Undoubtedly, almost everyone has played a video game at least once in their life. Someone once looked for them because of all the noise they make, and someone was carried away by them for life. What primarily affects the player experience? Game design is all about visuals, rules, mechanics, levels, storyline and other elements that they see first and make the final decision whether to play or not.
Indeed, online video games is one of the most lucrative industries in the modern era and is currently a great trend. The move toward online gaming has resulted in significant advancements in the gaming industry.
The online gaming market has grown dramatically over the last ten years and is now worth over $41 billion. Many online game creators have profited from the industry’s growth, which is being driven by players’ increasing preference for online gaming. Some of these creators have risen to the top of the online gaming industry.
Let’s talk about European game companies that delight fans of the gaming industry with professional game design services. Who are they – the companies that have turned the reality we are accustomed to?
List of the Video Game Companies in Europe
1. Ubisoft – France
The five Guillemot brothers: Yves, Michel, Claude, Gérard, and Christian were all set to create Ubisoft in 1986. That time they have been producing their own video games and distributing them to US businesses. When Unisoft produced the video game “Zombi” in 1986 everything came together fairly quickly for the company. It went public over a decade later in 1996. Sales generated came both in the United States and Japan as a result of the development of Rayman Legends. Today, the five brothers have achieved success with a number of video games, including Assassin’s Creed, Splinter Cell, Just Dance, and the Rabbids.
Ubisoft is the largest publicly-traded gaming company. It occupies the fifth place in the Americas and Europe in terms of revenue and market capitalization (March 2018). With several development studios around the world, they continue to focus on delivering impressive AAA gaming experiences.
2. Pretty Simple – France
It is a company that is also based in France (Paris) and deserves to be considered one of the leading European game developers. They focus on casual games developed for social and mobile platforms. Have ever heard about Criminal Case on Facebook? This detective-themed hidden object game (HOG) is one of the latest hits developed and published by this studio.
This top European social gaming companyhas been developing and publishing games for social and mobile media platforms since 2010. It has published free-to-play games played by over 35 million players every month. It continue to work on new games to launch.
3. Goodgame Studios – Germany
This German studio has earned a great reputation in the gaming industry for making free-to-play online projects. The team manages to provide quality gaming experiences to over 400 million registered users worldwide.
Goodgame Studios was founded in 2009 by Kai Wawrzinek, Christian Wawrzinek and Fabian Ritter and is part of the Stillfront Group since 2018. The company has created or acquired the rights to eight games, including Goodgame Empire, Jump Jupiter, Goodgame Big Farm, Goodgame Galaxy, Goodgame Hercules, Goodgame Gangster, Goodgame Disco, Goodgame Cafè, Goodgame Farmer, Goodgame Farmfever, Goodgame Fashion, Goodgame Poker, Shadow Kings: Dark Ages, Legends of Honor, and Infernals.
The company’s lifetime revenue crossed $1 billion in November 2017
4. CD Projekt – Poland
It is one of the leading video game companies in Europe headquartered in Poland, Warsaw. Initially, the company acted as a distributor of foreign products for the domestic gaming market, gradually expanding its expertise. Today, it is best known for The Witcher series – fantasy action role-playing games. They are developed and published by CD Projekt. The storyline and gameplay are based on the series of books written by the Polish writer, Andrzej Sapkowski.
5. The Farm 51 – Poland
It is a Polish video game company that has shown dynamic growth in the market since 2005. A team of enthusiasts keeps up with technology. For this reason, more and more players can experience impressive VR solutions developed by these European game developers. Chernobyl VR Project is a unique project as it offers the first virtual tour of the most talked-about area in recent years.
Wojciech Pazdur and Kamil Bilczyski, who previously worked on the Painkiller series at People Can Fly, and Robert Siejka, a former president of 3D Magazine, are the creators for The Farm 51. Prior to receiving funding from 1C Company for their 2009 debut project, NecroVisioN, and later its prequel, NecroVisioN: Lost Company, the business initially made some outsourcing contracts work for other companies. They have been contributing to City Interactive’s Alien Fear, but they are no longer working on it. Get Even was published by Bandai Namco Entertainment and released on 23 June 2017 on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Chernobylite is one of their most recent titles.
6. Kevuru Games – Ukraine
This is a Ukrainian outsourcing company specializing in game design and development, as well as in the production of artworks. This is a reliable partner of world-famous video game companies such as Epic Games, Electronic Arts, Foxnext, and others. A team of professionals is involved in the development of TOP 20 ranked games. They help with character and environment design, 3D modeling and animation, and other aspects of game development. 3D or 2D game artists create stories behind each project through creative and effective solutions.
7. Room 8 Studio – Ukraine
The headquarters of this company is located in Ukraine, Kyiv, but has an impact on the global gaming market. The team offers a full range of services needed to successfully create an entertainment project – from art production to final release and support. Award-winning titles in their portfolio confirm their expertise in meeting market needs. In addition to professional assistance in most projects, this studio successfully develops its own products, in particular, for mobile platforms.
8. Wargaming – Belarus
Belarus is the next stop for leading European game developers. This Belarusian video game company is known for its military-themed team games. It’s not for nothing that it’s called Wargaming. This theme has been observed throughout its existence on the market – Order of War, World of Tanks, World of Warships, etc. They are played by millions of people around the world. For example, over 60 million players are registered users of World of Tanks. The company is represented by more than 20 offices worldwide and development studios. They continue to grab the attention of most players with the latest technology like VR and AR.
Although the company is headquartered in Cyprus, it was founded in Minsk, Belarus. The largest Wargaming development studio is still located there. In 2015, Wargaming launched division called WG Labs. It acts as a 3rd-party publisher for dozens of collaborating developers. One of the partners is NGD Studios, most known for their space strategy, Master of Orion.
9. IO Interactive – Denmark
It is a Danish company that specializes in creating products that defy convention and push boundaries. They are working on projects such as Hitman, Freedom Fighters, Kane and Lynch, Mini Ninjas. All of these products developed by this team belong to different genres. But they all combine interactive gameplay and impressive graphics, depending on the year of release. The gameplay unfolds mainly in the third person. The third-person perspective allows players to be an active participant of the gameplay. They plunge into the virtual world through direct interaction with the environment and characters.
10. Flazm – Lithuania
This company is fully called Flazm Interactive Entertainment. It is based in Lithuania but was originally founded in Russia by three enthusiasts. Moving to Lithuania allowed them to work with Lithuanian developers, thereby expanding their capabilities. Today they position themselves as an indie game studio full of ideas for web projects. With over 30 web games created by this team, it is possible to name the most popular ones that totally capture hearts of the target audience. They are Train Valley and its sequel, Train Valley 2, Scrap Garden, etc. They mainly belong to the simulation that is widely used for educational and learning purposes.
Which Country Is Best for Game Development?
In Europe, the video game industry is developing dynamically, especially in Eastern Europe. So, if you’re asking, “Which country is best for game development?”, it is worth paying attention to such countries as Poland, Ukraine and Belarus. They demonstrate strong expertise in any aspect of successful game development. Both reputable companies and small indie developers will be at your service to help you realize any project.
How to Choose the Right European Game Developers?
- Conduct an in-depth analysis of all potential partners;
- Contact company representatives for more detailed information;
- Visit an office to participate in face to face meetings, etc.
If you lack time to choose the best developers in this way, you can apply to gamedev outsourcing services. They cover each stage of project management instead of you. As a result, you get a professional team of the necessary specialists.
Conclusion
Video game industry provides a lot of promise for game producers. With some of the finest developers anticipated to grow at an enormous rate in the future, the video game has unquestionably emerged as the most lucrative business in the online sector and the global online gaming market. Competition will become stiffer over time and game developers would need to stay on their toes to keep up in the game.