Baltic Game Industry

The Interreg project Baltic Game Industry aligned business support with concrete needs of game start-ups and succeeded in turning the Baltic Sea region into a highly recognised game hotspot.

The challenge

Need for a streamlined approach

Games are the most dynamic creative industry worldwide but business support is often unspecific. One of the challenges this sector faces is that innovation intermediaries have only limited knowledge about this creative sector and how game start-ups should be supported. Innovation intermediaries usually treat them as ICT or as media, which on one hand limits the attractiveness of the supporting programmes for the game start-ups, and on the other hand, limits the effectiveness of the support.

The game industry needs a well-balanced ecosystem, a growing market, and an accommodating environment to thrive. On one side, there are the mature industries of the Nordics with their deep insights into the mechanisms of the industry. On the other side, emerging industries from the Baltics come with brand new products, followed by Germany, Denmark, and Poland whose industries have their own characteristics.

The project aimed at a better understanding of concrete needs, existing bottlenecks that hinder gaming business prosper, and the development of tools and strategies that would tackle the identified obstacles.

Budgets

Baltic Game Industry
in numbers

3.50

Million

Total
2.75

Million

Erdf
0.00

Million

Eni + Russia
0.00

Million

Norway

Achievements

Enhanced and streamlined promotion of the game industry

The project updated strategies, regulations, and schemes to upgrade framework conditions for the business development of the game industry. The introduced changes are aimed at the enhanced promotion of the game industry that public authorities could use as a reference for supporting their initiatives and designing future policies. The project undertook promotional activities for the Baltic Sea region as one brand, showcasing the whole ecosystem of the Baltic Sea region game industry as a single entity. As regards industry representatives as other types of users, they got a better understanding of the processes that might constrain actions from public authorities.

Improved conditions to run businesses and attract talents

The studies on game incubation and seven newly established incubation programmes on the top of seven existing game incubators in the Baltic Sea region allowed to create favourable conditions for talents.
In addition, the project developed an online roadmap guiding prospective incubation operators to run a dedicated game incubator. The roadmap provided knowledge and offered guidance on relevant information depending on settings, interest levels, background, available financial and human resources. Thus, the project equipped the partners and their networks with the needed guidance tech/IT incubation experts who want to expand to game incubation and experts supporting start-ups with a game incubation environment.

Take-aways from cross-sectoral collaborations

Additionally, as cross-sectoral collaboration with game studios is on the upswing, the project published studies on the state of play of virtual reality (VR) and best practice catalogue. It was produced for the use of researchers, game developers, designers and other domain experts. Next, the project documented a use case for therapeutic and clinical involvement of VR to provide a deeper understanding of a cross-sectoral business case.

The project used EUR 3.4 million to map the state of play in the game industry, build a better understanding of the main players and equip them with the needed knowledge to ensure gaming business prosperity in the Baltic Sea region.

Outputs

Strategic framework for business development of the game industry

This report documents strategies, regulations, and schemes introduced or supported by public authorities in the Baltic Sea region to shape more efficient and congruent framework conditions for business development of the game industry. The outlined change processes form the basis for continued enhancement measures for the business development of the game industry. The described change processes may also serve as examples for other regions seeking to improve the promotion of their own regional game industry. Public authorities will use it as a reference for supporting their initiatives, for designing future policies or strategies, while industry representatives will use it, among others, to get a deeper understanding of the processes that might constrain actions from the public authority side.

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Interactive map of the digital game industries

The interactive map illustrates the state of the art across the Baltic Sea region, comprising a SWOT analysis of the current framework in each region/country, good practices, and key policy stakeholders as well as incubation capacities. Each participating country managed to engage in a so-called innovation dialogue among representatives of gaming industry and public authorities. The exchange resulted in conclusions on joint action for harmonising framework across the Baltic Sea region, as well as in specific action plans to strengthen gaming industry in each area.

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Game incubation roadmap

The implementation roadmap for game incubation is an online tool illustrating solutions for effective game incubation to turn the Baltic Sea region into a game hotspot with a high recognition value and a bundle of competitive game companies. The project identified two main target groups: tech or IT incubation experts who want to expand to game incubation, or game experts (mostly veteran game entrepreneurs) wanting to support start-ups with a game incubation environment. There are usually three types of environments: a spin-off within the university framework, a new element of a tech park, or a stand-alone version (mostly part of a dedicated co-working space). The aim of the roadmap is to offer not only advice and knowledge but also guidance towards relevant information depending on "setting", interest levels, background, available financial and human resources.

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VR Best Practice Catalogue

Catalogue is aimed at researchers, game developers, designers and other domain experts. It explains the special challenges that arise when game developers and other domain experts collaborate. The catalogue explains how good cooperation and communication can be ensured across expertise and business culture boundaries. The document provides a description of the work experience with the health sector in the framework of the project, as well as insights and experience gained. The catalogue not only covers the necessary technological and design considerations but also shows the importance of clear communication between the different professions to ensure the best results.

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Project Stories

30.09.2020

Great project pictures that tell great Interreg stories!

More than seventy pictures competed in the Interreg Baltic Sea Region photo competition. Which projects were the best in illustrating transnational cooperation, grasping the essence of a project and its result, and presenting the 30th anniversary of Interreg? Congratulations to the teams of BalticRIM, RESQU2, Baltic Game Industry, EcoDesign Circle and GoSmart BSR!
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