Sale of Nordeus to Boost Entire Industry – Question of Potential Candidates for New Large Acquisitions in Local Gaming Market

As has been the case with the big acquisitions of gaming companies in Serbia so far, and in the past few years there have been three, the sale of Nordeus is a big thing for all participants in the ecosystem. As Kristina Jankovic, a manager at the Serbian Gaming Association (SGA) says for eKapija, not only is the visibility of the local gaming industry being raised globally, it is also a big acknowledgement of what the talented people here have achieved so far.

– When world leaders in any industry, including gaming, of course, show an interest in an ecosystem, that is an indicator of a serious maturing. This has a two-way influence, so our talents have access to new external resources, serious support in expanding to big foreign markets, and the inspiration that small developing teams get when they see what can be achieved from Serbia cannot be denied – our interviewee says.

Significant negotiations, she says, always happen behind closed doors, and most frequently nothing is known until the last moment. Still, the impression is that there are teams in the local gaming market that could go down Nordeus’ path.

– Among our members, there are already several strong startups which have gone through an expansion in the past two years – they’ve expanded their teams, launched new games… It remains to be seen. The fact is that, in the past 18 months, global gaming giants have initiated a truly unprecedented number of acquisitions – Jankovic points out.

According to research carried out by the SGA, the gaming industry of Serbia earned EUR 120 million last year. The growth has been stable in the past three years and is expected to continue in 2021 as well.

According to our interviewee, it should be taken into consideration that, to a large extent, the pandemic has led to an increase in the number of active players, the downloading of free games and the purchase of premium games.



Quality staff and financing as the biggest challenges

For most companies in the local gaming market, the biggest challenge is how to find quality staff. According to the SGA’s annual survey, another 350 people should be employed this year in this sector.

– It is a great challenge to fill out the senior positions – Jankovic says.

Another challenge that the companies face is financing. Serbia still doesn’t have funds dedicated exclusively to the development of gaming projects.

– For example, Germany has formed such a fund worth EUR 50 million, Italy has EUR 4 million and the statistics recording the number of new games launched clearly show that it was the right decision in both countries – she points out.

Although there is finally support for Google Play and App Store, our developers still can’t develop console games.

– Double taxation, with the USA, for example, is a great challenge as well, as is the impossibility of using numerous services from Serbia (Kickstarter, Fortumo…). These are all systemic issues which affect both independent teams and companies – she says.

How to support local industry’s growth

In the whole world, Serbia included, the number of studios, the games launched, the overall profit and the number of players are growing. According to our interviewee, this needs to be boosted additionally and the growth should be supported by well-designed initiatives and programs.

– We have a great foundation and all the conditions to do what ecosystems of similar size, for example, Finland, have done. Unlike the rest of the IT industry, our gaming companies work on the development of original products and only a small number of our studios provides outsourcing services. We mustn’t neglect such healthy foundations – Jankovic concludes.

Ivana Milovanovic

Nordeus d.o.o. Beograd

Serbian Gaming Association

Nordeus

Kristina Janković

gaming market

video game industry

gaming industry