“When we launched the Digital Serbia Initiative, we realized that one of the sectors with huge potential for the future of our economy is video games. I went ahead and launched the Serbian Gambling Association (SGA). Two years later, we have more than 80 members. Two recent releases and the many new emerging players prove enough that I was not wrong,” says Nikola Čavić, president and founder of SGA. Last year’s global report Starter genome also presented gaming, alongside blockchain, as one of the two main technology areas in Serbia.
Serbia is home to around 80+ studios and companies operating in the video game industry. And even though the sector has virtually no access to financing, several players have left a large footprint. Nordeus is a self-funded mobile gaming company based in Belgrade, whose popular game Top Eleven has over 220 million registered users and ranks among the global industry leaders. The growth of the video game scene is also visible through relevant acquisitions: 3Lateral, a leading developer of digital animation and creative content, was acquired by Epic Games in 2019, while game studio Eipix , based in Novi Sad, has been acquired by Playrix, one of the largest mobile game publishers. game developers around the world.
“Thanks to this, Serbia is now on the global game development map and I expect to see more acquisitions, but also the creation of more and more local companies that will exploit the knowledge and know-how accumulated by the ecosystem”, is confident Cavic.
The magic sauce: Doing a lot with nothing
“The vast majority of companies here, including studios and startups in the video game sector, are bootstrapped. I think the ability to do a lot with nothing is what makes Serbia an interesting destination for video game development,” says Cavic. As in the entire Southeast European region, in the Balkan country there are no venture capital firms interested and familiar with the industry, and there are also few or no angel investments in this area. In 2018, when the last report on gambling in the country was released, the majority of capital raised came from friends and family, with 60% of companies surveyed seeking capital investment in 2019 to enable growth and expansion. faster development.
The founder of SGA considers the large number of software engineers and artists as another prerequisite for the specialization of the ecosystem in this direction. One of the biggest international successes is also a gaming company – Nordeus, which logically has spinoffs. Additionally, when Epic Games bought 3Lateral, they decided to open a campus in Novi Sad where 300 people will work. Global giant Ubisoft also opened a studio in Belgrade three years ago and already has more than a hundred employees. Eipix also employs around 400 people in Novi Sad.
“In addition to the big global brands, I already see the second wave of local gaming companies arriving and they will be the pillars of the future ecosystem,” adds Cavic. The scene is expected to further mature and change as the government introduced tax incentives in 2019, whereby tech startups, including gaming ones, can pay almost no corporate tax thanks to the generous programs and incentives. Thanks to these incentives, there is a renewed interest among domestic and international investors in Serbian game studios, reads a recent SGA statement.
Overview of the Serbian gaming industry
Covic estimates the size of the local game development market at around €100 million. With 43% of companies generating their entire revenue overseas, the top five markets for games developed in Serbia are the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and China, and the majority studios that participated in the latest SGA report. generate up to €20,000 in annual net profit. There are also outliers with a net profit above 5 million euros.
Rising stars
Alongside the well-known names in the sector, as Cavic pointed out, a new wave of players is arriving. “The ecosystem is maturing and we now have not only the studios but also more and more service and technology providers,” he says. Based on his observations, there are four names that the world will hear more often in the years to come:
Two Desperados is a video game development studio based in Belgrade. His games Woka Woka and Viola’s Quest are no. 1 marble shooting game with over 30 million players.
Demagog Studio creates content for video games, animated videos and music. Its flagship project is the award-winning game presented by Apple Golf Club: Wasteland. The Wasteland license is growing with new games and an animated series in development.
Sozap is an interactive entertainment company that focuses on free games for smartphones and tablets. Sozap is headquartered just outside Stockholm, Sweden, and has an office in Niš, Serbia.
Tummy Games is a small Serbian mobile game company located in the city of Novi Sad and founded in 2016. The first game released by the team is called Tummy Slide. The company specializes in hyper-casual games. At the beginning of 2020, its games were released 10 million downloads.
In about a month, SGA will release its annual gaming industry report which will feature the latest trends and hottest names. Indeed, as the 2020 pandemic boosts the global industry, Serbian video game observers are also optimistic. One of the SGA officials, Kristina Janković, told local publications that over the past few months, the figures for the sale of games, the number of downloads and the sale of consoles have increased in different markets between 30 and 80%. %.
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