Gaming Industry in Serbia Records Income and Staff Increase – Combination of Creative and Technical Skills Which Turn a Hobby into a Career

Last year, the Serbian gaming industry realized an income of EUR 120 million and thereby realized a growth of around 20%. This is an industry which employs 2,000 people and which is increasingly attractive to young experts.

As Kristina Jankovic Obucina, Executive Manager of SGA (Serbian Games Association), says for eKapija, what attracts young professionals who choose this industry is that it is an extraordinary combination of creative and technical skills:

– Not just programmers, but also various kinds of digital and traditional artists (modelers, illustrators, animators), but also game designers, experts for user acquisition, business development and HR, work in it. Most also fantasize about the “Holy Grail”, turning their hobby into a career, which is certainly possible here.

She adds that there are challenges too, primarily for startups and smaller teams, because you earn only after you finish a project, that is, after you present the game to the market, and that takes anywhere between six months and two years.

– There are not enough official opportunities for the financing and the obtaining of investments. This, however, is balanced by the somewhat lower costs of the production of mobile games, which are less demanding in technical terms and in terms of the time needed, so this is a great way to get into gaming – points out Jankovic Obucina.

She also reveals that there is currently a great demand for new workers, so it’s a great time to start looking for a job in gaming.

– The scope of the industry’s growth is also shown by our SGA Poslovi platform, where there are around 100 job vacancies at any moment – our interviewee says.



Great demand for games – what are the most successful ones?

Lately, there have been numerous games appearing on a daily basis, but the market is big, so there is always a demand. The gamers are clearly segmented by the genres they prefer (adventure games, sports games, puzzles) and by the platforms they use, so, with a little successful research, the developers can easily find a niche where a well promoted game will reach the gamers.

– In the case of bigger PC or console titles, success is mostly measured by the number of copies sold, and in the case of mobile games, what’s measured is the number of downloads or earnings from the so-called “in-app” sales, that is, transactions within the game itself. Some of our most successful games are Armed Heist by the Nis-based team Sozap, with over 10 million downloads, the games by the Belgrade-based studio Two Desperados have over 30 million downloads, and Top Eleven by Nordeus exceeded the number of 250 million downloads last year, which makes it the most successful mobile sports game in the world – reminds Kristina Jankovic Obucina.

In addition to said successful mobile titles, she also highlights the awarded multimedia game Golf Club: Wasteland, which achieved a great success when it was recently published on all platforms.



– Fans of “core” games can add to their wish list the adventure game Scars Above and the sci-fi app Ripout, two games we are eagerly waiting for. For those who like to set aside a little more time and are nostalgic for simulation games, I also recommend the very well rated game with a medieval setting, Going Medieval – our interviewee says.

From eight to 100 members in three years

SGA recently welcomed its 100th member. They started out three years ago with eight founding members and this, our interviewee believes, is the best indicator of the growth of the industry. They have also launched a new website and they are also continuing to work on projects with an increasingly wide network of partners and friends.

– In the upcoming period, we will focus on providing the most precise support possible to our members, depending on what they need at a given moment, so that we would see even more quality games from Serbia published in the upcoming year – points out Kristina Jankovic Obucina.

Aleksandra Kekic

SGA

Serbian Games Association

Sozap

Two Desperados

Nordeus

Mad Head Games

Kristina Janković Obućina

Serbian gaming industry

gaming

programmers

modelers

illustrators

animators

game designers

marketing experts

experts for user acquisition

experts for business development

games

video games

mobile games

PC games

console games

simulation games

Armed Heist

Top Eleven

Golf Club Wasteland

Scars Above

Ripout

Going Medieval

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