The Game Awards have become the most popular and publicized awards ceremony in the gaming industry. It has seen a significant increase in ratings in recent years and the positive trend has continued in 2023. In fact, the 10th edition of the awards, held on December 7, 2023, generated an estimated 118 million views across global live streams, up 15% from last year, at least reported by people at The Game Awards, a statistic shared on his profile by Geoff Keighley. The ceremony was broadcast live from the Peacock Theater in L. A. on more than 30 platforms including YouTube, Twitch or Facebook. In addition, more than 17,000 individual content creators and influencers broadcast on their own.

Shortly after the end of The Game Awards, the traditional Game Developers Session took place at the Prague Convention Center. But this year’s event was rather special in that organizers tried to open it up more to the public. “The world’s gaming development industry is a creative sector that has long since surpassed both the music and film business combined. There is a rapid increase in demand for professionals from the sector, but so far very few schools have the adequate resources and resources to deliver this highly attractive career to students. That is why, in cooperation with the schools as well as with leading Czech game developers and our association, we have prepared a conference targeted at students and their teachers, which should help develop this area,” said Pavel Barbark, program director of the GDS, chairman of the Association of Czech Game Developers and member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic.

At a press conference at the GDS Prague 2023 event, the Association of Czech Game Developers (GDA) published the results for the past year.There are 155 gaming studios operating in the Czech Republic, with an increase of around tens each year. But three-quarters of them are smaller in size, below 10 people. Large firms with more than 250 employees make up only 1% of the total number of companies. The predominant studies are those established three to 10 years ago. 54% of all the studios are located in Prague, with only 21% being another major centre.  At the beginning of 2023, 2,634 people were working in the Czech gaming industry. This is an increase of 300 workers compared to the previous year, but many more jobs are being created, this year’s estimate is about 430.

Visitors could listen to the creator of Tetris, Alexei Pažitnov, who told, for example, how they were behind in the Soviet Union in terms of technology, or in the difficult process of getting Tetris to the Western market. Martin Klíma from Warhorse gave an interesting lecture, highlighting the fact that although positive experiences with game development are always the most visible, there are plenty of failures for any such story, and that not everything will be done.  Also interesting were the lectures from the history of game-making. Petr Kolář from Ashborne Games reported on how the developers in the creation of Last Train Home worked with historical facts, what period materials were available to them and how they were inspired by The Legiovlak.  Joshua Sawyer of Obsidian Entertainment explained how he mixed history with fiction in the creation of Pentiment, mentioning a lot of works or real things he was inspired by.

Game Developers Session is the oldest Central European conference dedicated to game development, gaming technology, trade and marketing, and this year was once again an ideal opportunity to meet Czech and foreign developers and listen to some very interesting lectures.

JK