Two teams from the Basque Country, two from Catalonia and one from Zaragoza participated in the GAME.EUS video game accelerator campus. The campus was held from July 1st to August 1st in Gasteiz. The intensive program in this fifth edition brought to an end the four years of experience of the F2P Campus, with the intention of creating and retaining local talent. The purpose of the project was to promote the video game sector in Álava and the Basque Country.

Through this new approach, the GAME.EUS platform expands the business model to be developed among the participants, prioritizing the Basque origin of the projects. Of the 13 nominations presented, two were created by Basque founders, one from Gasteiz and the other from Bilbao. The rest of the teams, on the other hand, belonged to the developers of Catalonia and Zaragoza.

This project, sponsored by the Regional Council of Áraba and the Basque Government, under the direction of the EUNEIZ Foundation, increases the efforts to position the Basque Country as a talent creator and promoter of the video game industry with this new approach. Saray Zarate, Deputy for Economic Development and Innovation of the Áraba Provincial Council, Ándoni Iturbe, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Basque Government, Jordi Roche, President of EUNEIZ University, and David Darne, Executive Director of GÁME.EUS, welcomed the five groups that make up the campus this year. The project was coordinated by BIC Áraba, with the full support of the City Hall of Gasteiz and EUNEIZ University. In this context, the headquarters of the University will be the location of the Campus for the third consecutive year.

Saray Zarate, Deputy for Economic Development and Sustainability of the County, assured that "this campus is a reflection of the strong commitment made by the Regional Council of Álava in favor of the video game sector, in a clear expansion and very much in line with our values ​​as a territory: innovation, talent and creativity."

On the other hand, Andoni Iturbe, Deputy Minister of Culture, confirmed that the Basque Government is firmly committed to promoting creative talent and creating new opportunities for personal, community and territorial development. He also emphasized the importance of the video game sector in new forms of communication, especially among young people, which "allows us to work with content with high added value, which will also help us grow in value", he added. Finally, the deputy minister particularly emphasized the importance of cooperation and agreement between institutions, to create reference spaces and new knowledge that will put us at the forefront.

From EUNEIZ University, Jordi Roche highlighted the commitment of the University of New Technologies, Sports and Health. This year, through the EUNEIZ Foundation, he has taken over the direction of this intensive program, with the aim of sharing knowledge and professional experience, with the aim of strengthening the video game ecosystem in the Basque Country. In his words: "It is an emerging sector, and it can have an important trajectory in this territory, as in Catalonia, in terms of employment and economic growth". Likewise, Roche added that this campus allows groups with creative tools and knowledge to make a qualitative leap, but they need that extra level of professionalism to adapt successfully in this sector. In this context, he recalled that the University also helps to create talent, as it currently offers two degrees in video games, the Intermediate Degree in Video Games and the Degree in Design and Development of Video Games. Thus, these degrees open the door to the profiles of artists, designers or video game programmers. According to Roche, "We want to be the shuttle of future professionals in the industry, and strengthen the existing ones". This campus is the perfect formula to link training with the labor market or entrepreneurship and to do so with the best guarantees.

It should be noted that the video game sector presents more significant growth prospects than other cultural and creative industries. According to the 2022 White Paper on the Development of Video Games in Spain, the sector is expected to generate 1,897 million euros this year, and this figure is expected to reach 2,239 million in 2025. In terms of employment, it is estimated that it will create 1,098 direct jobs. In 2022, only 4% of the 760 studies carried out on video games in the State are located in the Basque Country.

According to David Darne, the executive director of GAME.EUS, the main objective of this program is to prepare Basque developers who have an advanced video game to participate in the Gamescom fair. Gamescom is the largest and most important trade fair in Europe. In front of the F2P Campus, GAME.EUS is open to any platform and business model (mobile, PC/Console, Free-to-Play, Premium…), expanding the possibilities for equipment and bringing it closer to the real workings of the video game sector.

This campus was born out of the need to support small groups of indie developers as a strategy to strengthen the video game industry. The aim is therefore to promote the professionalization of these small groups, so that they can obtain more funding, grow and create jobs. Through training and mentors, the teams will be taught a business mentality, focusing on business aspects such as making a Business Plan, improving communication skills or applying marketing or sales strategies. On campus, meetings will also be held with editors (publishers) to negotiate publishing and investment agreements, to legally establish their companies and to assist in the development of the sector.