According to the latest data from the Spanish Video Game Association (AEVI), in 2022, the sector billed a total of 2,012 million euros in Spain, 12.09% more than in 2021. In the European Union, Spain is the fourth largest market for video games, with more than 18.2 million players. In addition to its growing economic importance, especially due to its ability to generate employment, since 2022 the EU considers it a priority creative sector.
In this context, the InfoJobs employment platform has analyzed the behavior of this sector in the national labor market. Thus, according to the data it handles, digital job offers linked to video games grew by 31% between May 2022 and April 2023, compared to the same period of the previous year. In this sense, nearly 1,400 offers related to the world of gaming were registered.
Regarding the type of profiles that companies demand the most, some stand out such as videogame tester, gaming support agent or promoter/a gamer, although the technical and creative profiles are the ones that have the greatest weight: developers and artists and designers. Offers from developers have also grown by 47%.
By localities, Madrid and Barcelona are the ones that concentrate half of the offers, however, Barcelona registers a greater number of jobs for video game developers, artists and designers. Others also stand out, such as Valencia (the third with the most publications related to videogames) and Malagawhich has recently witnessed the birth of the Giants Innovation Hub, a space designed to promote projects related to gaming and eSports and which plans to invest around 50 million euros in up to 40 value proposals.
In the words of Monica Perez, Director of Communication and Studies at InfoJobs: “The video game industry has been registering very significant growth in recent years, as shown by economic and employment data. As far as the workplace is concerned, we are talking about a sector that, today, demands specialized profiles, but as it grows it will require professionals from many other fields, such as marketing and communication, resources human or education.
The rise of eSports
Within the video game sector, and as already mentioned, are electronic sports, which last year had around 34 million euros in turnover in our country, according to AEVI. For its part, the 23rd edition of the Entertainment and Media Outlook 2021-2026 Spain report, prepared by PwC, indicates that this subsector will double its size in 2026, with revenues of 53 million euros. In addition, the Let’s Play! Deloitte’s 2022 highlights that Spain is the second country in Europe with the greatest scope of eSports monitoring among the population, behind Poland. An industry that does not stop growing in terms of turnover and that, in addition, generates new jobs and opportunities to develop a professional career.
In this sense, within this subcategory, stands out positions such as eSports Community Manager, Business Development Manager or eSports and Gaming Specialist among the most demanded by companies.
Without going any further, over the last year, leading organizations and figures in Spain in the field of electronic sports have come to InfoJobs in search of talent. This is the recent case of Team Heretics, founded by the streamer TheGrefg; from the eSports presenter and streamer Cristinini; or the KOI team. To all these actions is also added the one led by Ibai Llanos to select different profiles to work in his team.
