Video games experiencing 'golden age' - newspaper

Jan Karwowski/PAP

Polish video game producers are experiencing a period of rapid development, and the pandemic is only helping. Their stock values, as listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), have rebounded significantly after the pandemic, writes the Rzeczpospolita daily on Thursday.

The newspaper notes that the Polish electronic entertainment market is worth nearly USD 600 million and that it is 'moving along at lightning speed.'

"Overall, the value of the WIG.Games index jumped by over 100 percent over the past year, and the market capitalisation of the five largest studios (CD Projekt, Ten Square Games, PlayWay, 11 bit studios and CI Games) has increased by 45 percent since January this year, to the level of PLN 45.7 billion (EUR 10.3 bln). It is no wonder that new companies from this sector are debuting on the WSE practically every month. Suffice it to say, in June, there were slightly more than 30 companies from this sector listed on the main market and on the alternative NewConnect market, but by the end of the year this number will increase to more than 50," writes the daily.

According to Rzeczpospolita, Poland is already among the world's leading markets in terms of the number of video game producers listed on the stock exchange, and only Japan is ahead of the country in this ranking.

The newspaper also notes that the gaming market has matured and is no longer perceived as entertainment just for children. Its current key customers are adults, who are often gamers from childhood, which means that the boom should last for a long time, as Intel data show that already 15 percent of Polish players are above the age of 55.