1. There’s massive international market potential
Belgium has a population of little over 11 million people, around 6 million of which live in Flanders. But don’t let population size fool you, the local gaming market is comparatively big. According to marketing intelligence agency Newzo, Belgium is home to 4.2 million active gamers, who will spend an estimated USD 332 million on gaming in 2018. As such, the country ranks #31 on the list of the world’s largest games markets.
Flanders is where the lion’s share of the gaming action in Belgium takes place. Published by imec, the region’s strategic research center for nanotech and digital innovation, the 2017 Digimeter report reveals that:
- nearly 50% of Flanders’ population plays digital games at least once per month, half of which report gaming on a daily basis;
- a quarter of the gamers in the region can be called ‘frequent gamers’, which means they game at least 1 hour a day;
- a variety of devices are used for gaming in Flanders, the most popular being mobile (29%), desktop (24%), tablet (18%) and TV-connected console (13%).
While this domestic market of loyal gamers is impressive considering Belgium’s small size, it’s the country’s export capacities that truly stand out. As Belgium’s northern region, Flanders is part of the world’s 3rd-most open economy according to the 2017 KOF Index of Globalization. It should therefore come as no surprise that game studios in Flanders achieve export figures of up to 99% of their total revenues, utilizing the local economic infrastructure for international trade to the fullest.