In Belgium, the video game sector generated 600 million euros in revenue in 2021
A new study testifies to the good health of the video game sector in Belgium.
The video game sector generated 600 million euros in revenue in 2021. These figures reveal an initial study on the economic weight of the sector in the country carried out by the Belgian Games federation.
The federation’s study looks at the sector as a whole. Namely, sales of consoles and video games, online subscriptions and even micro purchases in games and mobile applications.
Continuous progress
In 2021, the turnover of the video game sector increased by 4%. Specifically, it amounted to 600 million euros. Namely that, already in 2020, the sector had recorded an increase of 11%. It is one of the few sectors to have benefited from life at home, imposed by the coronavirus.
In addition to the expenditure of Belgian players, the study also considers the income generated by Belgian companies in the sector. Thus, for 2021, Belgian companies would have generated 82 million euros in revenue.
Physical purchases stay the course
Still according to the Belgian Games federation, Belgian players still favor the purchase of games on physical media. In figures, the study recorded 58% of physical sales against 42% of digital sales in 2021. By “digital sales”, we must understand purchases made on Steam, the PlayStation Network or even the Microsoft Store.
On the console side, Nintendo dominated Belgian sales last year. The PlayStation 5 takes second place on the podium, followed closely by the Nintendo Switch Lite. The Xbox Series S / X is content with fourth place and the Meta Quest 2 (ex-Oculus Quest 2) with fifth.
“In 2021, a total of 147 million mobile games have been downloaded in Belgium on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store combined”indicates BelgianGames in its study.
In the top 5, we find Pokémon GO at number 1, followed by Brawl Stars, Candy Crush Saga, Roblox and PUBG Mobile: Aftermath.