D2.1 - Report on the current state of knowledge on Video game industry as Cultural and Creative Industry

1
Augus 2024
D2.1
Repo on he cu en s a e o
knowledge on Video game indus y as CCIs
2
P ojec De ails
Ac onym: GAME-ER
Ti le: Gaming Clus e s Ac oss Mul iple Eu opean Regions P ojec
Coo dina o : INOVA+ - INNOVATION SERVICES, SA (Po ugal)
Call: HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-01
Type: HORIZON Resea ch and Inno a ion Ac ions
Topic-ID: HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-01-06
S a : 1 Ma ch 2024
End: 28 Feb ua y 2027
Du a ion: 36 mon hs
Websi e: www.game-e .eu
Conso ium:
No
Pa icipan Name
Sho Name
Coun y
1
INOVA+ - INNOVATION SERVICES, SA
INOVA+
Po ugal
2
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI TORINO
UNITO
I aly
3
ASSOCIATION POUR LA RECHERCHE ET LE DEVELOPPEMENT
DES METHODES ET PROCESSUS INDUSTRIELS
CRG
F ance
3.1
ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE
EP
F ance
4
ASOCIACE CESKYCH HERNICH VYVOJARU ZS
GDACZ
Czech
Republic
5
SPIN SYSTEM
SPIN
Belgium
5.1
NOVARECKON
NR
I aly
6
UNIVERZITA KARLOVA
CUNI
Czechia
7
OGR-CRT - SCPA
OGR-To ino
I aly
8
PLUG AND PLAY PLATFORM SPAIN SL
PNPTC
Spain
9
KLASTER HRVATSKIH PROIZVODACA VIDEOIGARA
CGDA
C oa ia
10
GAME ONLY
GO
F ance
11
HERNÍ KLASTR Z.S.
HK
Czech
Republic
12
MUNICIPIO DO FUNDÃO
CMF
Po ugal
13
THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF ABERTAY UNIVERSITY
AU
Uni ed
Kingdom
3
Disclaime
Funded by he Eu opean Union. Views and opinions exp essed a e howe e hose o he au ho (s)
only and do no necessa ily e lec hose o he Eu opean Union o Eu opean Resea ch Execu i e
Agency. Nei he he Eu opean Union no he Eu opean Resea ch Execu i e Agency can be held
esponsible o hem.
G an Ag eemen no. 101132585.
© Pa ne s o he GAME-ER Conso ium, 2024
This deli e able con ains o iginal unpublished wo k excep whe e clea ly indica ed o he wise.
Acknowledgemen o p e iously published ma e ial and o he wo k o o he s has been made
h ough app op ia e ci a ion, quo a ion o bo h. Rep oduc ion is au ho ised p o ided he sou ce is
acknowledged.
Acknowledgemen s
This deli e able was de eloped based on collec i e e o s om all pa ne s o he GAME-ER
conso ium.
4
Deli e able De ails
Numbe : D2.1
Ti le: Repo on he cu en s a e o he knowledge on Video game indus y as
CCIs
Lead bene icia y: UNITO
Wo k package: WP2
Dissemina ion le el: Public
Na u e: R: Documen , epo (excluding he pe iodic and inal epo s)
Due da e: 31/08/2024
Submission da e: 30/08/2024
Au ho s: En ico E aldo Be acchini, Uni e si y o Tu in
Cecilia Ma one o, Uni e si y o Tu in
Pie Paolo Pa ucco, Uni e si y o Tu in
Re iewe s: Thomas Pa is, Cen e de Reche che en Ges ion (CRG), École Poly echnique
Chahi a Mehouachi, Ins i u Supé ieu de Ges ion (ISG)
S e ano de Paoli, Uni e si y o Abe ay
Luís Leça, INOVA+
5
Ve sion His o y:
Da e
Ve sion No.
Au ho
No e
26/07/2024
0.1
Thomas Pa is,
Chahi a Mehouachi, CRG
Fi s e ision and inpu
p o ided
05/08/2024
0.2
S e ano de Paoli, UA
Scien i ic Re ision and
inpu p o ided
09/08/2024
1.0
En ico Be acchini,
Cecilia Ma one o,
Pie paolo Pa ucco,
UNITO
In eg a ion o inpu s and
inal e sion sen o
inal e ision and
submission.
30/08/2024
1.1
Luís Leça, INOVA+
Re ision o he inal
e sion and submission.
Glossa y and Abb e ia ions
Augmen ed Reali y
AR
Cul u al and c ea i e clus e s
CCC
Cul u al and c ea i e indus ies
CCI
C ea i e clus e esea ch
CCR
C ea i e economy esea ch
CER
Depa men o Cul u e Media and Spo s
DCMS
Di ec o a e-Gene al o Communica ions
Ne wo ks, Con en and Technology
DG Connec
Di ec o a e-Gene al o Educa ion, You h,
Spo and Cul u e
DG EAC
Digi al So wa e Inco po a ed
DSI
Depa men o Science, Inno a ion and
Technology
DSIT
Elec onic A s
EA

6
Elec onic games spo s
EGS
Eu opean Game De elope s Fede a ion
EGDF
Eu opean Union
EU
Elec onic spo s
Espo s
Hie a chical Densi y-Based Spa ial Clus e ing o
Applica ions wi h Noise
HDBSCAN
In o ma ion and communica ion echnology
ICT
La ge Language Models
LLMs
Loca ion Quo ien
LQ
Mul iple Coun y Publica ions
MCP
Nomencla u e s a is ique des ac i i és
économiques dans la Communau é
eu opéenne
NACE
Na ional Endowmen o Science, Technology
and he A s
NESTA
Nomencla u e o Te i o ial Uni s o S a is ics
NUTS
Resea ch and De elopmen
R&D
Regional Inno a ion Sys em
RIS
Real Time Indus y Classi ica ion
RTIC
Single Coun y Publica ions
SCP
S anda d Indus ial Classi ica ion
SIC
Small and medium-sized en e p ises
SMEs
So wa e, ideo game de elopmen and
edi ing elec onics
SVE
T a el o Wo k A eas
TTWAs
Uni ed Na ions Con e ence on T ade and
De elopmen
UNCTAD
7
Uni ed Na ions Educa ional, Scien i ic and
Cul u al O ganiza ion
UNESCO
Wo ld In ellec ual P ope y O ganiza ion
WIPO
Web o Science
WoS
Vi ual Reali y
VR
8
Table o Con en s
1. INTRODUCTION 12
2. MAPPING THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY IN EUROPE 14
2.1 The ideo games indus y wi hin he cul u al and c ea i e sec o s 14
2.1.1 Eu opean epo s add essing he ideo game indus y 17
2.1.2 O he documen s add essing he Video Game sec o in Eu opean coun ies 20
2.2 Business s a is ics and indus ial classi ica ion challenges in measu ing he ideo game
indus y 22
2.3 E idence on he spa ial pa e ns o he Video Game indus y in Eu ope 24
3. CLUSTERS IN INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE SECTORS: AN OVERVIEW OF KEY ANALYTICAL
DIMENSIONS 28
3.1 D i e s o clus e ing: agglome a ion economies and spin-o dynamics 28
3.2 Pooled esou ces 32
3.3 Beyond geog aphical p oximi y 33
3.4 Di e en ypes o ac o s 35
3.5 Inno a ion and cha ac e is ics o clus e s 38
4. THE CLUSTERING OF THE VIDEO GAMES INDUSTRY: INSIGHTS FROM A SCOPING LITERATURE
REVIEW 41
4.1 Me hodology and da a 41
4.2 Rele ance o he e i o ial and clus e dimensions in he ideo game indus y li e a u e 43
4.3 Co e age o ideo game indus y clus e s 47
4.3.1 Me hodologies adop ed and geog aphical ocus 47
4.3.2 Clus e s analysed in he e iewed li e a u e 50
a. Clus e s ou side Eu ope 51
b. Eu opean clus e s 55
4.3.3 Key ea u es in ideo games indus y clus e s 57
a. Main ac o s 57
b. Di e en ypes o p oximi y 60
c. Complemen a i ies and ela edness 62
d. Inhe i ance and new pa h de elopmen 63
9
e. Resou ce pooling 64
. Ins i u ions and policies 65
5. CONCLUSIONS 67
6. REFERENCES 69
7. APPENDIX 81
7.1 Da abase sea ch a ionale 81
7.2 Desc ip i e analysis o he iden i ied li e a u e 83
7.2.1 Desc ip i e analysis 83
7.2.2 Me hodologies adop ed in he iden i ied li e a u e 86
7.2.3 Geog aphical dis ibu ion o he a icles iden i ied 86
7.2.4 Analysis o he co e jou nals, mos in luen ial au ho s and a icles 88
7.3 Addi ional bibliome ic analyses 94
7.3.1 Bibliog aphic coupling 94
7.3.2 Co-ci a ion analysis 96
7.3.3 Collabo a ion analysis 97
7.4 Video game indus y clus e s 99
16
In gene al, he ideo game indus y has been ecognized as an in eg al pa o he mac o sec o o
he c ea i e economy since he ea lies elabo a ions o classi ica o y models, as e idenced by he
DCMS C ea i e Indus ies Mapping Documen o 1998, which conside s he In e ac i e Leisu e
So wa e sec o among he c ea i e indus ies.
1
Howe e , in compa ison o o he mo e es ablished and clea ly delinea ed sec o s iden i ied in all
he classi ica ion app oaches, he de ini ion and posi ioning o he ideo game indus y wi hin he
CCIs ha e been much mo e he e ogeneous. In some cases, his has in ol ed emphasising he
so wa e componen (as in he case o he Wo ld In ellec ual P ope y (WIPO) model), in e ac i i y
(DCMS and UNESCO models), o including ideo games in a New Media ca ego y, o dis inguish i
om he audio isual o adi ional publishing sec o s (as in he case o he UNCTAD model).
The 2006 KEA concen ic ci cle model is pa icula ly illus a i e o he concep ual challenges in
classi ying he ideo game indus y wi hin he cul u al and c ea i e economy. Commissioned by he
Di ec o a e-Gene al o Educa ion and Cul u e (DG EAC), his epo is he i s pionee ing e o a
he Eu opean le el o de ine and in es iga e he economic con ibu ion o he mac o-sec o o
cul u al and c ea i e indus ies in Eu ope.
2
One o he key con ibu ions o he epo is me hodological, ha is delinea ing a wo kable
classi ica o y amewo k o CCIs, which is pa ly inspi ed by he concen ic ci cle model p oposed
by Th osby (2008).
3
Mo e speci ically, he cen e is cons i u ed o non-indus ial cul u al p oduc s,
i.e. “ he a s ield”. A i s ci cle a ound his co e is ha o “cul u al indus ies”, which include
economic ac i i ies whose ou pu is made o cul u al con en . No ably, he concep ion, c ea ion,
and p oduc ion unc ions in his i s ci cle a e linked o mo e indus ial unc ions o manu ac u ing
and comme cialising a la ge scale, using ma e ial suppo s and communica ion echnologies.
Ano he dis inc i e ea u e o his ci cle is ha economic ac i i ies hea ily ely on copy igh o
incen i ise ou pu p oduc ion and comme cialisa ion. A second ci cle includes ac i i ies whose
ou pu s a e unc ional bu ha inco po a e elemen s om he wo p e ious laye s in o he
p oduc ion p ocess, i.e. “c ea i e indus ies and ac i i ies”.
Acco ding o he KEA Concen ic Model, ideo games a e included in he classi ica ion o he Cul u al
Economy bu discussed as a bo de line sec o . The epo unde lines ha he games indus y mee s
he c i e ia o “copy igh ” and “mass ep oduc ion”. As a esul , i has been ca ego ised as a cul u al
indus y, al hough some ques ion whe he ideo games a e “cul u al p oduc s” o belong o ano he
ca ego y o p oduc s (such as oys).
1
h ps://www.go .uk/go e nmen /publica ions/c ea i e-indus ies-mapping-documen s-1998
2
Full epo a ailable he e: h ps://ec.eu opa.eu/asse s/eac/cul u e/lib a y/s udies/cul u al-economy_en.pd
3
Th osby, D. (2008). The concen ic ci cles model o he cul u al indus ies. Cul u al ends, 17(3), 147-164.

17
The 2010 EU Commission G een Pape on CCIs has essen ially adop ed he classi ica ion p oposed
by he 2006 KEA Repo , hus dis inguishing be ween cul u al and c ea i e indus ies (Eu opean
Commission, 2010).
4
Video games a e again included in he class o cul u al indus ies, simila o
book publishing, mo ie indus y, and music:
«"Cul u al indus ies" a e hose indus ies p oducing and dis ibu ing goods o se ices which a he
ime hey a e de eloped a e conside ed o ha e a speci ic a ibu e, use o pu pose which embodies
o con eys cul u al exp essions, i espec i e o he comme cial alue hey may ha e. Besides he
adi ional a s sec o s (pe o ming a s, isual a s, cul u al he i age – including he public sec o ),
hey include ilm, DVD and ideo, ele ision and adio, ideo games, new media, music, books and
p ess. » (page 5)
2.1.1 Eu opean epo s add essing he ideo game indus y
While he G een Pape enabled a sys ema isa ion and ecogni ion o he cul u al and c ea i e
sec o s a he Eu opean le el suppo ing he design o Eu opean policies and p og ams in line wi h
his de ini ion, he s udies commissioned in subsequen yea s ha e mos ly ocused on cap u ing he
complex pa e ns and po en ial o he he e ogeneous ac i i ies included in his mac o-sec o as a
whole, gi ing less p ominence o he analysis o indi idual sec o s, including ha o Video Game.
Howe e , some ecen epo s show he inc easing in e es a he Eu opean le el o he ideo game
indus y wi hin he cul u al and c ea i e sec o s and p o ide key insigh s abou i s ea u es which
a e pa ly ele an o he GAME-ER p ojec objec i es. Fo ins ance, he 2017 epo “Mapping he
c ea i e alue chains: A s udy on he economy o cul u e in he digi al age”
5
has u ilised he case o
ideo games so wa e as a pa adigma ic example o he mul i-media sec o , one o he main
bene icia ies o he digi al de elopmen s o he CCIs (Figu e 1).
4
2010 EU Commission G een Pape , “Unlocking he po en ial o cul u al and c ea i e indus ies” (2010):
h ps://op.eu opa.eu/en/publica ion-de ail/-/publica ion/1cb6 484-074b-4913-87b3-344cc 020ee /language-en
5
2017 EU Commission Di ec o a e-Gene al o Educa ion, You h, Spo and Cul u e (DG EAC), “Mapping C ea i e
Value Chains - A s udy on he economy o cul u e in he digi al age” (2017): h ps://op.eu opa.eu/en/publica ion-
de ail/-/publica ion/4737 41d-45ac-11e7-aea8-01aa75ed71a1
18
Figu e 1 - S ylised alue chains o mul imedia (2017, DG EAC epo )
Sou ce: The igu e has been ex ac ed om he 2017 “Mapping he c ea i e alue chains” epo , page 195.
The e a e a numbe o key akeaways om he 2017 EU Commission DG EAC epo ha can in o m
GAME-ER esea ch on ac o s a ec ing clus e ing dynamics and he spa ial o ganisa ion o he ideo
game indus y:
● By using he alue chain pe spec i e wi h ou co e unc ions (C ea ion, P oduc ion,
Dissemina ion/ ade and Exhibi ion/ ecep ion), he epo emphasises how de elope s and
publishe s a e he wo key economic ac o s along he ideo game alue chain, con i ming
he p io i y o iden i ying and s udying hese playe s o unde s and he s uc u e o he ideo
game sec o and i s mani es a ions a e i o ial le el.
● Al hough he subjec is no explo ed in dep h, he epo con i ms ha some na ional
di e ences in he alue chain con igu a ion and/o dynamics can be obse ed (wi h
e e ence o de elope s specialising in di e en ma ke segmen s, o niches, such as mobile
games s. console, AAA games, games wi h di e en mone iza ion models, e c.). This
implies ha he eme gence and e olu ion o ideo game clus e s ac oss egions mus also
be sough in he de elopmen ajec o ies o he ideo game indus y a he na ional le el,
as di e en con igu a ions o alue chains may e lec di e en loca ional ac o s and
condi ions o spa ial p oximi y.
19
● Acco ding o he epo , he c ea ion phase (Figu e 1) is ma ked by monopolis ic
compe i ion, wi h many de elope s compe ing agains each o he bu selling p oduc s ha
a e di e en ia ed om one ano he , and hence no pe ec subs i u es. Con e sely, he
p oduc ion/publishing phase can be desc ibed as an oligopoly wi h a compe i i e inge,
domina ed by a ew majo publishe s alongside many mid-size o small publishe s. These
majo publishe s o e see c i ical business ac i i ies, pa icula ly he p e- inancing o games,
which necessi a es subs an ial esou ces and isk- aking capabili ies, he eby ad an aging
la ge companies. This dominan posi ion endows majo publishe s wi h signi ican
ba gaining powe wi hin he alue chain.
● The s udy also iden i ies in e na ional sou cing (de-loca ing eams in o he coun ies),
ins i u ional compe i ion be ween na ional egula o y amewo ks, and compe i ion in
a ac ing skills as key o ces in luencing Eu opean mul imedia (and ideo game) alue
chains. I is e y likely ha hese ac o s a e also ele an o in luence ideo game indus y
clus e dynamics.
The 2023 DG Connec epo “Unde s anding he alue o a Eu opean ideo games socie y” p o ides
he mos ecen and comp ehensi e analysis o he ideo game indus y in Eu ope.
6
Acco ding o he s udy, as o 2023, he ideo games sec o in Eu ope employs a ound 74,000 people
ac oss 5,000 game de elopmen and publishing s udios.
7
In addi ion, 70% o companies in he EU
ideo games sec o employ ewe han 10 people, bu he di e si ica ion o dis ibu ion pla o ms
beyond consoles and PCs has c ea ed a space o indie games om smalle companies o lou ish.
S ill, capi al-in ensi e pa s o he ma ke , such as ha dwa e manu ac u e s, a e gene ally loca ed
ou side he EU, and only 14 o he 100 la ges publicly lis ed companies in he gaming sec o in he
wo ld a e EU27-based.
8
Al hough no explici ly ocusing on he spa ial and e i o ial o ganisa ion o he ideo game
indus y, he epo add esses se e al ele an issues ha can be used o analyse ideo game
indus ial dynamics and he oppo uni ies and challenges o suppo he ideo game indus y in
di e en Eu opean coun ies and egions. In pa icula :
6
Eu opean Commission, Di ec o a e-Gene al o Communica ions Ne wo ks, Con en and Technology,
“Unde s anding he alue o a Eu opean ideo games socie y – Final epo ”, Publica ions O ice o he Eu opean
Union, 2023, a ailable he e: h ps://da a.eu opa.eu/doi/10.2759/332575
7
Es ima es do no include he UK.
8
h ps://companiesma ke cap.com/ ideo-games/la ges - ideo-game-companies-by-ma ke -cap/, accessed 30 h July
2024. No e: he da a also include companies specialised in digi al en e ainmen and gambling.
20
● The EU ideo game sec o is mos ly cha ac e ised by small o medium size companies ha
ope a e a di e en le els in he global ideo game indus y, bu includes some enowned
global publishe s and game s udios, which a e in many di e en Eu opean coun ies. Mos
o he s udios de elop games anging om indie o AAA games, wi h a la ge pa o he EU
indus y de eloping AA games (mid-sized games). The EU is hos o some ele an
de elope s o hi d-pa y so wa e (game engine, a physics engine o a code compile ), which
a e ele an ools in he game de elopmen p ocess.
● Acco ding o a su ey conduc ed o he epo , o Eu opean ideo game companies, he
main pe cei ed ba ie s o en y and g ow h in he ideo games sec o a e: (1) lack o
inance, (2) s ong compe i ion and (3) lack o skilled labou . Con e sely, weak supply
chain/di icul y o ind pa ne s in he indus y, inadequa e IP p o ec ion and poo ma ke
condi ions a e no seen as ele an causes. Financing is a key challenge pa icula ly o small
and medium de elope s. The main p oblem lies in he ac ha , unless a ideo games s udio
has al eady launched a success ul game, i is o en di icul o a ac inancing om
adi ional playe s, including banks. To sol e hese issues, s udios a e u ning owa ds
al e na i e ways o unding, such as c owd unding p ojec s o public loans and g an s.
● In e ms o a ac i eness, he wo key s eng hs o he EU ma ke a e he access o public
suppo and access o s a wi h he igh skills. Access o an adequa e consume ma ke and
o a s ong supply chain a e no pe cei ed ei he as key elemen s o he EU’s a ac i eness
o o he wise. On he o he hand, one o he main p oblems highligh ed in he s udy by
Eu opean ideo game companies is access o p i a e inance.
2.1.2 O he documen s add essing he Video Game sec o in Eu opean coun ies
Beyond o icial and commissioned epo s by Eu opean Ins i u ions, he e a e o he sou ces o da a
and s udies ha help o build a knowledge base on he Eu opean ideo game indus y’s spa ial
o ganisa ion, a leas a he na ional le el.
The Eu opean Game De elope s Fede a ion (EGDF)
9
publishes annual key ac s abou he ideo
game indus y a he Eu opean le el, p o iding a compa a i e iew o he sec o in e ms o
companies and employees be ween di e en coun ies. The da a used in hese annual epo s
gene ally comes om su eys p oduced by na ional game de elope s and publishe s’ associa ions.
10
9
A ailable a h ps://www.egd .eu/ca ego y/da a-s udies/
10
This ype o da a has been used by he 2023 Eu opean epo o es ima e he size o he sec o .
21
A he na ional le el, beyond annual su eys p oduced by game de elope s and publishe s’
associa ions, some whi e pape epo s endo sed by na ional go e nmen s and minis ies ha e been
eleased in some coun ies (Spain, I eland), p o iding a mo e comp ehensi e analysis o he sec o
s uc u e, ends and challenges a he na ional le el.
Looking a o he in e na ional o ganisa ions in e es ed in he ideo game sec o , i is wo h o
men ion he WIPO Repo 2024 "Making Inno a ion Policy Wo k o De elopmen ”,
11
which has
used he ideo game indus y o s udy he impo ance o le e aging local know-how o de elop
inno a i e capabili ies and conside ed wo Eu opean ideo game hubs, Poland and Finland, as
pa adigma ic case s udies.
Compa ed o o he mo e es ablished hubs, such as he Uni ed S a es and Japan, Finland and Poland
a e conside ed newe en an s in o his indus y, building p ima ily on compu e a and
p og amming hobbyis cul u e and ansla ion/ ideo game localiza ion know-how, espec i ely.
Poland de eloped i s local ideo game indus y mos ly by ocusing on PC and console games, and
al eady has many AAA successes, which is a e o a newe hub. Finland has a long his o y o mobile
games and is s ill a leading hub in his segmen . In addi ion, hese wo coun ies ollowed sepa a e
de elopmen al ajec o ies, showcasing di e en ye e en ually success ul pa hs o ideo game
hub de elopmen .
In pa icula , in Finland, he ideo game indus y eme ged om a subcul u e o eenage hobbyis s
who c ea ed compu e audio isual demos. This g ass oo s inno a ion led o he de elopmen o a
obus ideo game sec o , cha ac e ised by c ea i e alen and echnical expe ise. On he o he
hand, Poland's ideo game indus y pai ed game ansla ion and dis ibu ion know-how wi h local
li e a u e and design alen . This combina ion o skills enabled he coun y o de elop a h i ing
ideo game sec o .
11
A ailable a h ps://www.wipo.in /publica ions/en/de ails.jsp?id=4724

22
2.2 Business s a is ics and indus ial classi ica ion challenges in
measu ing he ideo game indus y
A key issue in he spa ial mapping o he ideo game indus y and he iden i ica ion o clus e s is o
unde s and o wha ex en i is possible o iden i y i ms ope a ing in he sec o by means o
s anda d indus ial classi ica ions.
The NACE (S a is ical Classi ica ion o Economic Ac i i ies in he Eu opean Communi y) classi ica ion,
which se es as he s anda d sys em o ca ego ising Eu opean indus ies, has been long
acknowledged o p o ide an incomple e o inaccu a e co e age o he Cul u al and C ea i e sec o s
in gene al,
12
bu his limi a ion especially applies o he ideo games ecosys em, leading o a pa ial
ep esen a ion o ac i i ies wi hin he sec o (EU Commission, 2023). While NACE ca ego y J58.21,
"Publishing o compu e games”, is di ec ly ele an , i p ima ily add esses publishing and o e looks
o he essen ial aspec s such as de elopmen , a is ic di ec ion, music c ea ion, and dis ibu ion (EU
Commission, 2023). Eu os a 's 2019 s a is ics o ca ego y J58.21 encompass a ious me ics such
as he numbe o en e p ises, u no e , p oduc ion alue, and alue-added. Sec ions R (A s,
en e ainmen , and ec ea ion) and J (In o ma ion and Communica ion), which could po en ially
include ele an da a o ideo games, do no p o ide speci ic e e ences o he indus y (EU
Commission, 2023).
Acco ding o he Eu opean Game De elope s Fede a ion (EGDF),
13
as game de elope s do no
iden i y hemsel es as game publishe s (meaning, companies ha ocus s ic ly on publishing hi d-
pa y ideo games), s udios de eloping games o en end up egis e ing hemsel es unde o he
indus ial classi ica ions, such as, unde 62.0.1 – Compu e p og amming ac i i ies, R90.0.3 – A is ic
c ea ion, C32.4.0 – Manu ac u e o games and oys, R93.1.9 – O he spo s ac i i ies, R93.1.9 –
O he spo s ac i i ies J62.0.2 – Compu e consul ancy ac i i ies, J63.1.2 – Web po als, M72.2.0 –
Resea ch and expe imen al de elopmen on social sciences and humani ies, P85.6 – Educa ional
suppo ac i i ies.
12
Measu ing CCS Conso ium (2020) Final Repo - Measu ing he Cul u al and C ea i e Sec o s in he EU, a ailable a
h ps://www.measu ing-ccs.eu/ he-measu ing-ccs-conso ium-publishes- he- inal- epo /
13
EGDF (2021). EGDF posi ion on he games indus y s a is ical classi ica ion (NACE code) A ailable a :
h ps://www.egd .eu/wp-con en /uploads/2021/04/202004-EGDF-posi ion-on- he-games-indus y-s a is ical-
classi ica ion-NACE-code.pd
23
In a ew coun ies, such as in he UK, wi hin he NACE ca ego y 62.0.1 – Compu e p og amming
ac i i ies, a i e-digi SIC code has been exp essly added (62.0.1.1) o accoun o en e p ises whose
main economic ac i i y is “Ready-made in e ac i e leisu e and en e ainmen so wa e
de elopmen ”. This ine classi ica ion, al hough possibly use ul o measu ing mo e accu a ely he
numbe o ideo game companies in a coun y, is howe e no use ul o compa a i e analyses a
Eu opean le el, as o icial s a is ics emain a he ou -digi le el.
The measu emen p oblem o he ideo game sec o is u he compounded a he egional le el,
whe e he o icial s a is ics collec ed by Eu os a on he numbe o en e p ises a e limi ed o wo
digi s o he s anda d indus y classi ica ion, ende ing analysis imp ac ical. Indeed, in he case o
he publishing o compu e games (NACE J5821), his ac i i y is included in NACE code J58,
co esponding o he b oade ca ego y o publishing ac i i ies.
To o e come he limi a ions imposed by s anda d indus ial classi ica ions o accu a ely iden i y
i ms ope a ing in complex and inno a i e indus ies, mo e da a-d i en and web-based app oaches
ha e been p oposed and es ed, wi h pa icula e e ence o he UK con ex .
The 2014 NESTA epo “A Map o he UK Games Indus y” (Ma eos-Ga cia e al., 2014) has
de eloped a me hodology ha combines web sou ces wi h business egis ies o iden i y and map
he companies ope a ing ac oss di e en segmen s o he ideo games alue chain in he UK (i.e.,
de elope s, publishe s, dis ibu o s, e c.). Da a on ideo game companies has been collec ed
h ough web di ec o ies wi h in o ma ion abou ideo games i les, de elope s and publishe s, and
o he websi es co e ing he ideo games indus y.
14
By using alida ed da a sc aping and ex
ma ching echniques, he name o he ac i e companies in he UK has been linked o business
in o ma ion a ailable in company egis e da abases, allowing o ob ain in o ma ion on hei
loca ion and economic s uc u e.
The e idence collec ed h ough his app oach p o ides a mo e accu a e measu e o ideo game
companies ope a ing in he coun y
15
and highligh s how only one- hi d o he companies iden i ied
in he s udy a e cap u ed by o icial games SIC codes.
16
C ucially, by knowing he exac loca ion o
he companies, he epo p o ides an in-dep h analysis o he geog aphy o he ideo game indus y
and i s clus e ing s uc u e.
14
Examples o web di ec o ies consul ed a e MobyGames, GameSpo , Pocke game , To hegame, De elop 100,
GameDe Map.
15
Speci ically, he au ho s iden i y 1,902 ideo games companies.
16
The o icial games SIC codes 6201/1 and 5821 used in UK business s a is ics co e jus o e one– hi d (35 pe cen )
o companies, wi h he majo i y o ideo game companies ha ing egis e ed unde o he SIC codes, such as 6201/2
Business and domes ic so wa e de elopmen , 6209/0 O he in o ma ion echnology and compu e se ice ac i i ies o
6202/0 Compu e consul ancy ac i i ies.
24
Ano he esea ch ini ia i e, which adop s a da a-d i en app oach o iden i y inno a i e eme ging
sec o s is he UK Inno a ion Clus e s Map om he Depa men o Science, Inno a ion and
Technology (DSIT).
17
The s udy u ilises he Real Time Indus y Classi ica ion (RTIC) de eloped by
Da aci y
18
o de ec eme ging inno a i e sec o s, which a e no ully cap u ed by o icial s anda d
indus y classi ica ion codes. This no el classi ica ion sys em classi ies businesses using language
pa e ns wi hin he websi e ex o indi idual companies o unde s and hei key ac i i ies and
ope a ions. The ideo game indus y is one o he 46 RTIC sec o s iden i ied h ough his app oach.
2.3 E idence on he spa ial pa e ns o he Video Game indus y in
Eu ope
One o he main objec i es o GAME-ER is o p o ide a comp ehensi e unde s anding o he spa ial
o ganisa ion o he Eu opean ideo games clus e ecosys em, wi h a pa icula ocus on local and
egional clus e s.
Table 2 p o ides an o e iew o he s a e o he a o s udies and ini ia i es ha ha e p o ided
mapping o he ideo games indus y a he spa ial le el in Eu ope in ecen yea s. The selec ion
consis s mainly o esea ch in es iga ing he spa ial specialisa ion and clus e s o CCIs and su eys
by na ional ade associa ions ha p o ide a pic u e o he ideo game indus y's geog aphy in gi en
coun ies.
17
h ps://www.inno a ionclus e s.dsi .go .uk/
18
h ps:// heda aci y.com/ ics/
25
Table 2 - S udies and epo s wi h spa ial mapping o he ideo games sec o in Eu ope
Sou ce: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion
32
Applica ion o Inno a i e and C ea i e Clus e s
Applica ion o Inno a i e and C ea i e Clus e s
CCIs a ac alen ed indi iduals, enhancing labou
ma ke collabo a ion
C ea i e clus e s os e en ep eneu ial
oppo uni ies and spin-o s
De elopmen o in as uc u e and suppo
se ices ailo ed o c ea i e indus ies
Uni e si ies also con ibu e as sou ces o impo an
spin-o s
Key e e ences
Key e e ences
Flo ida, 2002; Cohende e al., 2010; Ga nsey and
He e nan, 2005; Ba hel e al., 2010
Kleppe , 2007, 2010; Buens o and Kleppe , 2009;
Buens o and Guen he , 2011; Buens o and
Cos a, 2018; Cassi e al., 2010; Rizzo and
Whi ake ,2015.
Sou ce: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion.
3.2 Pooled esou ces
Indus ial and c ea i e clus e s o igina e, o ganise and de elop a ound a wide a ay o esou ces
wi hin well-de ined geog aphical spaces (Flo ida, 2002; San aga a, 2002; Sco , 2006; San aga a,
2009; E ans, 2009):
● Concen a ion o human capi al, skills: geog aphical agglome a ion and specialisa ion
wi hin a single indus y suppo he o ma ion o a local pool o skilled labou , inpu -ou pu
linkages and knowledge lows which occu along he supplie -buye supply chain (Ma shall,
1920; Beca ini e al., 2009);
● Educa ion/R&D: he ole o ins i u ions ha gene a e o mal knowledge and aining o be
ans e ed o i ms has been s essed as a c ucial ac o in he bi h and e olu ion o
indus ial and inno a i e clus e s (Ba hel e al., 2010; En ie i e al., 2022; Menzel and
Kamme , 2019; Mo ison and Boschma, 2019);
● Taci knowledge/buzz: economic geog aphe s e isi ed he Ma shallian no ion o “indus ial
a mosphe e”, using he lenses o “un aded in e dependencies” (S o pe , 1995) and “local
buzz” (Ba hel e al., 2004) o cap u e he idea ha clus e s bene i lea ning and he
accumula ion o aci skills and knowledge ha would be di icul o sha e wi hou a common
cul u e and social con ex and he hick ne wo k o local ace- o- ace and pe sonal con ac s;

33
● Social capi al: poli ical and public esou ces and social capi al mo e gene al a e mobilised
and agg ega ed in he eme gence o clus e s in indus ial sec o s (Ruga io i, 1999; So enson
and Audia, 2000; T igilia, 2007; Sine and Lee, 2009; Ba hel e al., 2010; Bagnasco, 2012;
An onie i and Boschma, 2021) as well as in c ea i e and cul u al clus e s (Casadei e al.,
2023); pu ely cul u al clus e s cen ed a ound public and non-p o i cul u al ins i u ions such
as museums, hea es, and lib a ies hea ily ely on his ype o esou ces (Lo enzen and
F ede iksen, 2007);
● In as uc u es: clus e ing a ou s he pooling o di e en kinds o in as uc u es, such as
communica ion, anspo a ion, comme cial and economic in as uc u e (Saxenian, 1994;
Po e , 1998).
3.3 Beyond geog aphical p oximi y
The o ma ion o c ea i e and inno a i e clus e s is con ingen upon he con e gence o mul iple
o ms o p oximi y, which in u n c ea es an en i onmen conduci e o collabo a ion, knowledge
exchange, and us . The a ious o ms o p oximi y, including geog aphical, cogni i e,
o ganisa ional, social, and ins i u ional, each con ibu e o he dynamics o hese clus e s in a
dis inc i e manne .
P oximi y is a c i ical ac o ha suppo s he o ma ion and success o c ea i e and inno a i e
clus e s. Di e en ypes o p oximi y play dis inc oles in os e ing he necessa y condi ions o
c ea i i y and inno a ion (Pa is, 2010; Cohende and Mehouachi, 2018).
A numbe o con ibu ions o he ield o inno a ion s udies ha e highligh ed he idea ha he
ad an ages in e ms o g ow h and inno a ion due o loca ion-speci ic ac o s a e ac ually exploi ed
only because o he p esence o sys emic in e ac ions and ne wo king in he p ocess o gene a ion
and di usion o inno a ion. This coupled e ec o loca ional ad an ages and in e ac ions has been
ecognised as a key de e minan o he eme gence and e olu ion o clus e s. Clus e s a e ound in
well-de ined a eas whe e ne wo king and knowledge lows be ween ele an ac o s a e su icien ly
dense and obus o acili a e he exploi a ion o ex e nal knowledge (B enne e al., 2013).
While in Saxenian (1994) and Po e 's (1998) wo ks, clus e s de elop spon aneously and o ganically,
d i en by ad an ages such as p oximi y, homophily, and spillo e s, he knowledge-based iew o
clus e s sugges s ha knowledge does no necessa ily and eely sp ead in one speci ic egion
(An onelli, 2006; Malmbe g and Maskell, 1997, 2002). Ra he , s uc u ed in e ac ions a e o
pa amoun impo ance in encou aging he ac o s wi hin a egion o engage in knowledge p ocesses
and gene a e he ui ul local buzz (Ba hel e al., 2004; Bocque and Mo he, 2015).
34
The concep o p oximi y, unde s ood in i s a ious o ms, has been iden i ied as a ac o ha
acili a es in e ac ions (Thompson and Fox-Kean, 2005; An onelli e al., 2011; D’Es e e al., 2013).
This allows o he iden i ica ion o he channels ha enable local o ganisa ions o bene i om
ex e nal economies (Ge le , 1995, 2003).
No only geog aphical p oximi y ma e s, as in adi ional s udies ha highligh i s e ec in lowe ing
anspo a ion cos s. Also, cogni i e (No eboom e al., 2007), ins i u ional (Giuliani, 2007; G a ,
2006), social (B eschi and Lissoni, 2001) and cul u al p oximi y ma e o explaining pa icipa ion in
clus e s, and hei pe sis ence. In hese cases, p oximi y ma e s because i lowe di e en and
mo e in angible cos s associa ed wi h he inno a i e and c ea i e p ocess such as imi a ion cos s
(Mans ield e al., 1981), abso p ion cos s (Cohen and Le in hal, 2000; G i i h e al., 2003),
ne wo king cos s (Ag awal e al., 2006; Beugelsdijk, 2007), cogni i e cos s (Noo eboom e al., 2007),
ela ional cos s (Glaese and Scheinkman, 2000), conges ion cos s (Boschma, 2005a; F enken, Van
Oo , Ve bu g, 2007). The capabili y o ac o s o lea n and sha e skills and knowledge depends on
hei ne wo k o ela ions and in e ac ions, which a e acili a ed by imma e ial kinds o p oximi y.
In sum, hese key o ms o p oximi y ha e been iden i ied and p esen ed by Boschma (2005b) as:
● Geog aphical p oximi y: i is used o desc ibe he physical closeness o i ms and ins i u ions
wi hin a clus e . Such p oximi y acili a es he occu ence o equen ace- o- ace
in e ac ions, he ans e o knowledge, and he sha ing o esou ces, all o which a e c ucial
o inno a ion. Fo example, Boschma (2005a) emphasises how geog aphical p oximi y can
enhance inno a i e pe o mance by acili a ing equen in e ac ions and knowledge
exchanges, h ough enhanced communica ion, easie collabo a ion and he o ma ion o
local ne wo ks;
● Cogni i e p oximi y: his ype o p oximi y e e s o he simila i y in knowledge bases and
cogni i e amewo ks among ac o s in a clus e . I gua an ees ha i ms and indi iduals a e
able o comp ehend one ano he 's expe ise and con ey in ica e concep s wi h e icacy.
Cogni i e p oximi y (Noo eboom e al., 2007) can acili a e e ec i e knowledge ans e and
inno a ion due o he ease o knowledge ans e , a common unde s anding o indus y-
speci ic languages and me hodologies;
● O ganisa ional p oximi y: i e e s o he deg ee o simila i y in o ganisa ional p ac ices,
cul u es and s uc u es among i ms wi hin a clus e . I os e s us and educes ansac ion
cos s, he eby acili a ing collabo a ion. C ea i e and inno a ion hubs, whe e ga ekeepe s
and knowledge b oke s align o ganisa ional s uc u es and p ac ices, also encou age
companies o adop simila inno a ion p ac ices and s anda ds, which in u n lead o
smoo he in e - i m collabo a ions, sha ed no ms and p ac ices, and inc eased us . These
ac o s in u n suppo knowledge c ea ion and inno a ion;
35
● Social p oximi y: i is de ined as he ex en o which indi iduals in a clus e a e connec ed
h ough social ela ionships, ne wo ks, and us . The exis ence o s ong social ies can
acili a e coope a ion and he sha ing o aci knowledge. Maskell and Malmbe g (1999)
posi ha social p oximi y os e s us and in o mal ne wo ks, which a e c ucial o
inno a ion. A and design clus e s may se e as illus a i e examples o con ex s whe e
social ne wo ks among a is s acili a e collabo a i e p ojec s;
● Ins i u ional p oximi y: i e e s o he alignmen o o mal ins i u ions, such as laws,
egula ions, and policies, wi hin a clus e . This ensu es ha i ms ope a e unde simila
ins i u ional amewo ks, he eby acili a ing smoo he in e ac ions. The implemen a ion o
suppo i e policies and egula ions se es o p omo e inno a ion, since hey acili a e he
p oximi y o ins i u ions.
Fo a ecen e iew o he main p oximi y ac o s, al hough no di ec ly applied o inno a i e and
c ea i e clus e s, see o ins ance Wilke and Pyka (2024a, 2024b).
3.4 Di e en ypes o ac o s
The exchange o knowledge and skills becomes a c ucial a iable in clus e g ow h ia collabo a ions
be ween i ms and scien i ic and aining ins i u ions, and mobili y o human capi al. Hie a chical
s uc u es cha ac e ised by non- edundan connec ions a ou knowledge sha ing because o he
key ole played by “s uc u al holes” (Coleman, 1990), knowledge b oke s and ga ekeepe s: o
example, la ge i ms, echnology ans e cen es, incuba o s occupy a b oke age posi ion be ween
mo e “pe iphe al” ac o s. They a bi a e and low knowledge be ween i ms and g oups o i ms
ha a e no connec ed di ec ly, o his eason occupy a powe ul and cen al posi ion in he
s uc u e, which hence assumes a hie a chical con igu a ion (Giuliani, 2007; Pa ucco, 2005, 2014).
Hubs a e ins ead c ucial in he e olu ion o clus e s om mo e adi ional business ne wo ks in o
complex inno a ion and c ea i e ecosys ems (Gill e al., 2019).
Wi hin inno a i e and c ea i e clus e s, ga ekeepe s, knowledge b oke s, and hubs play a key ole
in acili a ing he low o in o ma ion, esou ces, and oppo uni ies. The ole o ga ekeepe s,
knowledge b oke s, and hubs is in e connec ed and mu ually ein o cing. Ga ekeepe s o en ely on
knowledge b oke s o s ay in o med abou eme ging ends and po en ial oppo uni ies. Knowledge
b oke s, in u n, use hei ne wo ks o na iga e h ough ga ekeepe s and connec wi h hubs. Hubs
se e as he physical o concep ual ocal poin s whe e ga ekeepe s and knowledge b oke s ope a e
and in e ac . Ga ekeepe s ensu e quali y and manage access, knowledge b oke s acili a e
in o ma ion low and inno a ion, and hubs p o ide he necessa y in as uc u e and communi y
suppo . In wha ollows UNITO iden i ied mo e speci ically hei ea u es and ole in inno a i e and
c ea i e clus e s:
36
● Ga ekeepe s a e indi iduals o o ganisa ions ha con ol access o esou ces, oppo uni ies,
and ne wo ks wi hin a clus e . They play a pi o al ole in il e ing in o ma ion and
oppo uni ies, ensu ing ha only high-quali y ideas and p ojec s gain ac ion. Ga ekeepe s
o en hold posi ions o powe and in luence, such as galle y owne s, es i al o ganise s, and
edi o s, who de e mine which a is s, wo ks, o inno a ions ecei e isibili y and suppo . By
selec i ely endo sing ce ain p ojec s, hey c ea e benchma ks o success and inno a ion.
Finally, hey o en ha e ex ensi e connec ions and can in oduce newcome s o es ablished
ne wo ks, acili a ing new collabo a ions and oppo uni ies (Becke , 1982; Ca es, 2000).
● Knowledge b oke s a e in e media ies who acili a e he ans e o knowledge and
in o ma ion be ween di e en ac o s wi hin a clus e (Boschma and e Wal, 2007; Ba hel
and Cohende , 2014). They connec c ea o s, businesses, and ins i u ions, enabling he
exchange o ideas and os e ing collabo a ion. Knowledge b oke s o en possess ex ensi e
ne wo ks and deep indus y expe ise, allowing hem o b idge gaps be ween di e se
sec o s. They enable c oss-pollina ion o concep s om di e en ields, leading o no el
solu ions and app oaches. In c ea i e clus e s, knowledge b oke s play a i al ole in
inno a ion by dissemina ing bes p ac ices, new echnologies, and ma ke ends (Howells,
2006). Knowledge b oke s o ganise e en s, wo kshops, and semina s whe e knowledge can
be sha ed, helping o build a cul u e o con inuous lea ning and adap a ion (Bessan and
Tidd, 2011). E ec i e knowledge b oke s build us and c edibili y among clus e membe s.
Thei abili y o acili a e open and hones exchanges o in o ma ion os e s a collabo a i e
en i onmen . Addi ionally, knowledge b oke s can help small and medium-sized en e p ises
(SMEs) access esou ces and expe ise ha migh o he wise be ou o each, le elling he
playing ield wi hin he clus e (Dhana aj and Pa khe, 2006).
● Hubs a e cen al loca ions o o ganisa ions wi hin a clus e ha ac as ocal poin s o ac i i y
and in e ac ion. They p o ide physical and i ual spaces whe e c ea i e p o essionals can
mee , collabo a e, and inno a e. Examples o hubs include co-wo king spaces, incuba o s,
and inno a ion cen es. Hubs acili a e he se endipi ous in e ac ions ha a e c ucial o
c ea i e and inno a i e p ocesses (S o pe and Venables, 2004). By b inging oge he di e se
indi iduals and o ganisa ions, hubs c ea e en i onmen s whe e c oss-pollina ion o ideas
can occu , leading o no el solu ions and b eak h oughs (Flo ida, 2002). Mo eo e , hubs
o en p o ide essen ial in as uc u e and suppo se ices, such as unding, men o ship, and
echnical esou ces, ha enable c ea i e en e p ises o lou ish (P a , 2008). Hubs also play
a c ucial ole in he economic and social de elopmen o a clus e . They a ac alen ,
in es men , and ou ism, con ibu ing o he ib ancy and sus ainabili y o he local economy
(Po e , 1998). Fu he mo e, by os e ing a sense o communi y and sha ed iden i y, hubs
can enhance he social cohesion and esilience o c ea i e clus e s (Saxenian, 1994).
37
Table 5 in eg a es he oles o ga ekeepe s, knowledge b oke s, and hubs wi h hei impac on
clus e s and key e e ences.
Table 5 - Ga ekeepe s, knowledge b oke s and hubs in inno a i e and c ea i e clus e s
Role
Desc ip ion
Func ions
Examples
Impac on
CCIs
Key
e e ences
Ga ekeepe s
Indi iduals o
o ganisa ions
con olling
access o
esou ces,
oppo uni ies,
and ne wo ks
- Fil e
in o ma ion
- Main ain
quali y
s anda ds
- Endo se
p ojec s
- Galle y
owne s
- Fes i al
o ganise s
- Edi o s
- Main ain
quali y
s anda ds
- Shape cul u al
and c ea i e
ends
Ca es (2000)
Becke (1982)
Knowledge
b oke s
In e media ies
acili a ing he
ans e o
knowledge and
in o ma ion
- Connec
c ea o s and
businesses
- Dissemina e
bes p ac ices
- O ganise
e en s
- Consul an s
- Indus y
associa ions
- Resea ch
ins i u ion
- Facili a e
inno a ion
- B idge gaps
be ween
complemen a y
sec o s
Howells (2006)
Bessan & Tidd
(2011)
Ba hel &
Cohende
(2014)
Boschma & Te
Wal (2007)
Hubs
Cen al and
sha ed
in as uc u es
o
o ganisa ions
ac ing as ocal
poin s o
ac i i y and
in e ac ion
- P o ide
spaces o
collabo a ion
- O e suppo
se ices
- Fos e
communi y
- Co-wo king
spaces
- Incuba o s
- Inno a ion
cen es
- Fos e
collabo a ion
and inno a ion
- Sha e
esou ces
- Suppo
economic and
social
de elopmen
Flo ida (2002)
P a (2008)
Po e (1998)
Saxenian
(1994)
S o pe &
Venables
(2004)
Sou ce: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion.

38
3.5 Inno a ion and cha ac e is ics o clus e s
Empi ical s udies ha e p o ided subs an ial e idence o he posi i e ela ionship be ween clus e s
and inno a ion in bo h indus ial and c ea i e and cul u al sec o s (B eschi and Male ba, 2001;
Chapain e al., 2010). Fo example, esea ch conduc ed by Delgado, Po e , and S e n (2010)
indica es ha indus ies si ua ed wi hin obus clus e s demons a e ele a ed a es o pa en ing
and enhanced economic pe o mance. Simila ly, Bap is a and Swann (1998) ound ha i ms
loca ed in clus e s a e mo e likely o inno a e han hose ou side o clus e s.
Howe e , he li e a u e on he opic has emphasised how di e en inno a ion pa e ns and
s a egies may be associa ed wi h di e en clus e ypes o cha ac e is ics.
Fo example, Lo enzen and F ede iksen (2007) p opose ha in cul u al indus ies h ee ypes o
p oduc inno a ion—di e en ia ion h ough a ie y, di e en ia ion h ough no el y, and adical
cul u al p oduc inno a ion—each align wi h speci ic geog aphic and clus e ing dynamics.
P oduc di e en ia ion h ough a ie y occu s wi hin exis ing design spaces and ma ke s. This ype
o inno a ion in ol es inc emen al changes and imp o emen s o p oduc s, such as new e sions o
i e a ions o es ablished p oduc s (e.g., sequels in ilm o upda ed edi ions in music). I h i es on
localiza ion economies whe e i ms clus e o le e age specialised, ela ed knowledge bases and
deep skills. This clus e ing allows o e icien coo dina ion among es ablished ac o s, os e ing a
s able en i onmen conduci e o inc emen al inno a ion.
Di e en ia ion h ough no el y in ol es c ea ing new design spaces wi hin exis ing ma ke s,
in oducing new s yles o gen es ha b eak away om es ablished con en ions. This ype o
inno a ion equi es di e se and b oad skills, o en b ough oge he empo a ily o coo dina e
un ela ed knowledge bases. U banisa ion economies a e c ucial he e, as u ban clus e s p o ide he
di e se, dynamic en i onmen s needed o such inno a i e p ocesses. Ci ies o e he necessa y
concen a ion o a ied knowledge and skills, acili a ing he eme gence o no el p oduc s h ough
he empo a y con e gence o di e se ac o s.
Radical cul u al p oduc inno a ion in oduces en i ely new p oduc s ha c ea e new ma ke s, such
as he eme gence o MP3s o webzines. This ype o inno a ion necessi a es bo h specialisa ion and
di e si y, demanding long- e m coo dina ion o p e iously un ela ed knowledge bases. I bene i s
om bo h localiza ion and u banisa ion economies, o en clus e ing in global and wo ld ci ies whe e
ex ensi e ne wo ks and esou ces con e ge. These ci ies se e as hubs o bo h deep specialised
skills and he b oad, di e se knowledge necessa y o g oundb eaking inno a ions, suppo ing he
complex p ocesses equi ed o adical p oduc de elopmen .
39
Also ecen s udies on indus ial (Wol e al., 2019) and c ea i e (Boix e al., 2015; Cohende e al.,
2021) clus e s ha e also ocused on he idea ha inno a ion equen ly a ises om an in e -
o ganiza ional collabo a ion p ocess, whe ein a di ision o labou wi h ega d o explo a ion and
exploi a ion exis s among he ac o s wi hin a clus e . Inno a i e ac i i ies wi hin clus e s can exploi
exis ing compe encies o can be open o he acquisi ion o no el echnologies h ough explo a ion.
Fo ins ance, he case o Mon eal (Cohende e al., 2021) shows how he ansi ion o a complex
ecosys em o inno a ion hinges on he es ablishmen o collabo a i e ne wo ks.
The ideo game indus y in Mon éal has es ablished collabo a i e ne wo ks comp ising
pa ne ships be ween game s udios, academic ins i u ions, esea ch cen es, and echnology
s a ups. The ansi ion o an ecosys em o inno a ion signi ies he e olu ion o he indus y beyond
con en ional business in e ac ions.
I encompasses collabo a i e inno a ion, R&D ini ia i es, knowledge exchange, and pa ne ships
wi h academia and o he indus ies (e.g., digi al media, AI, VR). This ans o ma ion has esul ed in
signi ican economic and echnological de elopmen s wi hin he gaming indus y, in luencing global
ends and a ac ing alen and in es men s as a consequence o he ansi ion o an inno a ion
ecosys em.
This pe spec i e sugges s ha he ad an ages o collabo a ion o inno a ion wi hin clus e s can be
ealised in wo dis inc ways:
1. The o ma ion o clus e s can acili a e he enhancemen o i ms' knowledge bases,
al hough he e is a isk o undue emphasis being placed on he u he de elopmen o
exis ing compe encies.
2. Collabo a ion wi hin clus e s can also s imula e he c ea ion o new compe encies essen ial
o he de elopmen o en i ely no el p oduc s. This may be achie ed h ough collabo a ion
wi h i ms om o he indus ies o by lea ning abou new de elopmen s om science
h ough coope a ion in he clus e egion wi h uni e si ies o esea ch ins i u es.
40
Table 6 - Cha ac e is ics o clus e s and ypes o knowledge and inno a ion
Cha ac e is ics o clus e
Type o
knowledge
Type o inno a ion
p ocess
Type o inno a ion
ou come
-Specialisa ion
-In a-indus y echnical
ex e nali ies
-Indus ial clus e s
-High p oximi y
- “Ho spo s”
Exis ing,
cumula i e
Exploi a ion
-Inc emen al p oduc
inno a ion
-Inc emen al p ocess
inno a ion
-Di e si ica ion in ela ed
indus ies
-In e -indus ial echnical
ex e nali ies
-Technological clus e s
-Lowe p oximi y
- “Assemblages”
No el,
ecombinan
Explo a ion
-Signi ican / adical p oduc
inno a ion
-Signi ican / adical p ocess
inno a ion
Sou ce: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion.
41
4. THE CLUSTERING OF THE VIDEO GAMES INDUSTRY: INSIGHTS
FROM A SCOPING LITERATURE REVIEW
In his sec ion, GAME-ER aims o in es iga e o wha ex en he academic li e a u e ocusing on he
ideo game indus y has add essed he analysis o clus e s and i s e i o ial dimension. To answe
his ques ion, i was de eloped a scoping li e a u e e iew o he academic p oduc ion on he ideo
games sec o in a CCIs pe spec i e. Mo e p ecisely, he esea ch ocused on he li e a u e
in es iga ing he speci ici ies o he ideo games indus y and i s clus e ing and e i o ial
agglome a ion dynamics.
4.1 Me hodology and da a
In his analysis, GAME-ER adop s a wo-s ep app oach combining bibliome ics
22
wi h a mo e in-
dep h con en analysis o he s udies selec ed (K aus e al., 2022).
Fi s ly, GAME-ER conso ium pa ne s elied on a bibliome ic app oach (Don hu e al., 2021) o
ensu e a sys ema ic and eplicable iden i ica ion and selec ion o he ele an a icles ocusing on
he ideo games sec o wi hin he b oade li e a u e on CCIs and i s spa ial clus e ing dynamics. A
sys ema ic li e a u e sea ch was pe o med using Cla i a e Analy ics’ Web o Science (WoS).
23
Mo e
p ecisely, a sea ch que y was buil based on he mos ele an keywo ds o be sea ched in he
publica ions’ i les, abs ac s, and he keywo ds assigned by bo h au ho s and WoS (Keywo ds
Plus).
24
The aim is o e ie e s udies acknowledging he speci ici y o he gaming indus y, which
inco po a es bo h a so wa e and echnological componen as well as a is ic ea u es, such as
s o y elling and g aphical elemen s, ypical o he CCIs. Addi ionally, one o he main objec i es o
he esea ch was o unco e he spa ial clus e ing dynamics wi hin his speci ic c ea i e sec o , i s
inno a i e componen and i s implica ions om a egional de elopmen pe spec i e. Thus, sea ch
e ms in he likes o “ ideo games”, “gaming”, “ ideo games indus y” and hei synonyms we e
used, oge he wi h keywo ds ela ed o “c ea i e and cul u al indus y”, “clus e ”, “dis ic ”, “hub”,
“scene”, “agglome a ion”, “ egional de elopmen ”.
25
UNITO limi ed he sea ch o a icles, e iews,
22
Bibliome ics is a esea ch s eam o lib a y and in o ma ion science (LIS), whe e a collec ion o bibliog aphic
esou ces is s udied using quan i a i e me hods (B oadus, 1987). Among he ad an ages o bibliome ics, hese
echniques p o ide schola s wi h he possibili y o in es iga ing a la ge amoun o da a han sys ema ic li e a u e
e iews (Be ello e al., 2023). Mo eo e , bibliome ic analyses a e pe o med ollowing a mo e au oma ed and
ela i ely unbiased way (Öz ü k e al., 2024), which ensu es a anspa en , sound, and eplicable app oach (Rey-Ma í
e al., 2022).
23
Web o Science is a comp ehensi e academic ci a ion and indexing da abases o pee - e iewed academic esea ch.
See: h ps://www.webo science.com
24
The p ocess o sea ching among i les, abs ac s and a icles’ keywo ds is e e ed o as “ opic sea ch”.
25
To keep a close ocus on he ideo games sec o , UNITO explici ly excluded om he sea ch keywo ds ela ed o
o he online ec ea ional ac i i ies ha may gene a e con usion and esul in he e ie al o non- ele an li e a u e.
48
No es: The igu e shows he coun o he e iewed s udies in he con en analysis by coun ies analysed and esea ch
me hodology adop ed. S udies ha e been coun ed only once and assigned o only one ca ego y o bo h coun y and
me hodology based on he p e ailing amewo k de eloped and geog aphical ocus chosen. Au ho s’ own elabo a ion.
O e all, conce ning he me hodological app oaches encoun e ed, he la ge majo i y o he s udies
employ empi ical quali a i e app oaches based on da a collec ed h ough in e iews. Gene ally,
such in e iews a e conduc ed wi h ideo game de elopmen s udios and hei wo ke s (e.g., among
o he s: Vallance, 2014; Vang and Tschang, 2013; Pa ke and Jenson, 2017; Cohende e al., 2018),
indus y s akeholde s (Siemia ycki e al., 2016; Po ie-She man and Lynch, 2019; Cohende e al.,
2021; Gong e al., 2023), as well as wi h go e nmen al agencies (Baeza-González, 2021),
ins i u ional in o man s (Ba nes and Coe, 2011) and policy ad iso s (Da chen, 2016, 2017; Yang and
Chan, 2021). To in es iga e he agglome a ion dynamics and he cha ac e is ics o he ideo games
clus e s, o he ypical quali a i e app oaches encoun e ed in his li e a u e subse consis in case
s udy analysis (e.g., Jo gensen e al., 2017; Lange and S ei , 2013; Mio ne and T ippl, 2017) and
su eys (e.g., Hanzawa and Yamamo o, 2017; and Snowball e al., 2021).
Quan i a i e me hods, ins ead, a e commonly deployed in a icles analysing di e en coun ies
simul aneously (Mendez-O ega and A auzo-Ca od, 2020, 2019; Belyae a e al., 2022; Xu e al.,
2023), and ocusing on he e olu ion o he whole indus y, o en a he global le el and o e a long
ime pe iod (Balland e al., 2013; De Vaan e al., 2013). This wide geog aphical pe spec i e is
dic a ed by he ac ha g anula quan i a i e da a a e gene ally sca ce, limi ed, and di icul o
ga he , while agg ega e da a a he na ional le el a e collec ed and upda ed egula ly by
in e na ional o ganisa ions (De Vaan e al., 2013). To o e come hese common da a cons ain s,
some o he a icles analysed le e age on o iginal da a con ained in eely accessible web
eposi o ies main ained by online communi ies o ideo games en husias s—such as MobyGames
(De Vaan e al., 2013; de Vaan and S a k, 2015).
Mo eo e , he e a e some quan i a i e empi ical s udies ha adop a na owe ocus on a single
coun y. Speci ically, De Vaan e al. (2019) in es iga e he US ideo games ma ke , ying o assess
he le el o en y o ideo games p oduce s is-à- is he po en ial ba ie ep esen ed by he exis ing
social capi al wi hin a speci ic egional a ea. Adop ing a mic o-geog aphy pe spec i e o p oduc
inno a ion, Jang e al. (2017) analyse he sub-clus e s o mobile games de eloping companies
loca ed in he Seoul Me opoli an A ea. The au ho s unco e a ious p oduc inno a ion ac i i ies,
in luenced by he e ogeneous agglome a ion e ec s.

49
Simila ly, Mendez-O ega and A auzo-Ca od (2019) ocus on he concen a ion o so wa e, ideo
game de elopmen and edi ing elec onics (SVE) companies, a di e en s ages o ma u i y, loca ed
in he me opoli an a ea o Ba celona, sugges ing ha he clus e ing pa e ns o SVE i ms a e
dis inc om he ones displayed by he less echnological c ea i e indus ies. Finally, ocusing on
China, Xu e al. (2023) explo e he spa ial e olu ion o elec onic games spo s (EGS) in Wuhan,
p o iding a egional and indus ial policy pe spec i e in suppo o he u u e de elopmen o his
indus y.
O e all, i eme ges ha he e is li le compa a i e esea ch among di e en coun ies. In ac , in he
subse o he e iewed a icles, only 12 o e a compa ison be ween se e al coun ies.
34
Among
hese, he ounda ional wo k o Izushi and Aoyama (2006) p o ides a c oss-coun y compa a i e
analysis ac oss he main geog aphical hubs o he gaming indus y o ha ime. Focusing on he UK,
he US and Japan, he au ho s explo e he economic, social, and echnological ac o s ha a e
expec ed o d i e he p ocess o c oss-sec o al skill ans e , which ul ima ely enables he o ma ion
and e olu ion o he ideo game indus y in he espec i e coun ies.
Simila ly, Da chen and T emblay (2015) o e a compa ison be ween wo gaming indus y hubs,
Mon eal and Melbou ne espec i ely. Fi s ly, he pape analyses whe he hese wo hubs can be
conside ed c ea i e clus e s, and secondly i examines he c oss- e iliza ion wi h o he c ea i e
ields loca ed in he same me opoli an a eas, he bene i s o spa ial clus e ing, and he ole o
speci ic policies in he ma u a ion o hese ideo games clus e s. On he same line, by combining
economic geog aphy wi h in e na ional business pe spec i es, Cohende e al. (2018) de elop an
o iginal amewo k o unde s and how, in c ea i e clus e s, newly es ablished mul ina ional
companies coope a e wi h p e-exis ing local ac o s o build a common in as uc u e o inno a ion
(i.e., “local commons”).
The au ho s, in pa icula , analyse how his dynamic con ibu es o bo h he local and global
de elopmen o he ideo game indus y o F ance, he UK, Canada, Aus alia, which a e all ins ances
o clus e s ha success ully le e aged hese coope a i e e o s. The emaining a icles gene ally
adop a global, and hus no pa icula ly ine-g ained, pe spec i e (Balland e al., 2013; De Vaan e
al., 2013; de Vaan and S a k, 2015; Belyae a e al., 2022), o , al e na i ely, a egional iewpoin . In
his second case, o ins ance, Jo gensen e al. (2017) e ace he o ma ion o he No dic game
indus y analysing he ansi ion om he hobbyis subcul u e o he demoscene in Finland, No way
and Sweden in o a o mal and es ablished business.
34
The label “Mul iple Coun ies” in Fig.49 iden i ies hose a icles ha ea simul aneously se e al coun ies and/o
clus e s and ideo games hubs.
50
Some s udies, ins ead, p o ide compa a i e case s udies ac oss indus ies, a he han ac oss
coun ies. This app oach consis s in con on ing some speci ici ies o he de elopmen and
localiza ion o he ideo games indus y agains o he indus ies. Speci ically, Mendez-O ega and
A auzo-Ca od (2020) con on he loca ion pa e ns o he so wa e and ideo games indus y in he
me opoli an clus e s o Ba celona, Lyon and Hambu g. They ind ha in all h ee hubs analysed,
ideo games clus e s display he endency o co-loca e wi h i ms om o he c ea i e indus ies.
Howe e , i eme ges ha he h ee ci ies examined show e y dis inc concen a ion pa e ns.
Finally, wo a icles adop an in e es ing compa a i e app oach, consis ing in analysing he ideo
games sec o agains indus ies ha do no belong o he CCIs ca ego y. This is he case o he
esea ch conduc ed by Mio ne (2022), who compa es he p ocess o indus ial change and
econ igu a ion o he egional inno a ion sys em (RIS) in he digi al games indus y, loca ed in he
Swedish Scania egion, and he au omo i e indus y, es ablished in Wes Sweden.
These wo empi ical case s udies suppo he p oposed concep ual amewo k, o which h ee
p ima y s uc u e-agency dynamics (i.e., egional imagina ies, powe ela ions and di ec ionali y)
play a c ucial ole in RIS econ igu a ion and new pa h de elopmen . In a simila way, Binz and Gong
(2022) in es iga e he legi ima ion p ocess in egional pa h de elopmen by p o iding a compa ison
be ween he po able wa e euse indus y in Los Angeles and he ideo games indus y in Hambu g.
Despi e he ac ha he ocus o his pape is no s ic ly on CCIs, his wo k o e s an in e es ing
analysis o he ideo game hub o Hambu g, whose e olu ion happened in he con ex o an al eady
highly de eloped egion endowed wi h a complex web o knowledge spaces and capabili ies.
4.3.2 Clus e s analysed in he e iewed li e a u e
Among he i s o analyse he ideo games indus y and i s geog aphical dis ibu ion, Johns (2006)
epo ed how he games indus y o igina ed and concen a ed in h ee majo economic egions:
Wes e n Eu ope, Japan, and he USA. A p esen , he key publishe s in he indus y a e s ill mos ly
loca ed in he US and Japan (Pa ke e al., 2014).
None heless, he e iew o he ecen esea ch ocusing on he clus e ing wi hin he ideo games
indus y e eals nume ous o he clus e s ou side hese majo , and al eady ex ensi ely explo ed,
clus e s. UNITO p o ided a geog aphical o e iew, and p esen he key ea u es, o he clus e s
explo ed in his specialised subse o li e a u e. Figu e 5 displays he wo ldwide dis ibu ion o he
clus e s analysed in he li e a u e e iewed, gene ally loca ed a bo h he ci y and egional le el.
35
35
The map epo s he ci ies, o egions, analysed in he li e a u e and conside ed as clus e s o he ideo games
indus y. The isualisa ion does no ake in o accoun na ional clus e s ha eme ge, none heless, om he con en
analysis and as e idenced by Figu e 4. In addi ion, Table 6A in Appendix epo s he numbe o a icles examining he
espec i e clus e s.
51
Figu e 5 - Wo ldwide me opoli an and egional ideo games clus e s in es iga ed
No es: The do s, and hei size and colou , ep esen he equency o appea ance o he ci ies, o egions, analysed in
he li e a u e. Sou ce: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion using Google Shee s.
a. Clus e s ou side Eu ope
Conce ning he coun ies analysed, Canada eme ges as he mos ex ensi ely explo ed hub o
ideo games de elopmen . In ac , he coun y has long a ac ed he a en ion o academics and
policymake s, especially a e he landma k eloca ion o he F ench ideo game company Ubiso
in Mon eal a he end o he 1990s (Pilon and T emblay, 2013; Da chen and T emblay, 2015), which
spu ed he de elopmen o he sec o in he coun y. In he li e a u e subse , Mon eal appea s o
be by a he mos analysed and ci ed clus e (G andadam e al., 2013; Pa ke and Jenson, 2017;
T emblay, 2016). This is because o Mon eal's ideo games sec o 's apid and spec acula e olu ion,
which, in only wo decades, ans o med he ci y in o a leading global c ea i e hub in he indus y
(Cohende e al., 2021).
Addi ionally, among he many Canadian clus e s, i can be iden i ied Vancou e as he second mos
p ominen cen e o ideo games de elopmen . The ci y ep esen s an in e es ing case s udy as i
unde wen a ema kable shi om a s aples economy—based on he ex ac ion and p ocessing o
na u al esou ces, p ima ily o o es y, ishing and mining— o a media and c ea i e clus e (Ba nes
and Coe, 2011; Siemia ycki e al., 2016). The economic eo ganisa ion o Vancou e and i s
en ep eneu ial success s o ies e en ually led o he o ma ion o he e e ence clus e in B i ish
Columbia.
52
In his way, Vancou e managed o a ac es ablished playe s in he ideo game indus y, such as
Elec onic A s (EA) ha ul ima ely es ablished i s Canadian di ision in he ci y. The subsequen
p ocess o new i ms c ea ion h ough spli ing om he o iginal company, Digi al So wa e
Inco po a ed (DSI), ul ima ely posi ioned Vancou e as a global ideo games clus e (Ba nes and
Coe, 2011). Howe e , Siemia ycki e al. (2016) highligh he ecen slowdown in Vancou e ’s
c ea i e economy, including ideo games ela ed ac i i ies.
In e es ingly, Pa ke and Jenson (2017) highligh he p esence o a se ies o small and pe iphe al
clus e s in he Canadian ideo games sec o . The au ho s, in ac , p o ide a ine-g ained analysis o
he na ional ideo games de elopmen scene, wi h he aim o map, along he well-known hubs o
Mon eal, Vancou e and To on o, also unde -s udied Canadian clus e s loca ed in emo e egions
and ci ies. I eme ges indeed ha he e a e se e al small g oups and de elope s loca ed in
pe iphe al and isola ed loca ions, such as Ya mou h, No a Sco ia, and Pangni ung, Nuna u .
T adi ionally, Japan and he US ha e played an hegemonic ole in he games indus y e e since i s
incep ion, he e o e becoming he main global cen es o he p oduc ion and dis ibu ion o ideo
games (Baeza-González, 2021).
36
Conce ning Japan, Aoyama and Izushi (2003), in examining he eme gence o he ideo game
indus y in he egion, iden i ied in he unique combina ion o c ea i e esou ces om he
anima ion indus y and he echnological knowledge accumula ed in he consume elec onics he
p ima y o ce behind he success o he Japanese ideo games sec o . The p imacy o Japan is
con i med by De Vaan e al. (2013), who i s assessed he annual popula ion o ideo games
p oduce s o he en la ges egions, be ween he incep ion o he indus y in he ea ly 1970s up
o 2007.
Among he op global clus e s, he Kan o egion, and Tokyo in pa icula , is by a he la ges hub,
which eached a peak o 219 companies in 1998, ollowed by Osaka wi h a peak o 29 companies in
he same yea (De Vaan e al., 2013). The Kansai egion is he second mos ib an clus e o ideo
games p oduc ion, in pa icula a ound he ci ies o Osaka and Kyo o, whe e Nin endo is loca ed
(E nk is and S öm, 2018). Ou side hese wo majo clus e s, ecen li e a u e iden i ies and
in es iga es he nascen ideo games hub o Fukuoka (Hanzawa and Yamamo o, 2017).
The US ep esen s he o he adi ionally leading coun y in he ideo games sec o (S. Adams,
2021). In pa icula , as epo ed by De Vaan e al. (2013), San F ancisco, Los Angeles, New Yo k,
Sea le and Dallas eme ge as he cen al clus e s o ideo games p oduc ion. O e ime, San
F ancisco and Los Angeles became he e e ence clus e s, while New Yo k and Sea le also
de eloped signi ican hubs. This p esen geog aphical dis ibu ion is he esul o a s uc u al shi
wi h he pas concen a ion o he a cade business in Chicago, whe e he ou leade s in ha
indus y (Go lieb, Williams, Bally/Midway, and Chicago Coin) we e ini ially loca ed (de Vaan e al.,
36
Wi h some no able excep ions, such as he cen al clus e s o Canada discussed a he beginning o he sec ion,
oge he wi h F ance and he UK.
53
2019). Some o hese companies, such as Williams and Bally/Midway, success ully managed o
ansi ion om a cade games in o digi al a cade games, al hough his segmen only boomed in he
ea ly 1980s and was e en ually su passed by he home gaming segmen la e (Williams 2004;
E nk is 2008). Ul ima ely, San F ancisco and Los Angeles became he main clus e s o home gaming
(de Vaan e al., 2019).
Howe e , despi e being adi ionally he e e ence egions o he ideo games indus y, hese wo
powe houses a e o e all no ex ensi ely examined on he li e a u e subse as compa ed o o he
clus e s wo ldwide.
Fo ins ance, in analysing u he he specialised s eam o li e a u e, Aus alia eme ges as an ac i e
coun y in he ideo games indus y. None heless, he Aus alian ideo game indus y ep esen s
a “niche playe ”, mainly due o i s smalle popula ion o ideo games companies compa ed o he
big and adi ional hubs o Canada and he US (Da chen, 2017a). No ably, he ci ies o Melbou ne
and B isbane cons i u e he wo main clus e s o he gaming sec o (Pa ke e al., 2014; Da chen,
2016; Da chen, 2017). Speci ically, Melbou ne cons i u es he bigge hub, whe e game de elope s
a e mo e cen ally loca ed in he business dis ic o in Sou h Bank.
Gene ally, hey wo k on mo e complex desk op games, which o en equi e in-p esence
collabo a i e wo k compa ed o apps o mobile phones (Da chen, 2016a). In B isbane, ins ead, he
ad en o he in e ne and new pla o ms enabled he specialisa ion o small companies g a i a ing
in he mobile games business. Howe e , Da chen (2016, 2017) a gues ha he wo Aus alian ci ies
show only limi ed o e lap wi h he ypical c ea i e clus e s. Acco ding o his au ho , he analysed
agglome a ions o ideo games companies—wi h he no able excep ion o cen al Melbou ne and
he B isbane inne -ci y subu b o Fo i ude Valley—eme ge mo e as a esul o hei embeddedness
in he echnology sec o , which makes i possible o game de elope s o ope a e a he geog aphic
pe iphe y o he wo main u ban agglome a ions (Pa ke e al., 2014; Da chen, 2016).
Thus, he li e a u e ends o de ine hese wo ci ies as “ne wo ked communi ies” a he han
spa ially bound clus e s o companies (Da chen, 2016a, 2017a). This is in opposi ion o la ge and
mo e ma u e c ea i e clus e s, such as Mon eal, as in he Aus alian con ex he inne -ci y is no
he only place om which success ul games a e p oduced (Pa ke e al., 2014; Da chen, 2017).
In e es ingly, he e is a conside able numbe o ecen s udies ocusing on he Chinese ideo games
indus y (Gong and Hassink, 2019; Gong and Xin, 2019; Jiang and Fung, 2019; Yang and Chan, 2021;
Gong e al., 2023; Xu e al., 2023). In ac , in ecen yea s, he Chinese economy has spec acula ly
e ol ed and he coun y has become one o he main global echnology powe houses.
This ema kable de elopmen is also e lec ed in he ideo games sec o s, wi h he p esence o
majo indus y playe s, such as Tencen , among he cu en global ma ke leade s (Yang and Chan,
2021). Conce ning he localiza ion o ideo games companies, Shanghai ep esen s a p ominen hub
(Gong and Hassink, 2019; Gong and Xin, 2019), oge he wi h Shenzhen (Yang and Chan, 2021) and
Wuhan (Xu e al., 2023).

54
The eme gence o he Chinese ideo game indus y has been hea ily de e mined by he
go e nmen 's neo- echno-na ionalis policies, aimed a p omo ing domes ic echnological
capabili ies and cul u al expo s, while limi ing o eign compe i ion (Yang and Chan, 2021). In
p ac ice, his ambi ion ansla ed in o hea y in as uc u e in es men — o ins ance, in he c ea ion
o echnology pa ks, such as Op ics Valley, he R&D and p oduc ion cen e o op ical ib es and
cables in Wuhan (Xu e al., 2023)— egula o y ba ie s, and suppo o domes ic companies o
os e in e nal g ow h and posi ion he indus y as a global compe i o (Yang and Chan, 2021).
Ano he ema kable Asian playe in he ideo games sec o is ep esen ed by Sou h Ko ea and i s
main me opoli an hub o Seoul. Among he s udies analysed, Jang e al. (2017) adop a
mic ogeog aphy pe spec i e o examine Seoul’s local dis ic s o ideo games, and how p oduc
inno a ion is in luenced by i ms' agglome a ion dynamics. The au ho s analyse whe he ideo
game i ms loca e o o m sub-clus e s and whe he hey asymme ically bene i om p oduc
inno a ion agglome a ions a he indi idual and sub-clus e le els. Fi s , he au ho s ind ha i ms
specialising in speci ic p oduc inno a ion ac i i ies end o o m sub-clus e s wi hin a bigge
indus ial clus e . Secondly, i also eme ges how he ela ionships be ween speci ic p oduc
inno a ion ac i i ies and comme cial pe o mances a y ac oss indi idual i ms and sub-clus e s
wi hin he mac o clus e .
Finally, GAME-ER iden i ies a s eam o esea ch displaying a endency o ocus on coun ies and
egions occupying a mo e pe iphe al posi ion in he con ex o he global ideo games indus y. Fo
example, among he La in Ame ican coun ies, B azil and Chile ha e ecen ly ecei ed some
academic a en ion (Baeza-González, 2021; Diniz and Ab i a, 2021).
B azil eme ges as an ac i e, al hough s ill mino , hub in he global ideo games indus y.
None heless, B azil hos s a signi ican numbe o ideo games companies ha end o coloca e and
concen a e mainly in he majo ci ies o Sao Paulo and Rio de Janei o (Diniz and Ab i a, 2021).
Chile, and speci ically he clus e s loca ed in San iago de Chile and Viña del Ma , appea o be young
and small ideo games cen es. Despi e he pe iphe al posi ion o Chile in he ideo games indus y,
hese clus e s ha e been none heless success ul in de eloping in he ea ly 2000s success ul
adap a ions o popula ideo games. The e o e, Chilean companies managed o de elop
connec ions wi h global big publishe s ope a ing in he indus y (Baeza-González, 2021).
Focusing on Sou h A ica, Snowball e al. (2021) analyse he ideo games clus e loca ed in Cape
Town, inding a unique abili y o companies loca ed in his clus e o combine inno a ion capabili ies
in digi al echnology, c ea i e inpu s and di e si ied wo k o ce.
55
b. Eu opean clus e s
The e iew o he subse o he iden i ied a icles conce ning he clus e ing wi hin he ideo games
sec o e eals how his phenomenon has been analysed in a mo e limi ed way in Eu ope. Mo e
p ecisely, as e idenced in Figu e 6, ex an li e a u e has gene ally analysed he bigge and highly
s uc u ed me opoli an clus e s o London, Li e pool, Pa is, Helsinki and Hambu g.
Figu e 6 - Eu opean me opoli an and egional ideo games clus e s in es iga ed
No es: The do s, and hei size and colou , ep esen he equency o appea ance o he ci ies, o egions, analysed in
he li e a u e. Sou ce: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion using Google Shee s.
Consis en ly, GAME-ER obse es ha he ideo games hub o Hambu g has been ex ensi ely
analysed on he subse o selec ed a icles as well (Binz and Gong, 2022; Gong, 2020; Gong and Binz,
2023; Mendez-O ega and A auzo-Ca od, 2020). Howe e , GAME-ER also inds a e y limi ed
co e age o he o he de eloped and well-known Eu opean clus e s o London and Pa is (De Vaan
e al., 2013) and Helsinki (Leh onen e al., 2020).
In con as wi h p e ious esea ch on Eu opean clus e s (Nes a, 2014; Plum and Hassink, 2014), he
s udies included in he p esen analysis e eal how he e a e nume ous eme ging ideo games
clus e s. Gene ally, he clus e s ha eme ge om he p esen e iew o he li e a u e appea o be
localised in ci ies o smalle size. Mo eo e , hey a e o en he p oduc o a ge ed egional
inno a ion and indus ial policies aiming a mo ing away hese ci ies om declining, albei
adi ional, manu ac u ing ac i i ies.
In his espec , he Swedish egion o Scania, and i s main ideo games clus e o Malmo, ha e been
analysed in de ail by Mio ne and T ippl (2017) and Mio ne (2022). Pa icula ly, he au ho s ocus
hei a en ion on he p ocess o new pa h de elopmen and adap a ion o he egion owa ds he
new echnological and c ea i e sec o o digi al games. In he Scandina ian egion, No way, and
56
speci ically Be gen, ep esen he o he clus e o he gaming indus y as documen ed by Ho ig
(2016). The au ho ocuses in pa icula on he p ac ices o game de elope s and hei
embeddedness wi h he local con ex , challenging he iew o he ideo game indus y as a
"weigh less indus y". Speci ically, he ideo game clus e o Be gen, al hough connec ed wi h he
global indus y, appea s o be shaped by he local con ex h ough a co-e olu iona y dynamic
be ween ac o s, p ac ices, and he local en i onmen .
In Ge many, ou side he adi ionally p ominen clus e o Hambu g, Lange and on S ei (2013)
explo e he wo clus e s o Munich and Leipzig. The pape analyses he go e nance s uc u es pu
in place o acili a e he de elopmen o he so wa e and games indus y in he wo ci ies and
discusses how poli ical ins i u ions can adap o p o ide mo e lexible go e nance o he c ea i e
indus ies. Speci ically, a he han uni e sal go e nance app oaches, he au ho s sugges ha
con ex -speci ic suppo s uc u es a e bes sui ed o he ideo games indus y. Secondly, he
au ho s highligh he impo ance o in o mal social ne wo ks among manage s and en ep eneu s
in an indus ial con ex ha ends o ope a e a he ci y- egional scale. In addi ion, Lange and on
S ei (2013) ecognize ha he as -paced ma ke dynamics o he ideo games indus y ha e
ou paced he abili y o he ci y o Leipzig o es ablish app op ia e s ee ing s uc u es.
Mo ing o F ance, he ideo games clus e o Lyon, si ua ed ou side he cen alising clus e o Pa is,
has eme ged as a e e ence hub o he gaming indus y. Al hough Lyon al eady held an
in e na ional epu a ion o i s high- ech indus ies o pha maceu icals and bioenginee ing, he ci y
was no specialised in compu e - ela ed ac i i ies. The c ea ion o a local ideo games indus y was
he esul o an ambi ious u ban enewal p ojec , named Con luence, and he es ablishmen and
c ea ion o wo ldwide leade i ms in compu e games—Elec onic A s and In og ames,
espec i ely (Mendez-O ega and A auzo-Ca od, 2020).
In Spain, Ba celona is a main cul u al hub o a numbe o c ea i e indus ies, including ideo games
(Mendez-O ega and A auzo-Ca od, 2020, 2019). Simila ly o he case o Lyon, he Ba celona hub
eme ged a e he de elopmen o he u ban de elopmen s a egy called 22@, d i en by he local
ci y council and a combina ion o bo h public and p i a e ac o s. This policy pushed he
ans o ma ion o he as u ban a ea o Poblenou in o a highly a ac i e enue o new i ms o
he knowledge economy and high- ech (Mendez-O ega and A auzo-Ca od, 2020).
Fo wha conce ns he Uni ed Kingdom, he ci y o Li e pool is hos o a ib an ideo game clus e
(Ande on, 2017; Tsang, 2021), which s eng hened i s posi ion a e he change in he ci y
leade ship in 2010. The au ho sugges s ha he ideo games indus y showed pa icula esilience
o local poli ical changes as i easily managed o le e age on p i a e ini ia i es. Mo eo e , Tsang
(2021) iden i ies o he ele an “mini-clus e s” o game de elopmen companies in Glasgow,
Dundee, Newcas le, Leeds, She ield, No ingham, Camb idge, Manches e , Bi mingham, Co en y,
B is ol, Ox o d, and B igh on.
57
Finally, om he analysis o he li e a u e, he ci y o Dublin eme ges as an in e es ing clus e
(Mu phy e al., 2015). Mu phy's con ibu ion analyses he loca ion decision-making p ocess o
companies in he media and compu e game sec o s. In pa icula , i ms a e aced wi h he ask o
assessing he ela i e impo ance o bo h “ha d” ac o s—such as ma ke accessibili y, a ailabili y
o skilled wo ke s, ax egimes, in as uc u e, e c.—and “so ” ac o s—such as c ea i e
en i onmen , u ban ameni ies and “buzz”, quali y o li e, di e si y and openness (Flo ida, 2004). The
au ho sugges s ha , despi e policymake s ha ing been p omo ing policies aiming a boos ing he
so ac o s, ha d ac o s emain he p ima y localiza ion de e minan s o companies ac i e in he
ideo games indus y. In ac , he ha d ac o s ha a e key o ideo games companies in conside ing
Dublin as a loca ion o hei ope a ions a e he a ailabili y o skilled labou and he quali y o
communica ions in as uc u e.
4.3.3 Key ea u es in ideo games indus y clus e s
P ojec -based indus ies, such as he ideo game indus y, ely on a e y di e en se o esou ces
compa ed o manu ac u ing indus ies (De Vaan e al., 2013). Simila ly, ideo games clus e s
le e age a combina ion o human capi al, inancial esou ces, echnological in as uc u e, and
suppo i e policies o c ea e dynamic ecosys ems. In he p esen sec ion, UNITO build upon he
inno a ion li e a u e analysed in he p e ious Sec ion 3, and on he amewo k p o ided, o ou line
he main ea u es and dynamics ha cha ac e ise he iden i ied ideo games clus e s.
a. Main ac o s
Among he di e en ac o s ha popula e and gi e ise o ideo games clus e s, la ge ancho i ms
seem o play a key ole in he o ma ion and g ow h o clus e s in his speci ic indus y (Johns, 2006).
These a e gene ally big and es ablished companies ha se e as a ocal poin a ound which smalle
i ms, se ice p o ide s, and o he en i ies collabo a e. Ancho i ms end o acili a e ne wo king
and collabo a ion wi hin he clus e , while hey also d i e inno a ion, a ac alen , and c ea e a
ne wo k o supplie s and pa ne s, hus os e ing a h i ing ecosys em. Mo eo e , ancho i ms a e
able o a ac skilled p o essionals, bo h locally and om a ound he wo ld. Thei p esence
enhances he o e all alen pool in he gi en egion, making he esul ing clus e mo e a ac i e o
o he companies oo (Cohende e al., 2018).
They o en collabo a e wi h smalle i ms on speci ic p ojec s, p o iding oppo uni ies o hese
companies o g ow and inno a e, o hey may pa ne wi h academic ins i u ions, os e ing a cul u e
o con inuous lea ning and de elopmen . Fo ins ance, Blizza d En e ainmen , headqua e ed in
I ine, Cali o nia, o en engages in collabo a ions wi h local uni e si ies and s a ups, hus
enhancing he collabo a i e en i onmen wi hin he local clus e . Simila ly, companies like Ubiso ,
in Mon eal, ha e d awn nume ous game de elope s and c ea i e p o essionals o he a ea,
boos ing he local pool o alen s and skills (Balland e al., 2013; Cohende e al., 2010). Fu he mo e,
ancho i ms gene ally in es hea ily in esea ch and de elopmen , hus d i ing echnological
ad ancemen s and se ing indus y s anda ds. Thei R&D ac i i ies can lead o spillo e s, whe e
64
cha ac e is ics. Ins ead, he au ho s sugges ha his e olu ion was a con ingen p ocess mainly
d i en by ex e nal ac o s, and u he a gue ha Vancou e 's subsequen decline was d i en by
bo h ex e nal and in e nal ac o s ha unde mined he esilience o he local ideo games indus y.
On a simila no e, Miö ne and T ippl (2017) analyse he digi al games sec o in Sweden's Scania
egion o unde s and how key ac o s can con e a es ic i e egional en i onmen in o a conduci e
one o new indus ial pa h de elopmen . Thei indings e eal ha he ac o s in ol ed in he
p ocess employed a ious modes o change, na iga ing ac oss di e en spa ial scales o mobilise
esou ces and kicks a change a he egional le el. In e es ingly, a ew key indi iduals, including
bo h local inside s and e u ning ou side s, played a c ucial ole in he ans o ma ion p ocesses.
S ill conce ning he ema kable case o new pa h de elopmen o he Scania ideo games clus e ,
Miö ne (2022) p o ides mo e ecen indings. Mo e speci ically, he au ho examines how ac o s
such as egional imagina ies, powe ela ions, and di ec ionali y, shape he econ igu a ion capaci y
o egional inno a ion sys ems. Addi ionally, esul s sugges ha ac o s end o imp o ise and
choose s a egies ha wo k wi hin exis ing s uc u es, a he han ying o disman le ba ie s, hus
elying on he ein e p e a ion and ede ini ion o exis ing s uc u es.
e. Resou ce pooling
The g ow h o ideo game clus e s elies hea ily on a ious dynamics o esou ces pooling. One o
he essen ial needs is o ga he speci ic human esou ces and skilled labou . Clus e s can a ac and
os e alen , including game designe s, p og amme s, a is s, and ma ke e s. In his espec , he
p esence o educa ional ins i u ions p o iding specialised aining p og ams, wi hin o nea clus e s,
a e c ucial o mee indus y needs. Da chen (2016) no es how in he case o B isbane, he
eme gence o a ideo game clus e be ween 1988 and 1993 coincided wi h he es ablishmen o
local uni e si y p og ammes in compu e sciences, which began o p o ide he necessa y skilled
wo k o ce. In ha con ex , he majo i y o game de elope s in B isbane had a backg ound in
compu e p og amming o hold a deg ee in in o ma ics. The e o e, uni e si ies and esea ch cen es
wi hin clus e s con ibu e o he con inuous de elopmen o echnology and p o ide a conside able
s eam o new alen s and skills (Vang and Tschang, 2013).
Fu he mo e, in he case o he ideo games sec o , he e a e also ins ances o he impo ance o
pa icula subcul u es in nu u ing human capi al wi h unique skills and sensibili ies. This is he case
o he ole played by he demoscene subcul u e in he o ma ion o he No dic game indus y
be ween 1990 and 2005. As analysed by Jo gensen e al. (2017), he demoscene p o ided a c ucial
pool o skilled alen ha enabled he apid g ow h o ea ly No dic game companies. Al hough he
ansi ion om hobbyis o p o essional game de elopmen was no simple, wi hou he demoscene
he ea ly No dic game companies would ha e had di icul y inding in e es ed and quali ied
employees (Jo gensen e al., 2017).

65
A second key asse consis s in he access o en u e capi al, go e nmen g an s, and o he unding
esou ces. Clus e s o en ha e a obus inancial ecosys em ha suppo s s a -ups and os e s
inno a ion. Fo ins ance, wi h espec o he ideo game indus y in A lan ic Canada, Po ie-
She man and Lynch (2019) highligh how he p o incial go e nmen s ha e played a key ole by
p o iding he inancial incen i es and suppo o help es ablish, and hen sus ain, he ideo game
indus y in he egion. In e u n, ideo game i ms in A lan ic Canada a e ac i ely p omo ing he
egion and i s unique a ibu es o link local i ms wi h he wide gaming indus y. Meanwhile,
uni e si ies and colleges ha e been c ucial in nu u ing local alen and cul i a ing a egional gaming
cul u e.
Finally, ad anced echnological in as uc u e, including high-speed in e ne , pionee ing ha dwa e,
and so wa e ools, is essen ial o game de elopmen and dis ibu ion. P obably he mos no able
examples o he impo ance o echnology o he ideo game indus y is ep esen ed by Japan
(Izushi & Aoyama, 2006; De Vaan e al., 2013) and he US (S. B. Adams, 2021; de Vaan e al., 2019),
as pionee s in he indus y, and ecen ly by China (Gong and Hassink, 2019; Gong and Xin, 2019;
Jiang and Fung, 2019; Yang and Chan, 2021; Gong e al., 2023; Xu e al., 2023), as a la ecome
echnological powe house.
. Ins i u ions and policies
A conside able s eam o he analysed li e a u e ecognizes he undamen al ole played by public
ins i u ions h ough he o mula ion o a ge ed policies aiming a os e ing he ideo games sec o .
This is pa icula ly ele an o he clus e s ha lack any o m o inhe i ance. In his con ex , he
li e a u e on indus ial clus e s has al eady unde sco ed he ele ance o suppo i e go e nmen
policies and incen i es, ax wai e s, g an s, and in as uc u e de elopmen , which can signi ican ly
in luence he g ow h and sus ainabili y o clus e s.
The Vancou e case analysed by Ba nes and Coe (2011) p o ides ano he example o suppo i e
policies and ac i e ins i u ional in ol emen . This Canadian clus e , shaped by key ins i u ions like
go e nmen subsidies and labou unions, has apidly ans o med om a esou ce-based economy
o a media clus e . Likewise, T emblay (2016) wi h espec o he Mon eal Me opoli an ideo
games clus e , concludes ha he ole o in e media y o ganisa ions and specialised collec i e
go e nance bodies ha e been c ucial o business inno a ion in he indus y.
In Eu ope, he ole o ins i u ional suppo is pa icula ly impo an in he cases o he al eady
men ioned case o new pa h de elopmen o Scania owa ds he ideo games sec o (Mio ne and
T ippl, 2017; Mio ne , 2022). Addi ionally, in he case o he UK, Ande on (2017) unde sco es how,
o he Li e pool ideo games clus e , local poli ical e en s ha e had an in luence on he clus e ,
especially du ing unce ain imes o change o leade ship. The ad hoc policies implemen ed in he
ci ies o Ba celona and Lyon a e ano he example o he cen ali y o he ole played by he public
sec o and he local ins i u ions (Mendez-O ega and A auzo-Ca od, 2020, 2019). Mo eo e , he
ma ke o B i ish ideo games also g ea ly bene i ed om he wo k o he BBC, and he launch o
66
he BBC Compu e Li e acy P ojec in he 1980s, which aimed a boos ing he de elopmen o
mic ocompu ing echnology in he coun y (Tsang, 2021).
Ins i u ional suppo is also key o legi ima e indus ies which a e new o a egion, and hus ou side
i s adi ional indus ial sec o s. This is he case o he Hambu g ideo game indus y, whe eas
highligh ed by Binz and Gong (2022), key legi ima ion and suppo e o s came om s a e and ci y
ac o s. Fo he ideo game sec o , legi ima ion hinged on sys em econ igu a ion and ins i u ional
wo k d i en by ac o s om bo h he indus y i sel and ela ed sec o s, ope a ing a a ious scales.
Speci ically, he ins i u ional wo k ended o be mo e in ense when he indus y aced mo al
sc u iny and had o d aw on socio- echnical schemes alida ed elsewhe e, such as in e na ional
na a i es a ound success ul age-labelling sys ems, indus y associa ions, and unding schemes.
Recen ly, he Chinese go e nmen has eme ged as a pa icula ly ac i e ac o , de e mined in
de eloping i s p imacy in he ma ke o ideo games. In his espec , he pape s analysed highligh
he policies aiming a suppo ing he sec o and he c ea ion o echnology pa ks o os e clus e
c ea ion and de elopmen (Yang and Chan, 2021; Xu e al., 2023).
67
5. CONCLUSIONS
The o e all aim o he p esen epo is o es ablish he knowledge base o he GAME-ER p ojec
o de elop i s u u e concep ual and empi ical assessmen s in he subsequen asks o he di e en
wo k packages (WPs). Speci ically, his deli e able in ended o: (i) p o ide an o e iew o he
ele an policy and academic esea ch on he ideo games sec o wi hin he cul u al and c ea i e
indus ies (CCIS), (ii) iden i y ele an analy ical dimensions o in es iga e clus e o ma ion and
hei cha ac e iza ion, and (iii) p o ide key insigh s h ough a de ailed scoping e iew o he exis ing
academic esea ch on ideo game clus e s.
The i s pa o he deli e able, co esponding o Sec ion 2, e iewed he key epo s and policy
documen s ha aimed o map and assess he ideo games indus y a he Eu opean le el. In doing
so, he sec ion con ex ualises he ideo game indus y wi hin he CCIs highligh ing i s inc easing
ecogni ion, in pa icula in Eu ope. Despi e he inc easing ele ance o he ideo games sec o , he
analysis p esen ed in Sec ion 2 e eals a ied indus y classi ica ion models and signi ican
challenges in measu ing he indus y's pe ime e . Mo e gene ally, he e i o ial dimension o he
ideo game indus y in Eu ope has been a ely add essed in a sys ema ic way. The e iewed
documen s highligh how wi hin Eu ope na ional di e ences in he con igu a ion and dynamics o
he ideo game indus y exis , bu he implica ion in e ms o spa ial o ganiza ion and clus e ing
dynamics has no been su icien ly explo ed. Mo eo e , i eme ges how adi ional me hods o
mapping he indus y's spa ial o ganisa ion ha e been limi ed in iden i ying smalle and eme ging
ideo games clus e s, hus o en esul ing in unde epo ing and misclassi ica ion. None heless,
ecen da a-d i en app oaches and me hodologies show p omise in p o iding mo e accu a e
mappings, he eby enhancing GAME-ER o e all unde s anding o he indus y's spa ial s uc u e
and i s po en ial o become a c ucial sec ion o local and egional de elopmen .
The second pa o he deli e able o e s an in e p e a i e amewo k, le e aging on he ex ensi e
and mul idisciplina y li e a u e on clus e s. P ecisely, Sec ion 3 p o ides an o e iew o key
analy ical dimensions in he inno a ion, egional and c ea i e indus ies esea ch ields. The sec ion
examines a ious app oaches in explaining clus e o ma ion and hei cha ac e iza ion, conside ing
se e al c ucial ac o s, such as agglome a ion economies, spin-o dynamics, he ypes o esou ces
pooled wi hin clus e s, p oximi y ac o s, and he ole o inno a ion, all o which shape clus e ing in
inno a i e and c ea i e sec o s. The e o e, his sec ion aims o p o ide an ini ial in e p e a i e
amewo k o he GAME-ER p ojec pa ne s o build upon in hei analysis o clus e s.
The hi d pa p o ides a comp ehensi e examina ion o he schola ly esea ch on he ideo game
indus y as a CCI. The e o e, Sec ion 4 adop s a scoping li e a u e e iew app oach o assess he
ex en o which ideo game clus e s ha e been analysed in academic esea ch, and o d aw insigh s
in o he clus e s ha ha e been analysed so a . Speci ically, he e iew iden i ies 51 s udies
add essing speci ic ideo game clus e s globally.
68
Looking mo e closely a he Eu opean clus e s iden i ied, he e iew shows how he exis ing
li e a u e has p edominan ly ocused on he la ge and well-s uc u ed me opoli an clus e s.
Con e sely, smalle ci y and egional clus e s ha e ecei ed only some mino a en ion. Addi ionally,
his sec ion o e s a discussion o he cen al ac o s, he key ea u es, and pa e ns cha ac e ising
ideo game clus e s. The analysis o he li e a u e also con i ms ha compa a i e analysis o ideo
game clus e s has been a ely pe o med.
Wi hin he u u e de elopmen s o he GAME-ER p ojec , each pa con ibu es o he nex s eps o
subsequen WPs. Mo e speci ically, Sec ion 2 o e s insigh s o he de elopmen o Eu ope-wide
quan i a i e spa ial mapping o gaming companies a he egional le el and ela ed clus e s (T2.2).
The analysis o he li e a u e on he ac o s cha ac e ising clus e s o inno a i e and c ea i e
indus ies de eloped in Sec ion 3, along wi h he indings p esen ed in Sec ion 4 h ough he e iew
o he ideo game clus e s analyzed in he academic li e a u e, will in o m he quali a i e esea ch
ac i i ies o WP3 and WP4 on he case s udies o he GAME-ER p ojec . Finally, he deli e able will
guide WP5 in i s de elopmen and deli e y o he In e ac i e Me hodological Toolki and he
o mula ion o clus e policy ecommenda ions.
69
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FORFAS (2011). The Games Sec o in I eland: An Ac ion Plan o G ow h.
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F enken, K., F. Van Oo , and T. Ve bu g (2007). Rela ed Va ie y, Un ela ed Va ie y and Regional Economic G ow h.
Regional S udies 41 (5), 685–697.
Ga cia and Bakhshi (2016). The Geog aphy o C ea i i y in he UK - C ea i e clus e s, c ea i e people and c ea i e
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81
7. APPENDIX
7.1 Da abase sea ch a ionale
UNITO p e e ed sea ch s a egy has been de ined in he ollowing ashion. UNITO was in e es ed
in a icles ea ing wo in e ela ed concep s: he ideo games indus y and clus e ing. Mo e
p ecisely, on he second concep , UNITO was in e es ed no only in he clus e ing and geog aphical
agglome a ion dynamics o i ms ope a ing in he ideo games sec o , bu also in he cul u al and
c ea i e aspec s and in he implica ions o he egional inno a ion sys ems. Fo hese easons
UNITO included se e al ele an keywo ds ela ed o hese opics. The ollowing Table 8 p o ides
he concep ual s uc u e behind UNITO p e e ed bibliog aphic sea ch.
Table 8 - Concep ual s uc u e o he sea ch s a egy
Sea ch s a egy
Video games- ela ed
keywo ds
AND
Regional dis ibu ion and
clus e - ela ed keywo ds
NOT
Gambling- ela ed keywo ds
Te ms connec ed by
OR
Te ms connec ed by OR
Te ms connec ed by OR
“ ideo game*
indus y”; " ideo
game*"; “ ideo-
game*”;
" ideogame*";
“gaming”; “online
game*”; “digi al
game*”; "compu e
game*"; “so wa e
game*”; “mobile
game*”; “e-spo ”;
“espo ”; “eSpo ”
“cul u al and c ea i e
indus *”; “c ea i e
indus *”; “cul u al indus *”;
“CCIs”; “de elope *”;
"clus e *"; " egional
clus e *"; "indus ial
clus e *"; "spa ial clus e *";
“spa ial*”; " egion*"; "spa ial
dis ibu ion*"; "geog aph*
dis ibu ion*"; “ egional
dis ibu ion*”; “dis ic *”;
“inno a ion sys em*”;
“ egional inno a ion
sys em*”; “ egional
de elopmen ”; “hub*”;
“agglome a *”;
“concen a *"; “loca *”; “co-
loca *”
"gambl*"; "casino*";“slo
machine*”;“slo -
machine*”;“bingo*”
Sou ce: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion.
82
In wha ollows, UNITO epo he p e e ed sea ch que y speci ica ion:
TS=((" ideo game* indus y" OR " ideo game*" OR “ ideo-game*” OR " ideogame*" OR “gaming”
OR “online game*” OR “digi al game*” OR "compu e game*" OR “so wa e game*” OR “mobile
game*” OR “e-spo ” OR “espo ” OR “eSpo ”) AND (“cul u al and c ea i e indus *” OR “c ea i e
indus *” OR “cul u al indus *” OR “CCIs” OR “de elope *” OR "clus e *" OR " egional clus e *" OR
"indus ial clus e *" OR "spa ial clus e *" OR “spa ial*” OR " egion*" OR "spa ial dis ibu ion*" OR
"geog aph* dis ibu ion*" OR “ egional dis ibu ion*” OR “dis ic *” OR “inno a ion sys em*” OR
“ egional inno a ion sys em*” OR “ egional de elopmen ” OR “hub*” OR “agglome a *” OR
“concen a *” OR “loca *” OR “co-loca *” OR “ e i o ial dynamic*” OR “ e i o *” OR “scene*” OR
“communi *”) NOT ("gambl*" OR "casino*" OR “slo machine*” OR “slo -machine*” OR “bingo*”))
Figu e 7 epo s he scoping e iew lowcha , which ep esen s he key inclusion and exclusion
c i e ia adop ed in he p ocess o iden i ica ion, sc eening and selec ion o eco ds.
Figu e 7 - Scoping e iew lowcha
Sou ce: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion.
83
7.2 Desc ip i e analysis o he iden i ied li e a u e
In his sec ion, UNITO p oceed wi h a bibliome ic analysis o he iden i ied li e a u e collec ion.
Fi s , UNITO p o ided an o e all desc ip i e analysis aiming a explo ing he publishing end, he
main disciplina y a eas whe e he li e a u e on he ideo game indus y ha e lou ished, and he
co e jou nals, au ho s, and hei coun ies o a ilia ion. UNITO hen ook a mo e in-dep h
explo a ion o he main hemes add essed in his se o academic con ibu ions by means o a
hema ic analysis.
7.2.1 Desc ip i e analysis
A desc ip i e summa y o he selec ed s udies is epo ed in Table 9. The 182 documen s in UNITO
collec ion ha e been published be ween 2003 and 2023 and ha e been e ie ed om 108 dis inc
academic jou nals. Conce ning he ype o documen , 173 a e academic a icles, 7 a e book
chap e s, 1 is a book and 1 is a e iew a icle. In he collec ion o s udies, UNITO coun s 318 au ho s
a ilia ed o 218 di e en ins i u ions wo ldwide. In his ield o esea ch, he majo i y o he s udies
a e he esul o collabo a ions be ween mul iple au ho s ( he a e age numbe o coau ho s is
sligh ly mo e han 2); howe e , 48 s udies a e single-au ho ed e o s.
Table 9 - Desc ip i e summa y o he selec ed s udies
Desc ip ion
Resul s
MAIN INFORMATION ABOUT DATA
Timespan
2003:2023
Jou nals
108
Documen s
182
Annual G ow h Ra e %
17.22
Documen A e age Age
6.36
A e age ci a ions pe doc
24.2
A e age ci a ions pe yea pe doc
2.681
Re e ences
9266
DOCUMENT TYPES
a icle
173
book chap e
7
book
1
e iew
1
DOCUMENT CONTENTS
Keywo ds Plus (ID)
444
Au ho 's Keywo ds (DE)
661
AUTHORS
84
Au ho s
318
Au ho Appea ances
411
Au ho s o single-au ho ed docs
45
AUTHORS COLLABORATION
Single-au ho ed docs
48
Documen s pe Au ho
0.572
Co-Au ho s pe Doc
2.26
In e na ional co-au ho ships %
30.22
Sou ce: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion.
The ideo games indus y li e a u e has been s eadily g owing in he pas yea s. Figu e 8 epo s he
scien i ic p oduc ion o e ime. The g aph shows how he academic esea ch in es iga ing he ideo
games indus y emained cons an , and ela i ely limi ed, un il 2012. Howe e , om 2013 he
numbe o publica ions ea ing his opic wi nessed a sha p inc ease. In ac , he academic
p oduc ion o e ime epo s h ee peaks: he i s in 2015 wi h 16 publica ions, he second in 2019
wi h 19 a icles, and he hi d in 2023 wi h 24 a icles published. This end may sugges a enewed
in e es among esea che s in he explo a ion o he speci ici ies o he ideo games indus y wi hin
he bo de s o he CCIs esea ch s eam.
Figu e 8 - Annual academic p oduc ion
No es: The g aph epo s he single numbe o s udies published pe publica ion yea . Au ho s’ own elabo a ion
gene a ed using Biblioshiny.
85
The iden i ied a icles we e also classi ied in e ms o esea ch domains, based on he opics
add essed and he jou nals in which hey ha e been published.
38
O e all, he majo i y o he
publica ions belong o he b oad esea ch ields o economics and managemen . Analysing mo e
closely he specialised sub ields o esea ch, UNITO ound ha mos o he s udies belong o
economic geog aphy, economics and managemen o inno a ion, managemen (in pa icula he
esea ch specialised on o ganisa ions) and economic sociology. The business esea ch domain is
also p esen , al hough i has wi nessed a s eady inc ease only in ecen yea s, om 2014.
In e es ingly, only a limi ed sha e o he a icles belongs o he cul u al economics esea ch domain,
despi e he ac ha he i s esea ch e o s on c ea i e clus e s o igina ed in his sub ield o
economics.
Figu e 9 - A icles published o e ime by esea ch domain
Sou ce: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion.
38
The a icles in he li e a u e collec ion we e also classi ied by ype o me hodological app oach adop ed: concep ual
s udy, li e a u e e iew and empi ical analysis (quan i a i e, quali a i e o mixed me hods. See Sec ion 5 (Appendix).

86
7.2.2 Me hodologies adop ed in he iden i ied li e a u e
Quali a i e me hods g ea ly p e ail in he ideo games indus y esea ch. In e es ingly, quan i a i e
esea ch s a ed o g ow om 2013 onwa d, while esea ch using mixed me hods emained
ela i ely limi ed o e he pe iod unde in es iga ion, excep o a peak in 2021 (5 a icles published
used bo h quan i a i e and quali a i e me hodologies). Pape s p esen ing heo e ical models and
o he concep ual s udies (such as e iews) emain limi ed and s able o e ime.
Figu e 10 - S udies published o e ime by me hodology adop ed
Sou ce: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion.
7.2.3 Geog aphical dis ibu ion o he a icles iden i ied
The analysis o he geog aphical dis ibu ion o he publica ions in he collec ion p o ides ele an
insigh s on he esea ch ac i i y conce ning he ideo games indus y. Table 10 epo s he op 20
mos p oduc i e coun ies (o a ilia ion o au ho s) pe numbe o a icles published. Coun y
p oduc i i y is epo ed based on he o al numbe o publica ions made by he a ilia ed au ho s,
hus he anking coun s bo h single coun y publica ions (SCP) and mul iple coun y publica ions
(MCP). The majo i y o he publica ions on he opics come om he UK (27 documen s), he US (22
documen s), Canada (17 documen s), Sweden (15), F ance and Ge many (wi h bo h 11 documen s).
Toge he hese p oli ic coun ies coun mo e han hal o all publica ions.
87
Table 10 - Top 20 coun ies pe numbe o s udies published
No es: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion. Numbe o a icles pe coun y o a ilia ion o he au ho s lis ed in he publica ion.
SCP = single coun y publica ions, MCP = mul iple coun y publica ions.
No limi ed o he op 20 mos p oduc i e coun ies o a ilia ion, Figu e 11 displays he wo ldwide
scien i ic p oduc ion calcula ed on he equency o he au ho s’ appea ance by all coun ies o
a ilia ion in he li e a u e collec ion.
39
The conside able concen a ion o he academic esea ch on
he ideo games indus y in some coun ies a he han o he s migh e lec speci ic policies owa ds
CCIs, o he ela i ely longe adi ion and knowledge accumula ed by he espec i e ins i u ions
and esea ch cen es in his speci ic ield o esea ch. In his espec , he i s publica ions appea ed
a e he ones whose au ho s a e a ilia ed wi h Ame ican, English o Canadian uni e si ies (Aoyama
and Izushi, 2003; Izushi and Aoyama, 2006; Johns, 2006; Coleman and Dye -Wi he o d, 2007;
Cohende and Simon, 2007), while esea ch pe o med by au ho s a ilia ed wi h con inen al
Eu opean uni e si ies s a ed o appea only a a la e s age (Lê a al., 2013; de Van e al;, 2013;
Lange and S ei , 2013; Minassian and Bou e , 2015).
39
Each ime an a icle includes au ho s a ilia ed o ins i u ions in di e en coun ies, o includes an au ho wi h
mul iple a ilia ions, he appea ance coun e o each coun y’s a ilia ion inc eases by 1. Fo example, i an a icle has
co-au ho s om he US, Canada, and F ance, each o hese h ee coun ies’ appea ance coun will be inc eased by 1.
The e o e, each a icle is a ibu ed o he coun ies o all i s co-au ho s, esul ing in mul iple coun s equal o he
numbe o au ho s. Fo his eason, he o al coun o he coun y's scien i ic p oduc ion may exceed he o al numbe
o a icles in he p esence o co-au ho ed s udies (A ia & Cuccu ullo, 2017).
88
Figu e 11 - Coun y scien i ic p oduc ion
No es: The map shows he academic p oduc ion pe coun y o a ilia ion o he au ho s. Coun y’s scien i ic p oduc i i y
is calcula ed as he sum o he single coun y publica ions and mul iple coun y publica ions. High-p oduc i i y coun ies
a e in da k blue, while lowe -p oduc i i y coun ies a e in ligh blue; coun ies o which he e is no da a a e colou ed
in g ey. Sou ce: Own elabo a ion using Google Geomap.
O e all, he good numbe o s udies conduc ed by au ho s a ilia ed o Eu opean esea ch
ins i u ions e lec s ha he ideo games indus y, and some speci ic Eu opean clus e s (see Sec ion
4.4), ha e a ac ed he in e es o academics. Howe e , he e appea s o be s ill a gap in he
esea ch as compa ed o o he coun ies adi ionally a he o e on o he esea ch on his opic,
such as he US, Canada and Aus alia, and ecen ly China, whose in e es in he ideo games indus y
has expe ienced a signi ican g ow h s a ing om 2019 (Jiang and Fung, Xi e al., 2022; 2019; Gong
e al., 2023).
7.2.4 Analysis o he co e jou nals, mos in luen ial au ho s and a icles
Conce ning he co e jou nals in he collec ion, Table 11 epo s he mos ele an ou le s in e ms
o numbe o s udies published in he imespan conside ed. O e all, he majo i y o he jou nals
publish esea ch in he domain o economics, en ep eneu ship, business and managemen (Jou nal
o Business Resea ch, Eu opean Jou nal o Managemen , C ea i i y and Inno a ion Managemen ),
wi h a sha p ocus on empi ical s udies on echnology and inno a ion (Resea ch Policy, Technological
Fo ecas ing & Social Change, Techno a ion).
89
Nume ous and ele an sou ces ocus on media s udies (Tele ision & New Media, Con e gence,
Games and Cul u es, New Media & Socie y, Media, Cul u e & Socie y), as well as on economic
geog aphy and egional s udies (Geo o um, Jou nal o Economic Geog aphy, Regional S udies,
En ep eneu ship and Regional De elopmen , En i onmen and Planning), o ganisa ion and
communica ion (In e na ional Jou nal o Communica ion, Canadian Jou nal o Communica ion,
C i ical S udies in Media Communica ion, Cul u e and O ganiza ion). The deg ee o a ie y in he
co e jou nals’ aims and scopes signals he high in e disciplina i y o he esea ch on he ideo games
indus y.
Table 11 - Top 20 jou nals pe numbe o s udies published
Sou ce: Au ho s’ own elabo a ion.
To iden i y he ela ionship be ween jou nals and o assess how hey se e speci ic esea ch g oups,
UNITO pe o med he analysis o he pa e ns o co-ci a ion be ween jou nals (Ma inez-Ga cia e
al., 2023). Mo e speci ically, co-ci a ion is he equency wi h which wo documen s (o , as in his
case, jou nals) a e ci ed oge he in he ci a ion e e ences o o he documen s (jou nals) (Small,
1973). In his pa icula analysis, he ela ion be ween jou nals is es ablished by a hi d jou nal, and
no he speci ic jou nal unde examina ion (Boyack and Kla ans 2010; Meye e al. 2014; Ko acs e
al., 2015). Figu e 12 epo s he co-ci a ions mapping o he jou nals in he li e a u e collec ion. As
he o al numbe o jou nals in he collec ion is 4,824, UNITO conside ed only sou ces abo e he
minimum h eshold o 20 ci a ions ecei ed o ocus on he mos ele an ones.
96
7.3.2 Co-ci a ion analysis
The co-ci a ion ne wo k be ween ci ed e e ences is epo ed in Figu e 15.
Figu e 15 - Co-ci a ion ne wo k o ci ed e e ences
No es: Ne wo k o co-ci a ions o ci ed e e ences in he collec ion o selec ed s udies (139 ci ed e e ences displayed,
min. 5 ci a ions o a ci ed e e ence). Own elabo a ion using VOS iewe .
Figu e 16 displays a h ee- ield plo (Sankey diag am) epo ing ci ed e e ences on he le , au ho s
in he middle, and WoS Keywo ds Plus on he igh . The diag am illus a es he ansi ion be ween
he in ellec ual oo s, ep esen ed by he mos ele an ci ed e e ences (CR), o he mos p oli ic
au ho s (AU) and he esea ch hemes hey ha e add essed, ep esen ed by he da abase keywo ds
(ID). The ec angula diag ams o di e en colou s ep esen he mos equen and ele an
elemen s (A ia and Cuccu ullo, 2017).

97
Figu e 16 - Th ee- ield plo o au ho s, keywo ds and jou nals
Sou ce: Own elabo a ion using Biblioshiny.
7.3.3 Collabo a ion analysis
The analysis o he social s uc u e o a esea ch ield aims a explo ing he in e ac ions among he
esea ch ac o s in ol ed, ocusing in pa icula on he collabo a ions among coun ies, ins i u ions
and au ho s (Don hu e al., 2021).
Figu e 17 displays he coun y collabo a ion ne wo k. The nodes in he ne wo k a e he coun ies
o a ilia ion o he au ho s in he collec ion, node’s size is p opo ional o he numbe o
publica ions, and collabo a ions a e ep esen ed by he links connec ing he nodes. The colou s
assigned o he nodes do no deno e clus e s, bu hey a e assigned based on he a e age yea o
publica ion o he s udies au ho ed by esea che s a ilia ed o an ins i u ion base in ha coun y
( he oldes publica ion yea s in da k blue and he la es publica ion yea s in yellow).
98
Figu e 17 - Coun y collabo a ion ne wo k
No es: Collabo a ion ne wo k o coun ies o a ilia ion isualisa ion (32 coun ies displayed, 1 min. documen published
and min. 10 ci a ions ecei ed) ime o e lay speci ica ion. The igu e has been gene a ed wi h VOS iewe . Sou ce: Own
elabo a ion.
The g aph displays a cen al ne wo k o in e connec ed coun ies and a pe iphe y o mo e isola ed
nodes. England, Canada, he US, F ance and Aus alia occupy a cen al posi ion in he clus e
isualisa ion and hei colou also indica es ha hei publica ions a e among he oldes and
ounda ional ins ances o esea ch in he ideo games sec o , da ing app oxima ely a ound 2015. In
he cen al pa o he ne wo k he e a e also se e al Eu opean coun ies, no ably I aly, Ge many,
Sweden, Finland, Denma k, and he Ne he lands.
These nodes a e o di e en shades o g een and yellow, hus ep esen ing mo e ecen esea ch
e o s in he explo a ion o he ideo game indus y. S ill ocusing on he Eu opean coun ies o
a ilia ion in he li e a u e collec ion, among he isola ed nodes and o di e en colou s he e a e
Czechia, Poland, I eland, Spain, and Es onia. In e es ingly, coun ies sha ing he same language
show collabo a ion bonds. This is he case o F ance and Canada, Canada and England, Spain and
Mexico.
Figu e 18 epo s he collabo a ion ne wo k isualisa ion be ween he ins i u ions o a ilia ion o
he au ho s o he s udies in collec ion. The g aph shows se e al in e connec ed nodes. The node
size is p opo ional o he numbe o s udies published by a ilia ion o hei au ho s, while he
colou indica es he a e age yea o publica ion o he a icles au ho ed by he espec i e a ilia ed
au ho s.
99
Figu e 18 - Collabo a ion ne wo k o he ins i u ions o a ilia ion
No es: Collabo a ion ne wo k o ins i u ions o a ilia ion (64 ins i u ions displayed, min. 1 documen published, and
min. 30 ci a ions ecei ed). The igu e has been gene a ed wi h VOS iewe .
The igu e displays a sphe ical ne wo k s uc u e made o small clus e s o a ilia ed ins i u ions. The
collabo a ion pa e n seems o de elop p ima ily a he na ional le el. Fo ins ance, he g aph
displays a clus e o UK-based collabo a ing ins i u ions (Ci y Uni e si y London, Uni e si y o
Du ham, Uni e si y o Leices e , Uni e si y o Yo k, Uni e si y o Wa wick) and o Sweden-based
ins i u ions (Lund Uni e si y, Lulea Uni e si y o Technology, Uni e si y o Go henbu g, S ockholm
School o Economics).
7.4 Video game indus y clus e s
UNITO iden i ied and explo ed he ea u es o he clus e s analysed in ou subse o 51 a icles,
which ha e been ex ac ed om he iden i ied li e a u e collec ion o 182 documen s. Table 13
epo s he numbe o a icles examining he espec i e clus e s:
100
Table 13 - A icle coun by ideo game clus e s analysed in he li e a u e
Video game hub
Coun
Coun y
A icle
A lan a
1
US
VANG J, 2013, ELGAR ORIG REF
A lan ic Canada
1
CANADA
POTTIE-SHERMAN Y, 2019, CAN GEOGR-GEOGR CAN
Aus in
1
US
VANG J, 2013, ELGAR ORIG REF
Ba celona
2
SPAIN
MENDEZ-ORTEGA C, 2020, ANN REGIONAL SCI;
MÉNDEZ-ORTEGA C, 2019, J URBAN TECHNOL
Belle ue, WA
1
US
VANG J, 2013, ELGAR ORIG REF
Be gen
1
NORWAY
HOVIG OS, 2016, NORSK GEOGR TIDSSKR
Bi mingham
1
UK
TSANG D, 2021, BUS HIST REV
B igh on
1
UK
TSANG D, 2021, BUS HIST REV
B isbane
2
AUSTRALIA
DARCHEN S, 2016, URBAN GEOGR;
DARCHEN S, 2017, INT J KNOWL-BASED DE
B is ol
1
UK
TSANG D, 2021, BUS HIST REV
Calga y
1
CANADA
PARKER F, 2017, CAN J COMMUN
Camb idge
1
UK
TSANG D, 2021, BUS HIST REV
Cape Town
1
SOUTH AFRICA
SNOWBALL J, 2021, J CULT ECON
Chicago
1
US
VANG J, 2013, ELGAR ORIG REF
Co en y
1
UK
TSANG D, 2021, BUS HIST REV
Dallas
1
US
DE VAAN M, 2013, J ECON GEOGR
Dublin
1
IRELAND
MURPHY E, 2015, GROWTH CHANGE
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SWEDEN
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TSANG D, 2021, BUS HIST REV
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VANG J, 2013, ELGAR ORIG REF
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VANG J, 2013, ELGAR ORIG REF
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