We are leaving another year behind, and we have the -somewhat justified- pride of overcoming another busy year as both the global and local game industry. While almost all sectors have been adversely affected by the pandemic, the game industry has managed to emerge even stronger from this firestorm, like a phoenix. Things have been going quite well for the industry for some time, as the industry's close followers and stakeholders would know. Naturally, during the pandemic, when the whole world was locked in their homes, the demand for games as the safest way for both socializing and having fun increased. In this period, the Turkish game industry made a serious breakthrough and became one of the locomotives in the country's economy while presenting projects that reveal the dimensions of its volume. Considering that the investments made in just the first six months of 2022 have doubled the years 2020 and 2021, and holding the fact that the game industry has become the second most invested sector in our country after food and market delivery during this period, it is not difficult to foresee even busier days ahead for the industry.
The Indie Train is Leaving
If we take a brief look at the upcoming year, we already see 105 local productions planned to be released in 2023. And the year hasn't even started yet. Therefore, we should not ignore that a considerable number of new games will be added to these in the future. We know that independent developers have started to make their voices heard louder in recent years, thanks to the effect of online sales platforms. All of these 105 local production games mentioned so far are projects announced and worked on by independent developers. At this point, we need to remind ourselves of an already obvious fact. Considering the potential of our country in this regard and the work put forward, there is no obstacle for us not to become the next Poland of the game industry.
However, of course, there are some obstacles in our way. Moreover, some of these obstacles cannot be considered small. In fact, looking at the essence of the matter, we are in a truly impressive position in terms of numbers. But when we think about it, how many of these games do we know, hear, or talk about? Maybe a few of the projects, numbering over a hundred, come to our ears. At this point, should we prick ourselves with a needle? The evergreen question of quality or quantity is also raised here. Yes, we can produce games. However, the quality of what we produce is still a wide-open field for debate. Of course, we should also mention that quality is not the only problem at this point. Many local productions can escape our radar due to a lack of promotion, improper marketing strategies, and other issues. However, all these are subjects of a whole different and much longer article.
Our Ecosystem is a True Yin-Yang
If we return to the local production games awaiting us in 2023, there are already some very promising ones among these projects, all prepared by independent teams. Although still in development, these games have a waiting audience, curious followers, and realistic promises, and they have the potential to be significant productions for the industry. In the current conditions where investments are stagnant, things are understandably harder. If they overcome the funding hurdle, we can think that their future will be brighter. It is clear that developers who successfully integrate trends like Web3 and blockchain-based systems into their projects have a much greater chance of receiving investments. However, we must not forget the conditions where investments have stagnated, and it is expected to remain so next year. It seems that we will see both projects that manage to stand out under these conditions and stumbling studios.
Bakalım, 2023 yılı Türk oyun sektörüne kazandırdığı yapımlarla bu ekosistemin altın yılı olmayı başarabilecek mi?
