The serious game market | france - France

1.1 Market overview and definition

There are several definitions of "serious game". According to Julian Alvarez, a university professor specializing in this field, a serious game is " software that combines a serious pedagogical, informative, communicative, marketing, ideological or training intention with the playful elements of a video game ". According to the French Ministry of Educationthe serious game is a "training, communication and simulation tool that is a useful variation of the video game for professionals".

Serious games have 3 main purposes:

• Training or assessment
• Marketing or promotion
• Information or awareness-raising

The customer sectors and types of application for serious games are increasingly diverse. In May 2019, for example, PwC launched a serious game called "GameChangers" to revitalize its appeal among young graduates and attract the best talent. Using a serious game is also a way of instilling a new, younger employer image, based on fun, digital solutions that reward "soft skills".

This wide range of demand sectors, and the broadening scope of possible applications, explain the strong growth prospects for this market worldwide. The serious games market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.47% until 2026.

In France, however, growth prospects are somewhat less promising. The national serious game market is therefore looking for new growth drivers and new technologies to restore its dynamism.

1.2 A growing global market

The serious game market is one of the components of the video game industry, a dynamic global market valued at over $***.* billion in **** by Research and Markets.

The global serious games market is also a growth market. In fact, this market was valued at $*.* billion in ****, and is expected to grow ...

1.3 The domestic market

The video game market in France, which includes the serious game market, is estimated at *.* billion euros in ****. The slight decline observed between **** and **** is due to a particular context (***), but nevertheless shows a resilient sector with high growth prospects. The market grew by **.*% between **** and ****, and seems to have benefited ...

2.1 In-company training, the first outlet for serious games

The main outlet for serious games is professional training[***] These large companies are the core target of the sector, since they can train hundreds of employees with a serious game, making their investment in "serious games" profitable.

It is therefore interesting to look at companies' training needs:

From a Human Resources ...

2.2 The use of new technologies in training

New technologies are increasingly used in employee training. As proof, digital learning is now adopted by **% of professional training players, according to a study by the FFFOF. Furthermore, following the democratization of the CPF, **% of HR managers want to innovate their training solutions[***]

This trend was further accelerated by covid-**, as ...

2.3 Demand extends to increasingly diverse sectors and uses

Because serious games can take so many different forms and serve so many different purposes, the spectrum of demand sectors and uses for serious games is constantly expanding (***)

The main sectors of demand for serious games are as follows, with an example of a serious game:

Education: the Dragon Box Elements ...

3.1 The serious game market, a segment of the video game industry

Overview of the structure of the video game market:

In ****, there will be around *** video game development studios , up from *** in **** (***). [***] This increase in the number of studios is an indicator of the attractiveness of this sector.

The sector is also characterized by the strong presence of young companies. Indeed, most ...

3.2 The serious game value chain

The serious game industry's value chain is very similar to that of the video game industry, a simplified representation of which is shown below:

Source: ****

For the serious game market, it's the software part that's the most interesting. Indeed, the hardware part concerns the manufacture of game media (***).

On the software ...

3.3 Major players in serious games in France

The table below shows some of the main French players in the serious game sector (***):

Source: ****

it should be noted that there are also companies specializing in non-digital serious games, although they are few in number. For example, Game Partners offers serious games in the form of board games for private ...

3.4 Hardware

In serious game production, France is on the software development side. Different types of hardware can be used to support the software developed:

Computer A smartphone A video game console (***) Virtual reality and augmented or mixed reality headsets and goggles.

To date, we haven't been able to find any figures giving ...

4.1 Offer typology and pricing

Types of offer

Serious games can have three aims:

Training or assessment Promotion or marketing Information or awareness-raising

Depending on these aims, different types of serious games can be distinguished:

Advergaming: promotional or marketing purposes, mainly for promotional purposes Edutainment: primarily educational or training purposes Edumarket game: dedicated to communication strategy, ...

4.2 Supply trends: integrating technological advances

To create ever-higher-quality games and satisfy customers looking for continuous innovation in games, specialist companies are taking a keen interest in integrating new technologies. In ****, **% of development studios said they wanted to integrate virtual reality into their games, and **% said they wanted to integrate augmented reality. The challenge here is not ...

5.1 Personal data regulations

Like many digital fields, serious games are not exempt from the transverse regulations on personal data:

Initially, the French Data Protection Act of January *, **** provided the legal framework for the protection of personal data in France.

In the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation (***).

Article * of the General Data Protection ...

5.2 The Video Games Tax Credit (CIJV)

The video game tax credit (***) is a tax deduction scheme for companies with innovative and creative projects in the video game industry. Included in the French Audiovisual Act of March *, ****, and effective from January *, ****, the main aim of this measure is to improve the competitive position of French companies internationally.

The ...

6.1 Market segmentation

• Daesign
• Ishtar Games
• Breakaway Games
• Ubisoft
• Activision Blizzard
• Arkane Studios
• Electronic Arts
• Gameloft
• AD Inviders
• My Serious Game
• Almedia
• Collock