As well as being famous for beer, chocolate and waffles, Belgium is now also a hotbed of computer game talent.
Belgian designers have made a strong name for themselves in the gaming industry and their work will be rewarded later this month at the Belgian Game Awards (BGA) at La Sucrerie concert hall in Wavre.
The event on 23 June will see video games such as Midnight Protocol, Spookware, Ghost on the Shore, You Suck at Parking and Please, Touch the Artwork vying for the top prize of Best Belgian Game of the Year.
Other prizes will be awarded for the best game made by students, audience prize, e-sport game, graphics, soundtrack, scenario, and the best "applied" game (i.e. a video game for cultural, artistic or educational purposes), among others. There are also prizes for the most promising studio and the best video game studio overall.
While the talent pool is impressive for a country the size of Belgium, the money generated by people playing homegrown games is astounding. In economic terms, Belgium's gaming industry had a total economic value of €582 million last year, according to figures released by BelgianGames, an umbrella organisation representing the sector.
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While the sector's value shrank slightly by 3% from its peak in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, it grew by 10% compared to pre-pandemic levels. This increase during the pandemic was a result of more people buying and playing games during periods of confinement.
Research conducted by the industry federation also revealed information about Belgian gamers' habits last year. Football game FIFA appears twice in the top five best-selling PC and video games, with FIFA 23 in first place and FIFA 22 still ranking fifth.
Counting only physical video game sales (i.e not through online platforms) the top five best-selling games include three Nintendo Switch exclusive titles: Pokémon Legends Arceus, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Nintendo Switch Sports.
In addition, there were 148 million mobile game downloads in Belgium in 2022 – one million more than in 2021.
