Creatives, public and professionals in the game industry of Bulgaria

In 2022, the size of the video game industry in Europe had exploded (DGCOMM 2023, T. Wijman 2023). Additionally, a 2024 report indicates growth in the ‘in-game and in-app purchases’ with a revenue increase of about 6 % to 4.7 billion euros in Germany. It also shows a trend for ‘the playing time of a game to be extended or individualised through additional content’ that illustrates well the way creativity is essential both to the developers and the public.

 

Although the rising region of South East European (SEE) countries is known for game development since the late 1990s, very scarce data and only partial research was available on the Bulgarian games’ scene. Therefore, the national survey "Humans at Play: Creators and Users” was intended to fill this gap. It is unique as based on primary data obtained from over 1300 people in the Bulgarian ecosystem inhabited by game professionals, consumers (audiences) and creatives from the broader cultural and creative sectors. It interprets the industry appeal in view of gender, cross-innovation, industry awards and the motivation to work on games. As the industry continues to evolve, focus on a diversification of talent; skills; types of games as well as business models is needed. 

 

 

The 2022 - 2023 project "Humans at Play: Creators and Users” and the continued research efforts of Intercultura Consult were conducted in collaboration with over 20 partners from the academic, creative and the industry sectors in Bulgaria and the SEE region. Key aspects were additionally researched in 2024 to validate key findings and highlight the EU comparative dimensions. 

 

Although Bulgarian composers have been recognised and awarded for music and songs for well-known videogames, the study discovered that almost half of the respondents from the general public were unaware of (any aspect of) game creation in Bulgaria. Reasons for this might be that by now no organization officially represents game developers in Bulgaria and that studios underestimate public promotion.

 

Therefore, the ambition of the "Humans at Play” project was to analyse the position of the game industry in view of its current standing in the creative ecosystem of Bulgaria. It examined the ecosystem from the viewpoints of the public and of professionals from gaming as well as the broader field of arts and culture. The wider relevance of its findings resonates with the 2023 European Council’s Conclusions on enhancing the cultural and creative dimension of the European video games sector. 

 

 

The initial research steps outlined the regional context of the rapidly growing games industry in the Balkans. Game developers’ associations were reporting 17% growth in 2022 in Romania, while 70% of the companies in Serbia focused on team expansion. Set against these numbers, very scarce data and only partial research was available on the 20+ years old Bulgarian scene. The 2021 foundation study "The Bulgarian Gaming Industry: An Overview of Business and Social Impact in The Context of Europe" framed the research focus on humans as the creative/tech factor driving the industry: people who are already part of the industry; the players and audience as well as those who deliver formal and informal education on video games. Not of least importance, research steps addressed creative professionals from diverse artistic practices. The analysis has a specific focus on young people and women to validate European and locally relevant policy recommendations.

 

 

 

The economic potential of the industry was analysed from the perspective of its appeal as a field for professional development, attracting people of different ages, gender, experience and also building on a wider skill base. Three anonymous, online surveys and three focus groups (two physical, one online) served to establish contact with the target groups. This methodology was supported in 2024 by an in-depth focus group analysing the women involved in the game industry. (See Figure 1) 

 

Over 1,300 participants took part in the online surveys. They elaborated on their interest in video games as a product as well as an opportunity for professional development. There was also assessment of what they consider to be key game development skills and experience in gaining relevant creative and technical skills. To achieve a comprehensive view of the industry and its potential, the project partnered with diverse organizations - companies from the video games industry (including some that ceased to exist due to economic realities at the time), industry events’ organizers, researchers, and representatives of the cultural sector.

 

 

There were four skill sets established after internal consultation with project partners and aligned to other official sources such as the Finnish Game badges competence map, currently being updated in an EU project "Gamebadges - Skill Mapping and Micro-Credentials for the Game Industry EU" which involves Intercultura Consult, as well as the mapping of the 2022 Creative Assembly "Games Industry Careers”.  

 

 

These are the skills for each set as illustrated in Figure 2:

 

Data was collected from each target group, so the current industry profile presented in this summary is paired among the groups.

 

 

Detailed data analysis demonstrates a shared understanding across the three target groups that creative and technical skills are interlaced in the field of video games. The most widely represented professions in Bulgaria were found to relate to visual arts and animation (creative) skills (44.83% of the surveyed respondents) followed by programming among the technical skills set (28.74%). 

 

Game design is the skill that professionals have defined as the cornerstone among the game development skills, and it is recognised as vital by 81% of the creatives who responded to the survey. (See Figure3)

 

Finally, a less prominent, yet vital skills set are the business management and marketing skills (60% of the respondents across the groups recognise this skill set). These skills are essential when it comes to European games surfacing in a landscape where thousands of new games are released daily and on cross-platform games which is the new trend (Statista 2024; Hiltuten 2024:35).

 

 

 

A wide range of artists, creatives, cultural heritage and cultural management professionals were an important target group for the study to map the creative ecosystem which supports skills development. Indeed, 80% of them signalled they possess transferable skills applicable to game creation. Detailed data indicated that 61.90% of them already work with technologies such as 3D mapping, AR, VR and gamification. 

 

 

Additionally, 26.67% express interest in developing tech skills (See Figure 4). The barriers to cross-pollination identified underline limited knowledge of the industry and contacts with game specialists as well insufficient financial means to dive into these skills. Only 11.43% of the respondents manifest disinterest in any game-related prospect.

 

Thus, there is clearly need for closer synergies between organizations from the different fields of the creative sector and the creative industries in view of skills cross-pollination. Several of the best ways are ‘incubators, FabLabs, coworking spaces’ (Hiltuten K. et al. 2024). Since the region of South East Europe, and Bulgaria particularly, is not very prominent in supporting these forms of ‘innovation’, this has motivated the regional, EU funded Collab 4 HySust CCI three year partnership piloting incubation for CCIs in the SEE region", in which Intercultura Consult is currently engaged. Interim results indicate positive impact on the networked creative ecosystem, an ambition shared by the European games policy summit (NDGC 2024).

 

 

Satisfaction and passion with their work ranked as one of the top factors that motivates people employed in game companies to build a career, including stay in their company and country. The results indicate an intuitive reaction that supports the hypothesis that people who chose this career have often formed a prior positive experience and image of the industry (Figure 5).

 

 

Discussions in the focus groups validated the finding that many young people gain skills informally and, on some occasions, join the industry with very limited formal training. In addition, students tend to get their professional assignments with company projects in the very first year of pursuing Higher Education. This supports the EU vision of micro-credentials as the future being proposed by the Games Badges consortium.

 

One of the major factors contributing to industry growth is the motivation of professionals to develop a career while gaining new skills, but how is the industry recruiting new talent? 

 

 

Motivation is a key factor for the recruitment of new professionals who have not (yet) considered this career choice. Among the general audience, young people particularly, the appeal of the industry was analysed in terms of four important motivation factors (Figure 6):

 

 

 

The study validates key policy recommendations of the 2023 study of the European video games sector and of study "The state of the European game industry and how to unleash its full potential" (Hiltuten K. et al. 2024). Its findings provide insights on the development of the video game industry in general, indicate its potential for Bulgaria within the larger SEE context, also applicable to other regions in Europe. In spite of the sector’s harsh conditions of 2024, economic and industry forecasts signal a need for skilled workers in the gaming industry, specifically for those able to expand on their portfolio of skills sets and in command of technological advances. The cultural sector at large is faced by the same qualified labour demand as it addresses the digital transformations and EU heritage cloud reuse for example. Women and the use of AI are discussed in the upcoming publication of the Humans at Play study. There, the specific advantages that implicitly apply to other countries’ contexts are illustrated: 

 

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