Industry
Game development is one of Czechia’s highly successful cultural and creative industries. It is also successful globally and it is an important part of Czech creative exports abroad. Czech games continuously top the sales charts of leading game platforms, on PC, consoles as well as mobile devices.
They have been repeatedly winning numerous industry awards, relating specifically to their artistic and educational qualities (e.g. Amanita Design’s Botanicula won the Excellence in Audio Award at the Annual Independent Games Festival, dubbed the “Oscar of Gaming”.
The long-term international interest in the Czech gaming industry and its competitiveness on the global market is supported by the establishment of several new studios with the support of a strong international partner or owner (e.g. Ashborne Games, Ingame Studios) or the entry of leading international investors into already established Czech companies (e.g. Bohemia Interactive – Tencent, Madfinger Games – Nuverse).
Many of the games are informal ambassadors of Czech culture, featuring elements of Czech history and culture as well as the renowned Czech animation and illustration tradition. The games reflect important contemporary phenomena and social issues, having a strong educational character, and emphasizing the clarity of the message while maintaining original approaches to audio-visual processing. There are also accessible games, e.g. those intended for blind users.
Czech Gaming Industry Overview (based on 2023 data):
- The Czech gaming industry currently employs more than 2,600 people, with turnover exceeding CZK 7.52 billion in 2022 and expected to approach CZK 7.6 billion in 2023.
- More than 98% of revenues are from abroad, making games Czechia’s most significant cultural export elements.
- More than 90% of game development companies are still Czech-owned. The industry is mostly made up of smaller studios with up to 10 employees.
- The gaming industry has doubled in terms of turnover and the number of people working in it over the period of 2007-2023.
- The number of new studios has been slightly increasing, but it is still difficult to find new business partners.
- As a result, studios often need to rely on themselves. Nearly 90% of all Czech game production is distributed and promoted through online services without the support of publishers and distributors.
Data 2023 by Czech Game Developers Association
Expectations for further development and growth of the industry are high, but to achieve them, closer cooperation and support from the state and public sector is needed.
Infrastructure and International Network
The Czech Game Developers Association (2018) has long been committed to the development and support of Czech game developers. Through the Association’s membership in the European Game Developers Federation (EGDF), the rights of the Czech game industry are defended at the European level. The key game development professions have been included in and approved by the National Register of Vocational Qualifications. As a result, state institutions are increasingly recognising the importance of this field as one of the key sectors of the creative industries.
The activities of the Association at the regional level in the Brno area were followed by the establishment of the Game Cluster (2020).
- Czech Game Developers Association – www.gda.cz
- Game Cluster z.s. – www.herniklastr.cz
Awards for games by Czech authors
- Czech Game of the Year Award – ceskahraroku.cz
International game development events in Czechia:
- Game Developers Session Prague – gdsession.com
- Game Access Conference/Connect (Brno) – game-access.com
Games Week
- Czech & Slovak Games Week – gamesweek.cz
Archive of Czech and Slovak games
- VISIONGAME.CZ – visiongame.cz
