We are delighted to announce the publication of our first regional video game industry research, including insights into regional activities and comparisons to the national game development context.

We focused on West Brabant (Breda region) and conducted intensive research, setting the baseline for structural research and measurements, including more relevant indicators. 

The lack of national statistics and unique business identifiers for video game developers means that gathering data is a challenging task and we need to work with what is available. We found that analysing the ICT and Creative Industry data gives us a good representation of the games industry. Work is required on a national policy level to improve visibility of Dutch work in this massive international marketplace.

Highlights from the report:

• Despite being a small region of The Netherlands, there are over 30 game development companies with collectively 200+ employees in the region of Breda. 
• Breda game companies are larger than the national average, (7.1 compared to 4.7).
• Companies in the Breda region on average grow faster than in the rest of the country. 
• Companies run from mainly mid-size studios, including studios from international companies. 
• Breda and region houses a broad variety of game related companies including service providers, serious game companies, esports organisations and game related institutes. 
• Over half of the companies were founded before 2019, suggesting good resilience of start-ups. The oldest company in Breda began in 2000!
• Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) ranks top when it comes to the best video game schools in the world. 
• Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) contributes to a large availability of local talent, start-ups, and regional expertise, including supporting internationally acclaimed conferences.
  • Avans and Curio also contribute to the region on a smaller scale.

Companies we identified that contribute to the local ecosystem in our region are (but are not limited to):

If you are a company in the Breda region and are not listed, please contact us to get included. 

Breda Game City Foundation is a non-profit foundation that focuses on promoting the game development industry in Breda and creating a professional, healthy, and creative working environment. An important part of this is gaining insight into the regional ecosystem. We intend these reports to be published on a regular basis, allowing insight into this culturally and economically impactful industry.