Spain reports and market data
Documents
Libro Blanco del Desarrollo Español de los Videojuegos
The Spanish video game industry represents a high-growth, export-oriented sector that serves as a critical engine for innovation and professional employment.
- The global gaming market had 1.231 billion active players by the end of 2013, representing over half of the world's internet-connected population and 17.5% of the total global population.
- The gamification business is projected for exponential growth, with Markets And Markets estimating a potential business of $5.5 trillion USD by 2018, growing at a 67.1% annual rate between 2013 and 2018.
- The Spanish video game sector increased employment by 29% in 2013, with 65% of contracts being permanent, making it a significant job creator for highly qualified young professionals.
Libro Blanco de los Esports en España
Spain’s esports ecosystem is emerging as a distinct economic sector, yet it remains in an early-stage development phase.
- The Liga de Videojuegos Profesional (LVP) reached 9.7 million unique Twitch viewers in the first half of 2017, marking a 57 percent year-on-year increase.
- Spain's broader video game market generated €1.163 billion in 2016, providing a stable financial foundation for the emerging esports sector.
- Spanish esports teams are transitioning into professional limited companies that employ full technical staff and utilize structured gaming houses.
Videojuegos en España: Impacto Económico y Escenarios Fiscales
Spain’s video-game industry is presented as a dynamic component of the national ICT services sector, whose economic relevance extends far beyond direct production.
- The Spanish video game industry generates a total economic impact of €3.577 billion, with every €1 invested yielding €3 in total economic activity.
- The sector supports 22,828 total jobs when accounting for indirect and induced effects, with each direct industry position sustaining 2.6 additional jobs elsewhere.
- Implementing a tax-credit fiscal policy (Scenario E2) is projected to provide the strongest stimulus, adding €627 million in production and 4,000 full-time jobs to the economy.
Dossier de Prensa AEVI 2016
AEVI was founded in 2014 to unify Spain’s video-game ecosystem and to position the sector as a leading technological and cultural industry.
- The Spanish video-game market generated €996 million in 2014, marking a 6.8% year-over-year growth and establishing Spain as one of the four largest markets in Europe.
- Piracy remains a significant economic challenge, with 240 million illegal downloads and 2 million physical infringements causing an estimated €226 million in lost revenue in 2014.
- The sector served 13 million users in 2014, representing 36% of the population, with players aged 11–64 averaging 5.9 hours of gaming per week.
Estudio Videojuegos y Adultos 2015: España
The study aimed to gauge the penetration of video games among Spanish adults, map the demographic profile of adult gamers, explore attitudes and usage habits, compare adults with and without children, and assess purchase intentions for the 2015 holiday season.
- In 2015, 38.9 percent of Spanish adults played video games, with the highest engagement found in the 18-29 age demographic at 75 percent.
- Gaming habits are gender-split by platform preference: men favor consoles (66.2 percent), while women primarily use smartphones (57.6 percent).
- Habitual gamers, defined as those playing weekly or daily, account for 41.5 percent of the gaming population and are 60 percent male.
Padres y Videojuegos Hoy: España 2014
The research investigates contemporary Spanish parental attitudes toward video gaming, focusing on usage patterns, perceived competence, and consumer behavior during the 2014 holiday season.
- In 2014, 84% of Spanish parents actively played video games and reported feeling equally or more technologically competent than their children.
- 40% of Spanish parents utilized video games as formal educational tools for their children.
- More than 50% of surveyed parents maintained or increased their personal gaming time after becoming parents, primarily driven by the desire for shared family play.
Dossier de Prensa: España 2014
AEVI was created in 2014 to replace aDeSe and to serve as the unified voice of Spain’s video-game ecosystem, encompassing publishers, developers, distributors and related agents.
- AEVI was established in 2014 as the unified industry body representing companies controlling over 90% of Spain’s video game distribution market, including major publishers like Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Ubisoft.
- Spain is a top-five European and top-ten global gaming market with 19 million players, generating €762 million in total consumer spending during 2013.
- The 2013 market revenue comprised €401 million in software, €275 million in hardware, and €86 million in accessories, with physical sales declines slowing to 7%.
Observatorio de Piratería y Hábitos de Consumo de Contenidos Digitales: Primer Semestre de 2011
The study evaluates the evolution of online piracy of paid cultural digital content in Spain, focusing on music, video games, films and books during the first half of 2011 and comparing the results with the same period in 2010.
- In the first half of 2011, the value of pirated digital content in Spain reached €5.229 billion, which is nearly four times the size of the €1.538 billion legal market.
- The weighted average piracy rate for digital content in Spain rose to 77.3% during the first half of 2011, representing a 0.4% year-on-year increase.
- Music piracy accounted for the largest share of losses at €2.746 billion, followed by films at €1.402 billion, books at €0.793 billion, and video games at €0.288 billion.
El Videojugador Español: Perfil, Hábitos e Inquietudes de Nuestros Gamers
The study commissioned by the Spanish Association of Distributors and Publishers of Entertainment Software aims to map the profile, habits and concerns of Spanish video-game players as of 2011, positioning Spain within the broader European market.
- Spain is the fourth-largest video game market in Europe, generating over €1.245 billion in sales during 2010.
- Gaming penetration among Spanish adults stands at 24%, with the 7–34 age demographic representing 45.3% of the population.
- The typical Spanish gamer is 32 years old, with women comprising 40% of the player base aged 15 and older.
Observatorio de Piratería y Hábitos de Consumo de Contenidos Digitales: España
The study quantifies the scale of digital-content piracy in Spain during the first half of 2011 and demonstrates that illicit consumption far exceeds legitimate market activity.
- In the first half of 2011, digital piracy in Spain reached a total value of €5.23 billion, which is nearly four times the €1.54 billion generated by legitimate market sales.
- Music piracy is the most severe sector, with a 98.2% piracy rate accounting for €2.75 billion in lost potential revenue.
- Film piracy accounts for 73.9% of the market, representing a value of €1.40 billion in illicit consumption.
El Futuro del Videojuego: Informe de Resultados (España)
The study set out to explore how Spanish video-game players envision the medium’s evolution, focusing on genre development, social dimensions, technological advances, and the role of online and mobile gaming.
- Gaming is a routine activity for 56% of Spanish players, with a notable gender gap where 65% of men play regularly compared to 42% of women.
- 90% of respondents expect gaming to reach ubiquity across all age groups, including older generations, by 2020.
- 78% of players anticipate a shift toward highly social gaming experiences, predicting that solitary play will become a rarity.
Informe de Resultados: Cómo se proyecta el videojuego del futuro
The study, conducted in May 2010, projects the evolution of video-games through the 2020-25 horizon, arguing that immersive virtual-reality experiences will become the dominant technological driver of the sector.
- Approximately 68% of all game sales are projected to transition to virtual stores or server-based platforms, effectively phasing out physical distribution.
- Immersive virtual reality is identified as the primary technological driver for the industry through the 2020-25 period.
- Network latency is a critical barrier for 53% of moderately hardcore gamers, necessitating a shift toward high-bandwidth, low-latency infrastructure to support immersive content.