The IIDEA-CENSIS report on the economic and social value of video games in Italy was presented today in Rome. The sector is expanding but still needs support to increase its socioeconomic value. In Italy, video game sales reached a value of 2.2 billion euros in 2020, with a growth of 21.9% compared to the previous year. In our territory there are 160 companies operating in the development sector that employ 1,600 employees, of which 79% are under the age of 36. The sector has a turnover of approximately 90 million euros.
The Italian game industry boasts talented professional figures, promotes creativity, innovation, especially compared to other European countries it has ample room for growth. Help could come from public policy in the near future. According to the forecasts of Censis, the turnover of our companies would rise to 357 million euros in 2026 investing 45 million euros in gaming over five years, a sum provided for in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan under the heading of financing digital service platforms for developers and cultural enterprises.
The intervention could generate, over the five years, the creation of 1000 qualified jobs for young and very young people. Furthermore, such a public investment would generate a total of 360 million euros of private funds and generate 81 million of additional tax revenue. Out of a representative sample of 1,007 Italian adult respondents, 59.4% of them believe that the sector is capable of generating new jobs, especially for the benefit of young people. 57.9% believe that the talent and creativity of Italian developers will pay off gaming an ambassador of made in Italy in the world. For 54.2%, the figure rises to 58.9% among graduates, the development of the sector contributes to the national economic recovery.
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The video game as a social value
While the majority of the sample see video games as a fun, engaging and emotionally charged form of entertainment, 52% of respondents believe that it also helps them develop new skills, such as solving problems or making decisions quickly, while 42, 2% think they favor socialization as it encourages group activities. But it’s not just fun, 59.1% of the Italians interviewed believe that videogames can make an important contribution to scientific dissemination and the dissemination, with simple language, of the results of studies and research.
57.9% of the respondents emphasize the therapeutic function that video games can play for some specific pathologies, such as attention deficit or hyperactivity. For 56.5% of the sample, videogames can promote tourism and knowledge of the places in which they are set. 51.6% consider them useful for school teaching, 45.8% consider them an aid for the selection and evaluation of human resources, while 44.9% support professional training and the transfer of skills.
Esports are also growing
58.5% of Italians know or have heard of esports, video game competitions. Among them, 40.5% give a positive opinion, while 17.7% do not love them. Those who know competitive gaming consider it a beautiful form of entertainment, a healthy way to compete, a tool for developing new skills and abilities, a driving force for relationality. For 73.3% of the sample, esports are an original experience, different from traditional sports competitions.
The analysis
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