Serbian video games at world’s biggest gaming show in Cologne

For the second time, Serbia has presented itself at the world’s biggest gaming show, Gamescom, held in Cologne from August 20 through 25. Within the leading business conference dedicated to the gaming industry, the Serbian gaming industry showcased its achievements, and its presentation to the global audience was organized by the Serbian Games Association (SGA) and with the support of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS).

For the first time this year, Serbia was present in as many as two parts of the fair. At the stand in the business zone, the representatives of SGA and the company Allcorrect promoted the gaming ecosystem and the service side of the industry. At a special stand, in the most popular consumer part of the fair, five independent gaming teams presented their games, namely Shosha Games, Tricoman Studios, Bohemian Pulp, Studio Bedem and OOX Limited, the CCIS announced.

The presentation focused on affirming top local talents, original games created in Serbia, as well as quality services which could be interesting to global companies.

– For the second year in a row, the CCIS is supporting the participation of Serbian game developers in the biggest world fair, because we have recognized the importance of the gaming industry within the fast-growing IT sector. Participation in the Gamescom fair will enable new networking and the presentation of our companies on the global scene. The potential of the Serbian gaming industry, which is the leading one in the region, is confirmed by the data which say that the 15 biggest local companies in this field achieved an income of EUR 175 million last year, whereas video games produced in Serbia in 2023 were played by over 100 million people worldwide – stated Mihajlo Vesovic, the director of the Sector for Strategic Analyses, Services and Internationalization of the CCIS. He adds that a special value of this industry lies in the fact that it employs experts from various fields which are not directly linked to information technologies, such as psychologists, screenwriters, music and visual artists, designers and many others.

The main objective of the exhibitors was to connect with potential investors and publishers and to showcase the games to the players who could test them on the spot. During the fair, the teams had several dozen meetings, and the stand was visited by thousands of gamers each day.

– After the first day, we had to set a timer on the table and reduce the playing sessions for gamers to 10 minutes. Some queued for more than half an hour to test the games at our stand – said Nikola Soskic, the founder of the studio Shosha Games.

In Cologne, last year, Gamescom had 300,000 visitors from over 110 countries and 1,200 exhibitors from 53 countries. Together with the conferences meant for the gaming industry Gaming Developer Conference in San Francisco and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, this is one of the three key global events for the gaming industry.

– Gamescom is a unique opportunity for us to talk to potential partners in person and to see the gamers’ reactions first-hand. The size of the fair is incredible and the presence at the SGA stand is a good way for us to achieve visibility in one of the most popular halls at the fair – says Borislav Vesnic, the founder of the company Tricoman Studios.

The gaming industry of Serbia employs over 4,300 experts from the widest variety of fields, and this year alone, 475 new employees are needed.

More than a half of all games are original intellectual property, and there are more and more providers of services which are specific to the gaming industry.

– We want to place focus on promoting the successes of our gaming industry in the whole world. That is why, this year as well, we have chosen Gamescom as the most relevant event for creating business opportunities, but also for promotion to the gamers themselves. With the support of the CCIS, we have created a big thing, which is that we are present in as many as two halls of the fair, in the business zone and in the part visited by gamers – said Mihajlo Jovanovic Dzaril, the director of SGA.

Asocijacija Industrije Video Igara Srbije Beograd

Privredna komora Srbije

Shosha games doo Beograd

Tricoman studios doo Novi Sad

Bohemian pulp games doo Novi Sad

Serbian Games Association

SGA

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia

CCIS

Shosha Games

Tricoman Studios

Bohemian Pulp

Studio Bedem

OOX Limited

Borislav Vesnić

Mihailo Vesović

Mihajlo Jovanović Džaril

Nikola Šoškić

gaming show in Cologne

Gamescom