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MAIN FACTS & FIGURES 2015
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This factsheet presents an overview of the economic development of the Dutch games industry between 2011 and 2015. Research was conducted in the same manner as in 20121 to be able to compare the figures and to provide an insight in the changes in the last few years. A questionnaire was sent to more than 400 companies and returned by 130 companies. Following the presentation of the preliminary results, several industry roundtable discussions were held to further verify and analyze the results.
Definition of the Dutch Game Industry The games industry includes all companies whose core activities include at least one of the following processes in the value chain: the development, production, publication, facilitation and/or electronic distribution of electronic games. This definition entails that a significant part (at least one third) of the company’s turnover and/or strategic focus should be on the development, production, publication, facilitation and/or distribution of electronic games. Note that this current definition excludes companies that are part of the ecosystem but whose core business is not games. Clients, educational institutes, research institutes, marketing companies and the media industry are involved in the games industry but are not seen as being part of the games industry. The Games Monitor further discerns two domains in the games industry: entertainment games and applied games. Entertainment games entail all electronic games that have entertainment as their primary goal. On the other hand, applied games, also referred to as serious games, aim to inform, educate or train end-users. Applied games are developed and distributed in many sectors, including education, health, transport, marketing, and defense.
1. Databases from Control, Dutch Game Garden, Chamber of Commerce and LISA were used to compile a file of all game companies. The data were collated and analyzed by TNO/NEO.
Companies and jobs
Size of companies
The analysis shows a rapid growth in the number of
The average size of a company in the games industry
companies, from 320 in 2011 to 455 in 2015, an increase
is still relatively small: about 7 employees on average
of 42%. The same period also saw a large number of
in a game company (9 in 2012). This can be explained
companies close for business (110), which makes the
by the change in the structure of the games industry
overall growth even more impressive. This 42% growth is
in the Netherlands. Highest growth took place in game
mostly driven by new game developers. Whether these new
development which consists of relatively small-scale
companies will actually succeed in creating a sustainable
companies. The number of small companies in the games
business, or make the difficult transition from a start-up to
industry is rapidly increasing. This huge growth of small-
a scale-up, remains one of the biggest challenges for the
scale companies indicates that start-ups have gained a
Dutch (and European) gaming ecosystem.
dominant role in the industry.
The number of professionals working in the Dutch games
THE NUMBER OF GAME COMPANIES WITH OVER 10 EMPLOYEES ALSO INCREASED FROM 56 IN 2011 TO 65 IN 2015.
industry has grown as well, albeit much slower than the number of companies: from 27302 in 2011 to 3030 in 2015. The annual job growth of 2.6% is above the national average of -0.4% in 2011-2015.
Fig 1. Growth by firm size 2011-2015
163 139 107
Games Monitor 2015 Games Monitor 2012
98
53 33
35
36
22 11
0-1
2-5
6-10
11-25
5
5
26-50
4
3
51-100
101-249
Fig 2. Annual Turnover and profit
%
61,11
Turnover and profit
50%
Profit Annual turnover
The positive worldwide trends are, to some extent, reflected in the developments of the Dutch gaming ecosystem. The analysis reveals that over 60% of Dutch
14,4
7%
4%
16,6
game companies saw a growth in revenues, with an
10%
% 8,89
%
5,56
aggregated turnover of € 155-225 million. However, most profits are modest (up to € 100,000).
no profit
€0100.000
€ 100.000 € 250.000
€ 250.000 € 500.000
11,11%
3%
13,3 %
3,33
€ 500.000 € 1.000.000
more than € 1.000.000
2. A strict deployment of the definition led to a correction of the figures for 2011. Ten companies whose core focus is not video games were deleted. These companies employed 300 people at that time. Therefore the number of employees for 2011 is corrected to 2730.
%
5,56
Entertainment vs applied games A noticeable development is the distribution of growth
There’s almost no specialization in the type of sectors
between ‘entertainment’ and ‘applied’ games. Whereas
and clients the applied game companies work for.
applied games still have a strong foothold in the Dutch
Almost all of the surveyed studios said they were working
games industry (more so than in any other country3),
with clients from all possible sectors. Currently most of
the last couple of years saw a surge in the number of
the projects done by applied game studios are triggered
companies focused on entertainment games. Applied
by client. This will probably shift to a more product-based
games remain an important pillar of the Dutch games
approach, in which companies develop games or IP that
industry. The total number of companies involved in
are applicable and sellable to many clients, and move
applied games grew by 28% to 158 companies.
away from producing ‘one-off’ solutions for individual clients. This seems an important development towards
Fig 3. Number of gamedevelopers by specialization in 2011 and 2015, based on number of companies
Entertainment games
160 119 83
Games Monitor 2015 Games Monitor 2012
95
sustainability.
Dutch entertainment companies that were successful in the last couple of years are relatively large (11 to 25
36
Entertainment
Aplied
28
Both
37
32
12
Unknown
people). Our data indicates an influx of small studios with modest budgets and ambition.
Assets
Applied games
It is hardly a surprise that these new studios struggle to keep afloat. Based on the survey and additional data from sources like SteamSpy, we can conclude that the majority of start-ups have a low turnover and make little to no
Within the period 2011-2015 the market has not been as
profit. Another point of concern is the hit-driven nature of
calm as the end result may suggest. Most applied game
the games business. It is difficult to score a hit, but once a
studios indicated a sharp decline in clients in 2013 and
studio has one, it proves even more difficult to capitalize
specifically in 2014. The magnitude of this decline was
on that. With international development- and marketing
so severe that the continuity of some dedicated applied
budgets for games on the rise, a different attitude towards
game studios was threatened. Some of these companies
marketing and sales is necessary.
scaled down in workforce, leading to layoffs. Table 1: number of game students
In 2015 the number of tender requests started to rise again sharply. Some of the companies indicated having more interested clients than they could take on. Considering the recent experiences, some companies chose not to increase their workforce in order to cope with the increased number of orders. Instead they opted to consolidate and minimize risks over an increase in profits (and a potential greater risk).
Outflow of game students by knowledge institution
Minors and Full-time majors and masters courses
Total
Research university
189
257
446
University of Applied Science / higher vocational education
433
391
824
Vocational education
369
Total
991
Total outflow of game students
733
A NOTICEABLE TREND AMONG THE LARGER APPLIED GAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIOS IS PARTNERING FOR EXAMPLE ON MARKETING AND PROMOTION, BUT ALSO IN FINDING STRATEGIC ALLIANCES AND FUNDING.
3. Hard evidence is difficult to find, but several talks with game representatives from other countries confirm this notion.
369 648
1639 733
European comparison The trends for the Dutch games industry have been compared to European developments4. Many similarities between most European countries can be seen:
Game education
The games industry consists mainly of micro (<10 FTE) and small (<50 FTE) companies
Basically all of them report that percentage to be above 80-85%
In comparison to the 2012 Games Monitor , the number
of full-time game programs has increased by 25% from 35 to 44. Next to dedicated programs, many knowledge
between 2010 and 2013
institutions also offer a range of game minors and single courses to their students. These minors and courses are
At least half of game development studios have a turnover of <100k euro
significant increase of the total number of game-related minors and courses from 9 (2012) to 22 in 2015.
Strong growth in new studios: at least half of game development studios are younger than 5 years
part of Communication and Media Design, Computer Science, or Technical programs. This has resulted in a
A huge uptake is seen in iOS focused developers
There is a Top 10 or Top 20 of large and commercially successful studios
These 10 to 20 studios are responsible for at least 50, and in some cases up to 80% of the entire workforce
THE ANNUAL OUTFLOW OF ALL GAME STUDENTS HAS GROWN TO APPROXIMATELY 1600.
Difference between The Netherlands and most other European countries:
If one takes into account that an estimated 70% of
Heavy focus on applied games (almost 50%)
students from vocational education continue their studies
Lack of top 20 or top 10 of large and
at a university of applied science, the outflow of core
successful studios
game students is 733.
Significantly smaller turnover per employee (63k, depending on used method, European
Preliminary analysis of alumni show that 30% have found
average is somewhere between 150 and 200k,
a job in the games industry, 50% of the alumni work in the
Sweden and Finland approximately 400k euro)
creative industries (media companies, advertising industry,
Many game students
etc.), and the remaining 20% of the full-time alumni have found jobs outside the creative industry (software
To summarize, the Dutch games industry has seen a
companies, healthcare, etc.).
rapid growth with an increase of 42%. Entertainment and applied games both remain important in the industry,
Both the quantity and the quality of students has
with a steady growth. Partnerships among applied
been discussed with the industry. The quality of game
game companies are created in order to diminish risk.
education has been disputed. Some believe that the
Challenges facing the industry also remain similar to those
quality of game education is below average, but there
that were there in 2102 such as a lack of funding and
are of course large differences between institutions.
knowledge concerning entrepreneurship and business
A mismatch between industry needs and educational
models, scalability and sustainability and robustness of
levels has been ascertained. Some game studios are
start-ups. Large studios are few and far between but still
experiencing difficulties finding qualified interns/
remain the heavy hitters in the industry, encompassing the
employees and therefore are forced to look abroad.
majority of the workforce. An increase in the number of
Most experts agree that a business-oriented course
game courses and programs has not seen a great increase
should be added to game majors/masters. More
in the type of skills the job market needs. Bridging the gap
knowledge on entrepreneurship is needed.
between industry and education remains a challenge.
4. SOURCES: Nesta (2013), BUI (2013), Spanish Association for the Game and Entertainment Software Development and Publishing Industry (2013), Game Developer Index Sweden (2015), Baromètre du jeu vidÊo en France (2015), Interactive Denmark (ID), EGDF, Neogames Report Finland (2015), Control, TNO/CBS/LISA
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