The upcoming Game Developers Conference (GDC), taking place from 18-22 March in San Francisco, USA, will feature a record number of 21 Belgian companies.
For the first time, this delegation incorporates five firms from Belgium’s capital, Brussels. The GDC represents one of the leading professional trade fairs for the video game industry, drawing nearly 30,000 visitors each year.
Although not widely known to the general public, the GDC remains unmissable for enterprises specialising in video gaming. Despite recent waves of job cuts that have put major studios under stress since the year’s start, the video game sector continues to grow, outweighing the combined industries of music and cinema.
In California, major studios and publishers – including Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Ubisoft, and Take-Two – will be present alongside tech heavyweights such as Amazon, Meta, Google, and Unity. “It’s crucial to showcase our talent and companies,” emphasises Guy Vanpaesschen, Digital Sector Representative at Wallonia’s Foreign Investment and Export Agency (Awex).
Among the 21 Belgian enterprises travelling across the Atlantic for the five-day event, nine are Walloon, seven Flemish, and five from Brussels. Some firms will present their own games, others will exhibit their technical prowess, or aim to forge partnerships for growth.
Awex also intends to promote the Walloon Region at the GDC, which it has been attending since 2012, hoping to attract foreign studios. This effort is partially enabled by the "gaming tax shelter" established last year. Vanpaesschen recalled that the Brazilian studio Mito Games opened offices in Wallonia last year. He said: "We also aid Belgian studios in locating publishers."
Moreover, Awex aims to leverage its experience and history at the GDC, along with its partnership with the Walloon Video Game Association (Walga), to secure a prominent spot at this international fair. Awex also noted that the recent success of Belgian studio Larian’s “Baldur’s Gate 3”, crowned Game of the Year at the last Game Awards, casts a highly favourable light on Belgium.
