Belgian gaming sector turnover increases by almost a fifth to 708m euros
The economic value of the gaming sector in Belgium increased by 21.8 per cent last year, reaching 708 million euros, De Tijd reported on Tuesday morning. The Video Games Federation Belgium (VGFB) calculates the value based on consumer sales and the worldwide turnover of games companies.
"The significant increase is largely due to the explosion in sales of PlayStation 5 consoles," said David Verbruggen, general manager of the VGFB. These game consoles from Japanese company Sony were not readily available in 2022 due to a chip shortage. The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console last year.
In addition to console sales, the 708 million euros also include the sales of games, subscriptions and hardware, as well as the worldwide sales of video games of Belgian origin. In-game advertising and the sale of merchandise and PC hardware are not included in the calculation.
As the turnover figures refer to 2022, the global sales of the successful game Baldur's Gate 3, developed by Studio Larian in Ghent, are not included. The game was officially released in August 2023. "I estimate the sales of Baldur's Gate 3 at around 20 million copies, worth more than 1.2 billion euros," says Verbruggen.
EA Sports FC 24 - formerly known as FIFA - was the best-selling console game last year, while Diablo IV was the best-selling PC game. Candy Crush Saga was again the top-selling mobile game.
© BELGA PHOTO BRUNO FAHY BRUNO FAHY
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