Serbia’s top 15 most successful games companies cleared 175 million euro ($186 million) in combined revenue during 2023 according to the Serbian Games Association. That’s an increase in combined revenue of 17% year-on-year.
And, in another major plus, Serbia appears to have – so far – dodged the lay-offs that are plaguing the rest of the global games industry. “Although the global gaming industry was marked by instability in 2023, we are pleased that there were no major closures of studios or projects in Serbia,” the Association said in their annual gaming industry report prepared in cooperation with the PwC Serbia team.
While 51 new games were published from the region in 2022, that figure was down to 30 for 2023. However the report states that currently there are 38 teams on the books developing a total of 81 games, marking a significant increase in output.
Correspondingly the number of employees working in games within the region has increased 98% to an estimated 4,300 in 2023. 48% of this total being foreign nationals taking on new roles within Serbia.
Other key points include:
- Games produced in Serbia have been bought or downloaded over a 100 million times
- A record number of 475 new positions will be opened this year
- 28% of employees are women
- 57% are developing original IP
- There are now 150 companies, studios, and teams within the country
Serbian success
Of the 30 games published from the region, the top three markets for revenue proved to be the US, the European Union, and the UK.
“The explanation for such growth is simple – a large number of gaming professionals and their families from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus moved to Serbia last year. Some of the leading global companies now have their largest representations in Serbia – Wargaming, Playrix, and Sperasoft are some of them,” according to the report.
Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis are the main development zones within the country and while the total number of companies is now 150 it’s thought that around a third of these also have offices outside Serbia.
