HE Catalan video game industry there are already established large and iconic companies, independent studios awarded, full support to public administration and in tune with a society that is beginning to realize that this goes far beyond entertainment for the few. Now one of the leading platforms in the industry, game labset the mechanism in motion to reach the next level: the annual meeting firmly rooted in Barcelona and a European and world reference forum. There is a hole, it provides its main instigator, Ivan Fernandez-Loboand internationally renowned already.
Held in the Catalan capital from next Wednesday to Friday, the event has been going on for 20 years and holds ‘summits’ in different cities, but always with the underlying intention of conversion. Catalonia in a reference region within the sector. In Spain, the industry had a turnover of just over 2,000 million euros in 2022, with almost half coming from Catalonia, where more than 3,000 people depend on the industry. So the current goal is to make this much more specific. permanently pin the meeting here and formalizing behind the scenes the potential already attributed to it.
“The role played [este foro] “There’s no doubt about a lot of what’s happening in this ecosystem,” says Fernández-Lobo, who doesn’t hesitate to link the event with the arrival of major international companies in the Catalan ecosystem. “I manage companies that are not in every week. Barcelona and they want to come, they have already come… Gamelab is one of the first points of contact, because is a well-known brand in the video game industry” points to this responsible person.
Therefore, I dream of turning it into a kind of tiny house. of Davos video game and more importantly, that you see this goal as achievable. “There is the potential to turn this event into something even more important and bigger and transcend a global European level, because Europe this gap has not been closed: there is no economic forum for the industry,” says Fernández-Lobo, showing that one of his main desires is to reach people who make strategic decisions in companies. “Our job is to reach ‘decision makers’, people who are genuinely interested in the industry. catalonia project“, pointing out.
an entity in itself
To configure the event to achieve this goal, Gamelab, Establishment of an organization in which both the public and private sectors participate and your purposeConsolidating Gamelab’s legacy at the brand, reputation and network level”, advancing this representative of the industry.
While this project is still ongoing, differences will already be detected this year compared to past versions of the Gamelab forum (by the way, not personally done) Barcelona since 2019), for example when the connection with Catalonia becomes much more pronounced or working with the environmentNow it has grown a lot. “You have to know how to assemble and manage everything that is being built in Catalonia, it’s not about sitting back and waiting for the snowball to continue,” concludes Fernández-Lobo.
Gamelab will organize dialogues, discussions and roundtables in Europe. MediaTIC building; corporate and investment meetings. Music Palace; will be concentrated in the main building. Tech Barcelona meetings for entrepreneurs.