VALENCIA, Apr. 16 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Valencia City Council has launched València Game City to promote the local video game and eSports industry and position this city “as an international leader in the sector”, as reported by the council in a statement. 30 companies have joined the project this year and it is expected to reach 60 next year.
The headquarters of València Game City will be located in the La Harinera building, the nerve center of innovation in the Valencian capital, the municipal administration has specified.
The Local Government Board of the Valencia City Council has approved the agreement between the Las Naves municipal innovation center and the company Encom for the revitalization and launch of València Game City.
This is “an agreement aimed at strengthening the powerful local video game and eSports industry, and attracting talent and international companies and investments, as well as promoting innovation and education in this field,” stated the council.
The Councilor for Tourism, Innovation and Investment Acquisition, Paula Llobet, has stated that “this is a strategic project for the city.” “We have a very powerful video game industry recognized internationally and we want to take advantage of this advantage to position ourselves as València Game City,” she said.
“We are starting strong because 30 companies have already joined this project. And we hope to reach 60 companies next year,” added the mayor.
The Valencia City Council will invest 150,000 euros in this city. This administration has pointed out that “it must be taken into account that the development of this project will give impetus to numerous challenges of the city, through video games and gamification”, while stating that “it will also promote tourism.” and the culture around this industry, and promote technological development and social inclusion”.
“The launch of València Game City is just the beginning of a series of actions to position this city as a global leader in the video game and eSports sector,” added Llobet, who assured that the initiative “has already begun to attract international interest.
Thus, he explained that “three international companies are already settling in La Harinera to start working” and he trusted that “many more will join very soon.” “València Game City wants to bring together all the actors in the local and international ecosystem to transform not only the video game industry but also the economic and social fabric of the region,” indicated the municipal official.
The City Council has indicated that the agreement is “an example of how València Game City actively promotes collaboration between the public sector and the private sector, within the València Innovation Capital innovation strategy, to lead the development and consolidation of the video game industry. and eSports” in this destination.
“València Game City was born from a local Valencian ecosystem with a lot of relevance at the national and international levels: with the involvement of organizers of international events such as Encom, but also prestigious schools such as ESAT or international studios such as 2K, which recently have installed in Valencia”, the council has assured.
Likewise, he commented that “the connection with the Madrid video game cluster and with the Madrid In Game program, and the proposal to participate in international events are part of the objective of improving the visibility and recognition of València both nationally and internationally”.
Paula Llobet has assured that “there has never been a public-private collaboration of this magnitude in this sector after many years of work in which all agents are represented, as happens with other types of industries.”
“The new municipal government team is committed to this initiative that will bring together the entire ecosystem of the video game and eSports field, thus reinforcing the positioning of the city as an attractive destination for the industry and fans,” added the councilor.
València Game City works to involve a wide network of agents, including development studios, educational entities, eSports clubs, event organizers, and other key actors in decision-making and project execution, the mayor has insisted, which has indicated that the agreement and the planned actions reflect “a strong commitment to innovation, education, and sustainable economic and social development using video games and eSports as key tools to achieve these objectives.”
La Harinera will serve as a meeting point for professionals, students and companies where synergy between the different actors in the video game and eSports ecosystem will be facilitated, the City Council has highlighted.
“The allocation of a physical space like La Harinera underlines the vision of creating a meeting place and dynamization center for the needs of the video game and eSports ecosystem. We not only promote integration and collaboration between the various actors in the sector but we also encourage the creation of an innovative and creative environment. And all of this represents a differential attraction factor for international companies that consider coming to Valencia”, explained Llobet.
