Charleroi Metropolitan Area, a Walloon video game industry hub
Whether you are a fan of video games, dreaming of a career in this fast-growing sector or have never even held a controller in your hand, this article will help you discover the many facets and opportunities of this sector. The Charleroi Metropolitan Area is undoubtedly one of the hippest regions in the world.
What exactly does the video game industry entail? Apart from the mere joy of playing, the sector represents a much wider social and economic reality, which encompasses a wide range of commercial, artistic and technical activities: from the design and creation, the production and marketing of games to the organisation of E-sport events where players and spectators attend video game competitions on consoles or computers in person and/or online. The broadcasting of these events, as well as the presentation of new games, accounts for the lion’s share of streaming content on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch, which was originally created for E-Sport tournaments.
A sector riding high
In 2022, the gaming industry effected over 200 billion dollars in global turnover, which is more than the world of cinema and music combined, with double-digit growth expected in the years ahead. This is true for the world stage, but also for Belgium, where our studios are expected to generate record sales in 2023 that are well in excess of the 85 million euros earned in 2022.
In Wallonia, the industry is represented by WALGA (non-profit organisation), authorised and supported by the Walloon Region to develop the local eco system. The action plan is to bring together players from the worlds of education, business and public bodies involved in video games in 4 centres: Mons, Namur, Liège, and Charleroi. In Charleroi, Charleroi Entreprendre plays a role in supporting project leaders in synergy with WALGA’s sector expertise.
The Walloon Region and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation also provide funding to create new games, having invested over 5 million euros since last year. The extension of the Audio-visual Tax Shelter to video games (based on the same principle as the one that underpins support to cinema and the performing arts), which came into force at the beginning of this year, also promotes the establishment of new Belgian and international development studios. In Charleroi, there is Maracas Studio, which is developing two original games with a team of around ten people, and Mito Games, a branch of a Brazilian studio recently set up at WALGA’s new specialist coworking space in the Charleroi Metropolitan Area.
A wide variety of jobs
As Belgian companies in the industry are growing in terms of sales, they also offer excellent employment prospects. In 2022, no fewer than 1,085 people will be working in the industry in Belgium. The pay of in-house (salaried) and external (freelance) staff accounts for 90% of the average game’s production budget, which means public support has a direct impact on local job creation. But what kind of jobs are we talking about? These are extremely varied, as they involve both the production of the games – with jobs for game designers, graphic designers, animators, developers, project managers, producers, studio directors, etc. – and the marketing of games, which requires skills in marketing, communication, and sales.
Other jobs linked to E-sports have also emerged, such as those of managers, trainers, tournament organisers, streamers, and casters (commentators on matches broadcast via streaming). As an aside, it is worth pointing out that even though E-sports will not be included in the Olympic Games programme any day soon, the first Olympic E-sports Week was held in Singapore last June, attracting 20,000 spectators who came to watch 131 players from 64 countries battle it out. At the next Olympics in Paris in 2024, as one of the leading nations in video game competitions, France will be showcasing this discipline.
Quai10 – a unique place in Belgium
The Charleroi Metropolitan Area has long understood the importance of video games. As early as January 2017, Quai10 expanded its activities to include video games. This cultural centre for animated and interactive images approaches the subject from a different angle, one that has never been seen before in Belgium, with the Espace jeu vidéo (video games area). This is an exhibition space where people get to discover a new selection of games every two months, selected for their message, originality, evocative power, accessibility, and user-friendliness. The Centre also organises educational workshops.
Practical, cooperative, and fun teaching methods
These workshops, which last between 1.5 and 2 hours, welcome groups of up to 24 young people from schools, associations or youth centres, and deal with highly educational topics such as democracy, raising awareness of ecology through video games, creating and understanding artificial intelligence, building and exploring a narrative framework, developing collaboration and collective intelligence, and using games as a starting point for philosophising… In a very concrete way, participants also learn about the various jobs available in the gaming industry and about the kind of programming softwares used to create video games.
From games to events
At first glance, Quai10 is not a place dedicated to the creation of video games. However, that does not stop them from hosting artistic residencies for creators who use their talents in the world of digital arts in the broadest sense, whose development tools are the engines that drive video games. This was the case for 7 years with the creative Dirty Monitor studio, an internationally renowned company based in the Charleroi Metropolitan Area operating in the video mapping field, which frequently works with big names in the events industry to create live performances, installations, inaugurations, festive evenings and other shows. All the more reason to discover yet another facet of this decidedly polymorphous sector! The premises on the third floor of Quai 10 are currently managed by WALGA (non-profit organisation), which function as a coworking space for young video game designers, offering support in setting up and developing their studios. A space is currently being fitted out with some ten workstations with equipment for professional gamers and accessible to gamers, as well as local teams. In addition to these facilities, a professional streaming studio is to be put in place to professionalise the activities of amateurs from around the region, who will benefit from specific support and training. The second floor is home to the XR Academy, managed by Technocité, which will train future workers and creators in sectors that use immersive and 3D technologies created using video game engines.
Meet & Build, a major international conference in the Charleroi Metropolitan Area
Alongside these numerous activities, Quai10 also regularly hosts events such as the recent 8th edition of Meet & Build, which took place on 26th, 27th and 28th October and attracted over 500 participants. Born out of Charleroi’s desire to promote the video game sector, its creators and local eco systems, this B2B event, which started last year, offers three days of meetings and conferences among professionals and students from Wallonia, Belgium, Europe and beyond.
The M+B 2023 schedule of events
The 2023 edition of Meet & Build was a great opportunity to share experiences and knowledge on topics as varied as the state of the industry, opportunities for collaboration, finding internships for students, etc. Business meetings were also held with around twenty international publishers as well as the main Belgian public and private investment organisations.
The event also included more than twenty conferences and panel discussions with speakers from every corner of the globe (Albania, Germany, Belgium, France, Japan, Central African Republic, United Kingdom, Ukraine, etc.), around four topics: art and creativity, tech and production, business and marketing, culture, and society.
USEFUL DETAILS
- Quai10 – 10 Quai Arthur Rimbaud, 6000 Charleroi – 071 31 71 47 – info@quai10.be
- Free gaming space from 13:00 to 17:30 on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays.
- Contact and educational workshop bookings: reservationejv@quai10.be
- Coworking, E-Sport and video streaming studio: contact@walga.be