN_WEB.pdf

Luenendonk M. (2019). The game industry - an introduction. Cleverism. [article online]. Retrieved from: https://www.cleverism.com/gaming-industry-introduction/

LinkedIn. (n.d.). Profile of People Can Fly. [website]. Retrieved from:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/people-can-fly/

Marketing to China (2021). CHINESE GAMING. The Video gaming industry in China is booming.

Retrieved from: https://marketingtochina.com/the-video-gaming-industry-in-china-is-booming/

Ministerstwo Funduszy i Polityki Regionalnej. (2019). GameINN: skorzystaj ze wsparcia dla branży gamingowej. [ministry information]. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.pl/web/fundusze-

regiony/gameinn-skorzystaj-ze-wsparcia-dla-branzy-gamingowej

Ministerstwo Rozwoju, Pracy i Technologii. (n.d.). IP Box. [ministry information]. Retrieved from:

https://www.gov.pl/web/rozwoj-praca-technologia/ip-box

Ministerstwo Rozwoju, Pracy i Technologii. (2021). Przeciętne wynagrodzenia brutto w

gospodarce narodowej oraz realny wzrost wynagrodzeń w 2020 r. – komentarz wiceministra Roberta Tomanka. [ministry info]. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.pl/web/rozwoj-praca-

(20)

technologia/przecietne-wynagrodzenia-brutto-w-gospodarce-narodowej-oraz-realny-wzrost- wynagrodzen-w-2020-r--komentarz-wiceministra-roberta-tomanka

Narodowe Centrum Badań i Rozwoju. (2020). Ponad 150 mln zł dla polskiego gamedevu. [ministry information]. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.pl/web/ncbr/ponad-150-mln-zl-dla-polskiego- gamedevu

Ostrowski Sz., (2020). Gaming. Jak zabawa zmieniła się w poważny biznes. Forbes.[article online].

Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.pl/opinie/rynek-gier-komputerowych-historia-trendy- wyniki/zm6k14c

People Can Fly (n.d.). About us. [website]. Retrieved from: https://peoplecanfly.com/about- us/#our-story

PGA Poznan Game Arena. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://www.gamearena.pl/pl/o-wydarzeniu/o- pga/

PlayWay. (n.d.). About us. [website]. Retrieved from: https://playway.com/about-us Plus. (n.d.). 5G. Retrieved from:

https://www.plus.pl/5g?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4cOEBhDMARIsAA3XDRh6fK9D2Yvav8aBETruqDlD6ZJ7m7vo ngBwtEOp7qQ2Y8CIkINmK4YaAkuCEALw_wcB

Poland in. (2018). Tax breaks for Polish-themed video games from January. [article online].

Retrieved from: https://polandin.com/39577156/tax-breaks-for-polishthemed-video-games-from- january

Polish Gamers Observatory (n.d.). Chart ‘Revenues of the video game industry compared to the music and film industries in 2020’ (fig 1). [image]. Retrieved from: https://polishgamers.com/wp- content/uploads/2021/04/Raport_2021_long_FINAL_EN_WEB.pdf

Polsat News. (2021). ‘Kluczowe lokalizacje 5G w Plusie w 2021’ (fig. 5). [image online]. Retrieved from: https://www.polsatnews.pl/wiadomosc/2021-01-05/plus-poszerza-zasieg-5g-w-zasiegu- ponad-7-mln-mieszkancow-polski/

Połowaniuk M., (2016). Krótka historia IEM, czyli jak to się zaczęło i czym jest obecnie. Spider’s Web. [article online]. Retrieved from: https://spidersweb.pl/2016/02/historia-iem.html

Rutkowski E., Marszałkowski J., Biedermann S., (2020). The game industry of Poland. Report 2020.

[online report]. Retrieved from:

(21)

https://www.parp.gov.pl/storage/publications/pdf/The_Game_Industry_of_Poland_report_2020v4.

pdf

Sharma R. (2020). Poland-based Start-up RemoteMyApp Powers Deutsche Telekom's Cloud Gaming Platform. The Fast Mode. [article online]. Retrieved from:

https://www.thefastmode.com/technology-solutions/17971-poland-based-start-up-remotemyapp- powers-deutsche-telekoms-cloud-gaming-platform

Slavic Game Jam. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://slavicgamejam.org/

State of the Polish Video Game Industry ’17. ‘ The top 10 countries by revenue from video game sales’ (fig. 3). [image online]. Retrieved from: https://www.kpt.krakow.pl/wp-

content/uploads/2018/03/state_of_polish_video_game_industry17_web.pdf Techland (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://techland.net/company/about-techland

Technavio (2021). Video Game Market in the US to Showcase Superior Growth During 2021- 2025|Rising Penetration of Smartphones to Boost Growth |Technavio. CISION PR Newswire.

Retrieved from: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/video-game-market-in-the-us-to- showcase-superior-growth-during-2021-2025rising-penetration-of-smartphones-to-boost-growth- technavio-301242562.html

The German Game Industry Association. (2021). The German games industry 2019. Insights, facts and reports. [document online]. Retrieved from: https://www.game.de/wp-

content/uploads/2017/02/2019-10-31-Guide-to-the-German-Games-Industry_NEU.pdf

The State of Polish Video Games Industry 2020. (2021). ‘Comparison of the revenues on the selected markets divided into platforms’(fig. 4 &6) . [images online]. Retrieved from:

https://polishgamers.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Raport_2021_long_FINAL_EN_WEB.pdf Tomczyk J. (2020). 5G – klucz do przemysłowej przyszłości. Platforma Przemysłu Przyszłości.

[article online]. Retrieved from: https://przemyslprzyszlosci.gov.pl/5g-klucz-do-przemyslowej- przyszlosci/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4cOEBhDMARIsAA3XDRgYunUIf_aeVJg0NZu2Oksf7tLrAhvshhWPnhFy1g cpziG5jblIBLwaAt7BEALw_wcB

Qualcomm. (n.d.). Everything you need to know about 5G. [website]. Retrieved from:

https://www.qualcomm.com/5g/what-is-5g

Wikipedia. (2021). Video game industry. [online]. Retrieved from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_industry

(22)

Disclaimer:

The information in this publication is provided for background information that should enable you to get a picture of the subject treated in this document. It is collected with the greatest care based on all data and documentation available at the moment of publication. Thus this publication was never intended to be the perfect and correct answer to your specific situation. Consequently it can never be considered a legal, financial or other specialized advice. Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT) accepts no liability for any errors, omissions or incompleteness, and no warranty is given or responsibility accepted as to the standing of any individual, firm, company or other organization mentioned.

Date of publication: June 2021

THE GAME INDUSTRY OF POLAND

THE GAMING INDUSTR Y

OF POLAND

Market study

THE GAME INDUSTRY OF POLAND

Publication date 9.06.2021

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 GAME OR GAMING?

1.2 GAME INDUSTRY GLOBALLY

2. THE POLISH GAME INDUSTRY IN NUMBERS

3. THE POLISH GAME INDUSTRY GLOBALLY

4. FACTORS AFFECTING THE INDUSTRY

4.1 SUBSIDIES AND INCENTIVES

4.2 WIG.GAMES

4.3 MAJOR INDUSTRY EVENTS IN POLAND

4.4 5G

5. RECENT CHANGES ON THE MARKET

5.1 COVID-19

5.2 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

6. TRENDS WITHIN THE INDUSTRY

6.1 CLOUD GAMING

6.2 E-SPORT

6.3 VIRTUAL REALITY (VR)

6.4 MOBILE GAMING

7. AN OVERVIEW OF THE POLISH GAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIOS

7.1 CD PROJEKT RED

7.2 11 BIT STUDIOS

7.3 TECHLAND

7.4 PLAYWAY

7.5 PEOPLE CAN FLY

8. CONCLUSION

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY