Belgium's Game Industry 2022

The document presents findings from the 2022 annual survey of Belgium's video game industry, conducted by the Belgian Games associations and published by games.brussels in August 2023. Its central argument is that Belgium's game sector grew substantially in 2022 but that Brussels, despite being the capital of Europe, is underperforming relative to its potential and to other European capitals. The piece frames this as an "untapped potential" story focused on the capital's role within the national industry.

The headline figures show the Belgian sector expanding by 21%, from 110 active video game companies in the previous year to 133 in 2022. Those companies generated a combined turnover of €85 million and employed as many as 1,085 professionals. Regionally, Flanders dominates with 67% of the country's companies and 82% of national turnover. Wallonia rose from 22 to 28 companies over the year, while Brussels hosts 15 companies with a combined turnover of €3 million.

The document attributes Brussels' lag to several factors. It notes that the region historically lacked structures to shape its industry, a gap partly addressed by the creation of games.brussels, the play.brussels initiative, and the games.brussels SPACE coworking facility. It also points out that Brussels, unlike other Belgian regions, receives no dedicated financial support for video game development, which the authors identify as a key limitation on the region's growth.