WOMEN IN GAMES GUIDE HIGHLIGHTED IN VGA’S KEY FACTS
Video Games Europe and the European Game Developers Forum have recently published this year’s Key Facts – a picture of Europe’s video games sector.
Compiled with data provided by Ipsos Mori and GSD, as well as by VGE and EGDF members, the report reveals that the number of women in the games workforce has increased by 7.4% since last year’s report. However, women still only represent 22 per cent of all those working in games across Europe.
As a Women in Games Corporate Ambassador, the VGA is committed to working with our organisation in our shared goal of supporting women and girls in the gaming ecosystem. VGA has been a strong advocate of the Women in Games Guide: Building A Fair Playing Field, and has featured the publication within the Diversity section of its Key Facts report.
Other key highlights of the report include:
- 76% of video game players in Europe are adults and the average age is 31.3
- 53% of Europeans play video games
- The overall workforce is up 12% year-on-year from 98,000 to 110,000
- Revenue has increased by 5% to Euro 24.5 billion
- This year, PEGI turned 20
Video Games Europe Chair Olaf Coenen said: “The video games industry continues to be one of Europe’s largest and fastest-growing creative sectors. Not only do we make an essential contribution to Europe’s digital economy, both in terms of revenue and providing new skilled job opportunities, but our fun and engaging storytelling brings people together, inspires innovative ways of learning, and increasingly serves as virtual spaces for new experiences.
“As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of PEGI, the industry’s age-rating system that has been a trailblazer for minor protection guidance in Europe and beyond, we’re proud to continue to share our unique combination of creativity and ground-breaking technology with our players and our community.”
EGDF President Hendrik Lesser offered: “There are many things to celebrate this year: the continued creative brilliance of all our studios and, indeed, how there have never been more employees in our sector in Europe than there are today.
“It is exciting to see our workforce continue to grow and especially encouraging to see a 7.4% increase in women working in the sector. In this 2023 European Year of Skills, however, Europe must continue to address its serious digital skills gap which is preventing our industry from fully achieving its potential and making it harder and harder for our sector to recruit and retain home-grown talent. This will be a significant issue for our sector in the near future and a missed opportunity for Europe as a whole if the problem is not addressed.”
You can read more about the VGA’s engagements in 2022/2023: