GAMES POLICY SUMMIT: LET’S TALK ABOUT GAMES FOR JOBS, DIGITAL GROWTH, INNOVATION AND EUROPEAN VALUES

The games industry has been subject to policy measures to boost its growth on the basis of culture, innovation and trade for nearly three decades now. What are the important lessons learned from many years of grants, tax subsidies, export promotion and proposed legislation?

Which mistakes should countries and regions with emerging games industries avoid repeating?

The global games industry used to be non cyclical and recession-proof, like much of the entertainment business. System shocks were instead driven by internal factors and it was relatively easy for game developers and publishers to raise huge amounts of capital for expansion and acquisitions.

With higher interest rates, demand returning to pre-pandemic levels and investors cashing in, the industry is now in an investment winter, with studio closures and massive layoffs, in the tens of thousands worldwide.

The current severe contraction in the games industry naturally also presents us with great opportunities. Is this the perfect time to nurture spillover effects into other sectors like health, education, sustainability, climate and defense? Or should we focus on boosting general digital skills growth and innovation? Should we have support instruments tailored for the needs of the games industry? Should we support public-private partnerships for the games sector? Or are existing cultural, R&D and SME support schemes all we really need to maximize quality, innovation and competitiveness? What works and what does not work?

How should these issues influence games industry policy today?

Policy makers from the local, regional, national, Nordic and European levels are seeking our advice on future strategy for games. We welcome industry, academia, government, civil society, finance and others to the discussion!

GAMES POLICY SUMMIT CORE

On 21 May A few short presentations lead and inspire round-table, off-the record discussions on subjects like ecosystem building and support instruments, leading games industry hubs, public equity investment programs and barriers to private investment, existing needs and potential demand from other sectors, as well as sub sector and value-chain targeting to maximize competitiveness. Participation is limited in numbers and by application only. Registration for a Nordic Game conference pass is required.

SUMMIT INTERACTIONS

Short presentations are addressed also to the concurrent GAMES EXEC SUMMIT and GAMES CAPITAL SUMMIT meetings and networking in the breaks is actively stimulated also with their respective participating industry leaders and startup entrepreneurs with VC investors. A closing joint mingle with food and refreshments encourages further inspiring and candid discussions across sectors.

GAMES POLICY SUMMIT DISSEMINATION

The main Nordic Game conference program on Wednesday 22 May has a session is reserved for reporting from EU- and other funded games and games industry research and development projects, as well as presentations from funding bodies open for proposals on research, technology and content development. Summary findings from GAMES CAPITAL SUMMIT are in closing reported in panel format to the full conference audience.

How to join the discussion

If you already have or are planning to purchase a Nordic Game pass, apply to join the Games Policy Summit by clicking here to fill out our application form. It takes about 5 minutes. No attachments or uploads needed.

(https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8oU03GnfK7wzQs2J-aB1_gTcmCl0kTIJdf0lp3oJCX1fytw/viewform)

About the Nordic Game conference

Nordic Game is the leading games conference in Europe. Gathering thousands of industry professionals in the spring and autumn each year, Nordic Game is the one and only “home turf” meeting place for the highly successful game developers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Swede

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