One million people play video games in our archipelago. Behind the screens, however, there is a much less known reality: 44 active studios, 17 specialized training centers and more than 220 direct jobs linked to video game development. These are figures that depict an industry that is still incipient, but which has undergone a considerable transformation in just a few years. Video Game and Gamer Day, celebrated this Saturday, August 29, thus serves to look beyond the player and focus on those who make it possible for a video game to exist.
“Just six years ago, we were talking about two studios,” explains Emilio Hurtado, Executive Partner & BDD and one of the professionals who has participated in the development of strategic plans for the sector in Spain and the Canary Islands. The growth has been rapid, although Hurtado warns that there is still a long way to go: “We are still talking about a small industry in macro-business terms for the Canary Islands, but with enough economic substance to start generating specialized professional careers.”
The dimension of a sector
The current picture aligns with the evolution the entire country is experiencing. The latest White Paper on Spanish Video Game Development places 820 active studios in Spain, with a turnover of 1,464 million euros in 2024 and 10,508 direct jobs, of which 90% correspond to permanent contracts. The dimension of the phenomenon also explains why talking about video games no longer solely means talking about leisure.
“Working in video games doesn't necessarily mean programming,” points out Hurtado. “A production needs artistic and technical profiles, but also producers, sound specialists, UX/UI, QA, marketing, communication, data analytics, localization, or project management.” And around that core, other activities also appear: esports, events, training, streaming, and content creation. These are different fields, but they are part of the same ecosystem that expands professional possibilities for those who want to turn their hobby into a career. “What’s interesting for a young person celebrating Video Game Day today is precisely understanding that there are dozens of different professions in the industry,” he points out.
Canarias also has a community of players that constitutes an important base for that growth. “The Government estimates that around one million people play video games in Canarias, practically half the population,” points out Hurtado. But playing does not necessarily mean that there is an industry behind it. That is why, in his opinion, Canarias can already speak of an ecosystem, although still in an early stage. “We are in a state of mid-adolescence,” he graphically points out. “The next stage involves getting more medium-sized companies, more private investment, publishers, senior professionals, and companies that want to settle on the islands,” he adds.
Incentives open the door, but are not enough
Canarian taxation appears as one of the elements that have contributed to attracting projects and professionals. But Hurtado believes it would be a mistake to think that incentives can build an industry on their own. “Taxation makes a company look towards Canarias; talent and business decide if the company stays,” he summarizes. The Government of Canarias itself points to the sector's growth and its participation in international markets such as the Tokyo Game Show as part of the strategy to position the archipelago as an international video game development hub. But to consolidate that growth, according to Hurtado, financing, training adapted to the needs of companies, infrastructure, international connections, and the capacity to attract and retain senior profiles are needed.
There is not yet an official consolidated figure that allows us to determine how much the Canarian video game industry invoices. However, there are indicators that allow us to measure its dimension and compare it with the national market. The more than 220 direct jobs in Canarias still represent a small part of the more than 10,500 professionals working in video game development in Spain. But the national data also shows that it is an industry capable of generating stable employment: 90% of contracts in Spanish studios are permanent.
“Can Canarias diversify? Without a doubt. Is it doing so on a macroeconomic scale yet? No,” acknowledges Hurtado. “With 220 direct jobs, we are still talking about an emerging industry, but with upward growth,” adds Hurtado.
For Antonio Cabrera, CEO of A1M Entertainment, one of the keys will precisely be in achieving that small studios can grow. “The real challenge is to get studios to survive, grow, and manage to launch their products,” he explains. In his opinion, the qualitative leap will not come simply when the number of companies increases, but when some of them are capable of having larger teams, developing their own intellectual properties, and leading international projects from the Canary Islands.
A festival to connect the pieces
In that context, the importance of Gran Canaria Experience is also understood, which will be held from September 2 to 6 at the Alisios Shopping Center, bringing together video games, board games, innovation, digital culture, esports, and leisure for all audiences for five days, completely free of charge. For Cabrera, one of the main values of the festival is precisely its ability to bring together in the same space people who usually remain separate. “The gamer discovers who develops video games in the Canary Islands; the student discovers that they can work in them; the studio finds talent, collaborators, funding, and an audience,” he maintains.
The festival expects to exceed 175,000 visitors in its second edition, but Cabrera focuses on something that is not measured solely in tickets: “Its true value lies in how many projects are born, how many professional relationships are generated, how much talent discovers an opportunity.”
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