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Pocket Gamer Connects heads to Barcelona subsequent month on June third to 4th.
Within the construct as much as the occasion, we have been reaching out to audio system and native firms to get their views on the Barcelona video games hub and wider Spanish sector.
We caught up with Scopely director of operations Néstor Pequeño in regards to the Monopoly Go developer’s vital presence within the nation, the place it employs greater than 1,000 employees.
PocketGamer.biz: How would you assess Spain and Barcelona’s video games scene for the time being?
Néstor Pequeño: Since Scopely arrived in Spain, particularly in Barcelona in 2017 (due to the encouragement of Scopely co-CEO and native Spaniard, Javier Ferreira), we’ve witnessed and proudly been an necessary a part of a outstanding progress within the video video games business throughout the nation.
This has been very true in cellular gaming, the place the Barcelona area has skilled sturdy momentum.
We opened our workplace right here in Barcelona with simply 5 workers and in the present day we now have over 1,000 staff members throughout Spain, with greater than 75% primarily based in Barcelona and the broader Catalonia area.
Barcelona is now our largest hub on this planet with a multidisciplinary staff that develops, designs, markets, and helps video games. One of many key causes Barcelona has grown into our largest location is its potential to draw high professionals from around the globe.
It’s a metropolis and an business the place many nationalities come collectively, fostering creativity, innovation, and variety. The town has an vitality that’s exhausting to match, and makes individuals need to keep, develop and succeed.
We even have a vibrant workplace in Sevilla and distant workers throughout Spain. We’ve been capable of develop so quickly within the area, not simply organically by way of recruiting, but in addition by strategic investments and acquisitions of sport studios throughout the nation.
Scopely acquired Omnidrone video games studio in Barcelona in 2022, GSN Video games, which had an workplace in Barcelona, in 2021, and Genjoy sport studio in Sevilla in 2020. Now, seven years after first planting roots in Spain, we are actually the most important video games firm by each headcount and income within the nation.
What alternatives do you see in Spain and Barcelona’s video games business?
We see numerous thrilling alternatives for the video video games business in Spain and extra exactly in Barcelona. As the worldwide market continues to develop, Barcelona has already established itself as a hub with deep experience in cellular sport improvement.
That mentioned, a lot of this recognition remains to be largely linked to cellular gaming, whereas the console and PC area stays much less developed by comparability.
“Barcelona is now our largest hub on this planet with a multidisciplinary staff that develops, designs, markets, and helps video games.”
Néstor Pequeño
Nevertheless, with the business transferring more and more towards cross-platform experiences, the place gameplay is anticipated to be seamless whatever the gadget, this pattern presents a possibility for each Spain and Barcelona to broaden their expertise pool and capabilities in these areas.
At Scopely, we’ve already taken some necessary steps on this path. Stumble Guys, which initially launched as a mobile-first sport, developed final yr right into a full cross-platform expertise, obtainable on PC and console.
We imagine it is a sturdy instance of the form of alternative that exists right here, not simply to develop, however to be a part of the wave of cross-platform gaming experiences.
And what challenges do you see?
The Spanish video games business is very fragmented, with a lot of small studios. Round two thirds of sport studios in Spain have fewer than 10 workers.
Whereas this indie spirit brings creativity and innovation, it additionally means that only a few firms attain the size required to compete on a world stage.
The restricted entry to sources for almost all of those small studios makes it troublesome for them to develop past the indie stage.
Why do you suppose that Barcelona is such a giant video games hub in Spain?
The success of Barcelona has been capable of appeal to a important mass of video video games studios, tech firms and expert professionals.
It’s residence to Scopely, the most important gaming firm in Spain, but in addition is residence to different main gamers like Socialpoint (Zynga), King, Gameloft, Ubisoft, Riot, amongst many others. This focus has constructed a powerful basis for the business that draws and retains an infinite pool of skilled expertise.
Moreover, Barcelona presents a high quality of life and price benefit in comparison with different worldwide areas.
The interesting way of life makes it simpler to draw and retain artistic professionals, typically at a decrease value of residing, and decrease working prices for firms than in different European cities.
What’s your outlook for the sector? If we converse once more in 5 years, the place do you hope Spain and Barcelona’s video games market to be?
Globally, the video video games market is anticipated to proceed rising steadily, with cellular gaming main the expansion, pushed by new applied sciences, increasing communities, evolving participant habits, and more and more polished gaming experiences.
This optimistic world pattern can solely profit cities like Barcelona, which already has a powerful basis of expertise and business presence, together with organisations like The Spanish Video Sport Affiliation (AEVI), Desarrollo Español de Videojuegos (DEV), and the Catalonian DeviCAT.
What extra would you like for the Spanish and Barcelona video games scene?
One of many challenges our expertise acquisition groups typically face is a expertise hole in some key areas. Addressing this requires each long run options and brief time period methods.
On the long-term aspect, we’re excited once we see universities and coaching centres aligning their curricula with the evolving wants of the business, for example, providing extra specialised programs in sport programming, manufacturing, technical artwork or knowledge analytics.
“Within the short-term, bringing business professionals nearer to training may make an actual distinction.”
Néstor Pequeño
The problem is that the business evolves a lot sooner than most tutorial programmes do. Shortening the difference cycles between instructional content material and actual business calls for would assist foster extra native and younger expertise, higher ready to satisfy the wants of the studios.
Within the short-term, bringing business professionals nearer to training may make an actual distinction. Some programmes are already doing this, however increasing alternatives for professionals to show, mentor, or give visitor lectures may assist bridge the hole extra successfully.
Who do you see as the important thing gamers within the Barcelona video games scene?
With regards to figuring out the important thing gamers in Barcelona, we see Scopely as a number one power in cellular gaming, not simply within the metropolis, however throughout Spain.
Our studio is the most important within the nation, and proper right here is the place we develop a number of the world’s most profitable cellular video games primarily based on each authentic and beloved IPs like Monopoly, Star Trek,and extra.
We’re additionally proud to have our core know-how platform, Playgami, developed and primarily based in Barcelona, delivering distinctive providers that energy all our video games globally. On high of that, our inhouse artistic advertising and company staff produces excellent visible content material that helps us join with gamers around the globe.
That mentioned, we’re very conscious that we’re a part of a much wider and extremely gifted ecosystem.
The presence of different world class firms like King, Zynga, Ubisoft, Digital Legends, and Riot not solely raises the bar, but in addition conjures up us to maintain pushing ahead.
We really feel lucky to develop and collaborate inside such a aggressive surroundings.