Is it possible to network in Italy in the video game sector? Finding a common point, a direction in which to converge not only the talent of developers and men and women, but also the vision of lenders and institutions? Without a doubt this is the objective of Iidea, the trade association which for years has been trying to enhance and accompany the growth of a sector that in Italy is still seen with too many prejudicesbut it is also the aim of Leonardo Interactive, a reality that after a few years of study is ready to make the leap in quality.
The idea comes from an event that took place in the hills near Spoleto where not only were the first pictures of Simon the Sorcerer: Originsprequel to the beloved 90s graphic adventure, but where Leonardo Francesco Caltagirone, CEO of Leonardo Interactiveexpressed his willingness to transform this moment into an annual appointment to take stock of the sector in Italy.
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Leonardo Interactive is a Roman publisher which also owns one development studio, Leonardo Productionswhich has already published the visual novel Dry Drowning and is completing a strategic card game (Shattered Heaven), While Daymare 1994a horror in style Resident Evil, is coming on August 30th. Caltagirone explained that “it all started in a playful way years ago, when my son asked me why we couldn’t make our own video game. I realized how much my children had absorbed from Anglo-Saxon and Japanese cultures. From that moment I began to think how nice it would be to find in videogames another way to make Italian culture and skills known abroad. We started in 2017 with an experimental initiative, having tiptoed in and trying to understand the sector, after the first feedback and having corrected the course, we founded Leonardo Interactive and Leonardo Productions. The objective is twofold: on the one hand to enhance Italian development studies, on the other to carry forward our ideas but calmly, without rushing, without rushing ahead and trying to network with other national realities”.
As mentioned, the next step of this project goes from Simon the Sorcerer: Originsdeveloped by the Ligurian Smallthing Studios which will be released in 2024. A production that lasted about 3 years with the consultancy of the original developers and which boasts a completely hand-drawn and animated graphic system. The project is very ambitious and carried out with great passion by a team who couldn’t wait to compete with a great classic from the past, trying to mix nostalgic taste with a story suitable for today. The ambitions of the project can also be understood in its distribution, given that it will be published digitally on PC and also in physical edition on Xbox, PlayStation 5 and Switch. Being a prequel to the first chapter of the Simon saga, the game is set in 1993, with a lot of Rick Astley’s Together Forever in the introduction that we have been able to see. The graphic style looks delicious, we’ll see if the story can capture us.
In Leonardo Interactive’s intentions, however, there is the creation of a pole of video games made in Italy, but without those proclamations that somehow ape Silicon Valley or the creation of physical districts. The studios with which Leonardo Productions collaborates are scattered throughout Italy and the same is true for many developers of Leonardo Interactive.
The idea is to transform this event into a moment of confrontation with all levels of the sector, but also into an occasion for create synergies also with realities outside the gaming world. The look is aimed at promoting a cultural and professional exchange, a path that leads the video game to represent another important element of the made in Italy.
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On the other hand, the Iidea annual reportwhich recently crowned the Italian games of the year, attests to a progressive transition from a reality made up of startups to one of small and medium-sized enterprises: the number of employees has grown by 50% in two years, reaching 2400 professionals in the production of video games, while the turnover generated in 2022 is between 130 and 150 million euros, recording an increase of 30% compared to the previous year.
These are data that bode well for the future, a future in which the Italian sector has also tried to find its own identity and show those wishing to pursue this career that abroad is no longer the only sensible choice. And perhaps Leonardo Interactive’s vision is precisely this: to look for an Italian videogame identity that knows how to enhance the excellences of the territory, but also to find its own language to break down walls, prejudices and borders.
The video game sector is a very peculiar sector in which even very large companies, such as Google, have been burned, because they have not had the patience to wait, to make mistakes and to refine the product. In some ways, making video games is a bit like making wine: you have to know the land, the product, the right conditions to reap the fruits, rely on the right people and think about the long term to overcome unexpected events. Again, in the words of Caltagirone: “Passion moves us, I have always liked video games, I liked them as a boy and I like them now that I am a father and I talk about them with my children. But passion only goes up to a certain point and in these years in which I have approached the sector I have learned many things that are overlooked by a normal user. We are not here just because we want to exploit a sector with potential, we truly believe in it. We need a home for everyone who loves video games and wants to be an active part of it, a place where ideas turn into reality, a fixed appointment where inspiration is cultivated and talents valued. Let’s take the first step to contribute all together to position Italy as an important hub for the video game industry at an international level”.