The Slovak gaming industry experienced a slight downturn for the first time in 2022. Its total turnover dropped from EUR 80 million in 2021 to EUR 77.1 million. There are currently 1,080 creators in 66 game companies, a number comparable to the previous year.

According to statistics from the Slovak Game Developers Association, key indicators such as turnover and the number of employees in the Slovak video game industry are declining after a pandemic growth spurt, with the current stagnation comparable to the trend in the global gaming market.

In 2022, game developers in Slovakia achieved a turnover of €77.1 million, with the top 10% of companies contributing €65.3 million to the total turnover. Compared to the previous year, the share of the top-performing companies' turnover relative to the rest has shrunk by only around 2%. Thus, the turnover of medium-sized and small businesses in this segment continues to grow similarly.

In our territory, over 66 companies are professionally involved in game development, the largest of which has long remained the Bratislava-based Pixel Federation studio. Other large companies include Bratislava-based Superscale, PowerPlay Studio, QORPO, or Nine Rocks Games, belonging to one of the world's largest game publishers, THQ Nordic. The biggest companies in Košice are Inlogic Software and Games Farm. Up to 65% of all companies are concentrated in Bratislava and its surroundings, while 30% are based in Košice and surrounding areas.

The statistics further state that domestic developers released as many as 49 of their own games in 2022. Furthermore, 168 other projects were created in the form of cooperation with another entity, and a total of 282 upcoming games are actively being developed. Companies are primarily focused on the PC platform (72.7%), but there is also a significant presence of games released on mobile devices (31.8%). Most studios self-publish their games without the help of international publishers and finance their development from their own resources (65.2%) or through public funding (37.9%).

The companies currently employ 1,080 professional developers, of which 19% are women and 9% are international developers. Programmers, game designers, graphic designers and animators are among the most in-demand and hardest-to-fill jobs in the video game industry in Slovakia.

ABOUT SGDA
The aim of the Slovak Game Developers Association (SGDA) is to shape an attractive environment and improve conditions for game development in Slovakia, to support game developers and game startups, to educate and develop talent and to educate the professionals and general public in the field of digital game development. For more information visit: www.sgda.sk

Contact
Maroš Brojo (SGDA General Manager)
maros.brojo@sgda.sk