The video game industry continues to grow steadily in Spain. Video games turnover stood at 1.8 billion euros in 2021, with an audience of over 18 million users in Spain (source: Yearbook 2021 Spanish Videogames Association).
The Community of Madrid supports the video game sector and is aware of the importance of a sector that accounts for 9.6% of the audiovisual production sector (cinema, video, television and music) and which is home to 28% of Spanish companies in the sector in the region.
Measures to promote the development of the sector include aid for R&D&I projects and start-ups, as well as access to financing for technology-based SMEs. The Community also offers a wide range of training related to programming and development.
The Spanish Regional Department of Culture, Tourism and Sport develops initiatives such as grants for the creation and development of video game projects, which are aimed at creative activities for development of the project (creation, design, programming) in its prototype phase. Through its aim to encourage new original projects, it also promotes the recreational event Game Jam Madrid Crea in collaboration with DEV (Spanish Development of Video Games), in which participants create games related to historical, cultural or touristic aspects of Madrid.
The Community of Madrid also supports industry events such as Madrid Games Week, the video game and electronic leisure fair organised by IFEMA and the Spanish Video Game Association (AEVI).
Madrid City Council has recently promoted creation of the Madrid Videogame Cluster. Comprised of 57 entities, it is made up of large companies, developers and teams from the sector, to promote the video game industry and encourage the creation of new companies and jobs. The project is currently developing the Videogame Campus at the Casa de Campo Exhibition Centre, with the aim of becoming a meeting point and nerve centre for the industry in Spain and Europe.
Madrid hosts the headquarters of representative entities of the national and international industry established in Spain. DEV (Spanish Video game development) is an association that brings together producers and developers of video games and entertainment software. AEVI (Spanish Video game Association) is an association that brings together more than 70 developers, distributors, video game retailers, e-sports leagues and academic centres.
Together with the sector’s associative network, the Games from Spain brand of ICEX Spain Export and Investment offers relevant information on who's who in the sector, with data on games developed in Spain and companies.
