Video games in Belgium
This article is about the video game market and culture in Belgium.
Consumer availability[]
Distribution[]
Distribution in Belgium is usually done by publishers that cover the entire Benelux, although some of the publishers' offices are located in Belgium. Since not every publisher has a separate office for the Benelux, certain publishers take care of multiple labels, including those of other publishers.[1]
Rating[]
Belgium supports the PEGI rating system but there is no legislative basis. PEGI was developed and is owned by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe which is based in Brussels.[2]
Sales[]
In 2011, the Belgian consumer bought 6.54 million games. More than 84% of those games were console games. The sales generated a revenue of 220 million euro, which means they stayed stable compared to 2010.[3]
Belgium's appearance in video games[]
Belgium as a setting[]
Belgium is not often used as an originally created setting for video games, although it does appear in some types of simulation games.
- World War II games
The famous Battle of the Bulge is featured in the following video games:
- Battle of the Bulge, various wargames simulating the battle.
- Call of Duty: United Offensive, the American campaign is set during the Battle of the Bulge.
- Medal of Honor: European Assault, the final campaign is set at the start of the Battle.
- Bulge '44 (HPS Simulations) An operational level strategy wargame, covering many scenarios, both historic and alternative.
- Call of Duty: WWII, Battle of the Bulge, Ardennes map in multiplayer
- Racing games
- Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is a popular racing circuit. It's the host of the Belgian Grand Prix and has been featured in many Formula One games and other racing games like Need for Speed: Shift, Race Driver: Grid, Forza Motorsport 5 and Gran Turismo.
Belgian video game characters[]
- Anna from the game Valiant Hearts: The Great War is a nurse who was born in Ypres
- In most of the international sports games, such as the FIFA football games and olympic video games, teams or players from Belgium are featured.
- Phillipe Loren, one of Saints Row The Third's villains is of Belgian origin.
Video games based on Belgian works[]
Many video games are based on Belgian comic books:
- XIII
- Video games based on The Adventures of Tintin
- Video games based on The Smurfs
- Largo Winch: Empire Under Threat
- Spirou
- Video games based on Lucky Luke
Video game development[]
Representation[]
The Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA) is the organization that represents the interests of the music, video and video game industries in Belgium.
The represents the Flemish video game industry, the represents the Walloon video game industry.
Game developers from Belgium[]
There are 64 game developers registered with the Flemish Games Association.[6] Some of the game development studios in Belgium include:
| Company | Location | Founded | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slappy Inc. | Kortrijk | 2021 | VR, AR projects and Indie games |
| Apocalypse Hunters | 2015 | Location Based and AR mobile games | |
| Wavre | 2015 | indie games | |
| God As A Cucumber | Kortrijk | 2016 | game development and visualizations |
| Pajama Llama Games | Ghent | 2015 | indie games |
| Turnhout | 2014 | indie games | |
| Rumst | 2005 | indie games | |
| Leuven | 2015 | indie games | |
| MoonMonster Studios | Kortrijk | 2019 | game development |
| Leuven | 2014 | indie games | |
| Bazookas | Bruges | 2012 | serious, educational and entertainment games |
| Hasselt | 2012 | game development and visualizations | |
| Brussels | 2015 | indie games | |
| Crazy Monkey Studios | Kontich | 2011 | indie games |
| Ostend | 2013 | indie games | |
| Liège | 2013 | Indie games specialist in CCG games | |
| Brussels | 2011 | indie games | |
| Bruges | 2011 | indie games | |
| Brussels | 2010 | indie games and mobile games | |
| Larian Studios | Ghent | 1996 | core games and educational games |
| CatLab Interactive | Ghent | 2009 | web and mobile games |
| Ghent | 2002 (as Endrone) | online and mobile games | |
| Ghent | 2007 | casual games | |
| Drongen | 2007 | custom games and serious games | |
| Antwerp | 2001 | casual and mobile games | |
| Antwerp | 2008 | game content | |
| AIM Productions | Hove | 1994 | online games, custom games |
| Kontich | 2009 | rapid prototyping | |
| Fishing Cactus | Mons | 2008 | mobile and downloadable games |
| Kortrijk | 2010 | 3D visualizations and serious games | |
| 2004 | indie games and game services | ||
| Brussels | 1994 | handheld games and localization | |
| Mons | 2012 | serious games and mobile app | |
| Genk | 2011 | serious games and experimental games | |
| Ghent | 2010 | virtual reality, augmented reality and mobile games | |
| Antwerp | 2012 | browser games | |
| Mons | social and mobile games | ||
| Hyperion Entertainment | 1999 | porting Windows games to Linux, Mac OS and Amiga OS | |
| Gosselies | 2013 | motion games and core games | |
| Kapellen | 2006 | indie games | |
| Salty Lemon Entertainment | Kortrijk | 2018 | indie games |
Defunct game developers[]
| Company | Founded | Ended | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2008 | founded as elseWhere Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy in August 2008 | |
| 1995 | 2002 | ||
| Mont-Saint-Guibert | 1996 | serious games and advergames | |
| Hellion Cat | Mons | 2016 | indie games |
| 2008 | 2010 | filed for bankruptcy | |
| AMA Studios | 2009 | 2013 | fused with key people from Appeal to form Daoka |
| Tale of Tales | 2002 | 2016 | liquidated |
Games developed in Belgium[]
- Adventure Rock
- Outcast
- Divine Divinity
- Battle for Donetsk
- Beyond Divinity
- Divinity II: Ego Draconis
- Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance
- Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga
- Divinity: Dragon Commander
- Divinity: Original Sin
- Divinity: Original Sin II
- Hyperball Racing
- Sunset
- The Endless Forest
- The Graveyard
- The Path
- Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries
- Baldur's Gate III
Game publishers from Belgium[]
| Company | Location | Founded | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Ben Interactive Belgium | Tubize | 1992 (as Atoll Soft) | publishing and accessory distribution |
| Transposia | Ghent | 1994 | localization and edutainment |
Education[]
University college[]
| Program | School | City | Degree |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howest | Kortrijk | Bachelor | |
| Namur | Bachelor | ||
| Communication and mediadesign, profile game art & design | Genk | Master |
Other[]
Syntra LIMBURG offers multiple video game courses.[8]
Media[]
Print media[]
| Magazine | Publisher | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Gameplay (formerly known as ) | 1994 | |
| Officieel PlayStation Magazine | 1996 | |
| 9lives (formerly known as Gunk) | 2004 | |
| Chief | 2007 |
Television[]
Programs[]
| Title | Channel | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Gamepower | JIM | 1996 |
| TMF | 2010 |
Defunct Programs[]
| Title | Channel | From | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shrimp tv | TMF | 2001 | 2003 |
| GUNK TV | TMF and VT4(from 2008) | 2004 | 2009 |
| Luna Park | RTBF | 1993 | 1996 |
Defunct Channels[]
Online media[]
- eurogamer.be
- 9lives.be
- Sensei Gaming
- Les Players Du Dimanche
- N-Gamz
- 4WeAreGamers
- GameBrain
References[]
- ^ Lenting, Tom. "Een aanzet tot de gamegeschiedenis van België". Karel van Mander Academy. Retrieved 2019-09-20. Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) (in Dutch) - ^ "About PEGI? Owners and administrators". PEGI S.A. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
- ^ "Belgen hebben meer dan 6,5 miljoen games gekocht". BEA. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
- ^ drealmer (April 6, 2009). "Video Game Developers in Belgium".
- ^ Vlaamse Game Development Blog (January 15, 2011). "Vlaamse Game Developers".
- ^ "DIRECTORY". March 29, 2012.
- ^ "Schools- GameCareerGuide.com". www.gamecareerguide.com.
- ^ "Werken in de gamesector". Departement cultuur, jeugd, sport en media. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
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Categories:
- Video gaming in Belgium