Why is Gaming in Poland on the Rise? Top Driving Factors

The notorious pandemic has wreaked havoc all over the world, slowing down many industries, but some – like Polish gaming – are impressively resilient. Even though the majority of Polish studios have to switch to the remote working model and postpone press conferences and game releases, Polish gaming is thriving.

But since ‘thriving’ is a fuzzy definition, let’s talk numbers. In 2017, mobile games generated $163 million in revenues, online games – $91 million, download games – $66 million; in 2020, the respective niches could boast $274, $127, and $106 million worth of revenues respectively. In 2025, mobile games are projected to generate $475 million, online games – $170 million, download games – $175 million.

The statistics are counterintuitive, so it would be nice to explain why this is happening. Before we start, though, let’s give credit to the author of the piece – Aleksandra Maj, an inveterate gamer and a gambling expert from Kasyno HEX.

Mobile Gaming and New Gaming Dimensions

The world has long gone mobile. You no longer have to buy a cumbersome PC – instead, you can play the majority of games on your phone, enjoying a picture as brilliant as you could get half a decade ago on a pretty powerful desktop computer. But not only that – the technological development gave birth to mixed realities, and more and more games take advantage of it.

There are hundreds of VR games to try, the best Polish among which are Bound from Plastic Studios, Detached from Anshar Studios, the Vanishing of Ethan Carter from the Astronauts, and Superhot VR from the Superhot team.

Cloud Gaming

Set to grow from $0.63 billion in 2020 to about $1.5 billion by the end of 2021, cloud gaming might be the best thing the gaming world can offer to low-budget gamers. With the game being streamed from the cloud, you don’t need a high-power device to run it – any computer or mobile phone capable of supporting the video picture would do.

Cloud gaming is new, but it has already got support from StreamMyGame, G-Cluster, Nvidia, and giants alike and can benefit from the 5G Internet as the latter unrolls throughout the world to manifold the bandwidth.

Gambling Elements in Gaming

There’s no direct link between gaming and gambling, but more and more video games incorporate gambling elements, such as mini-slots, social casino games, and loot boxes. Besides, the tough local gambling climate in Poland – websites that don’t have a Polish online gambling license are blacklisted and their visitors are rerouted to a governmental website with the explanation on illegal gambling – makes it truly hard to pick a reliable casino online, which is why some gamblers migrate to gaming, especially the games that use gambling elements – The Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption, Final Fantasy VIII, Fallout New Vegas, etc.

eSports

With many traditional sports hampered or even unavailable, eSports has every chance to dethrone its predecessor. The number of gamers worldwide has increased from 1.99 billion in 2015 to 2.81 billion in 2021, and Poland is no exception. With annual revenues exceeding $15 million, the eSports market in Poland has been steadily growing for many years and the trend will hold in the foreseeable future.

The ‘CD Projekt Red’ Factor

It goes without saying that Polish gaming is not just about CD Projekt Red – the industry employs about 10,000 people working in 440 development studios to release over 450 projects annually – but its impact is undeniable, mostly due to The Witcher, a fantasy action RPG consisting of three main releases, two expansion packs, and a spin-off. The other three mammoths are Ten Square Games, 11 Bit Studios, and PlayWay.

Last but not least, the very profile of a Polish gamer is changing. The male teenagers-pioneers of the 90s and the 2000s are now fully-fledged consumers in their thirties, forties, and fifties. The ‘parents entertain their children’ paradigm has shifted to ‘parents entertain themselves.’ Not only has gaming entered the mainstream and won the hearts of millions, but it has also become a prospective industry to work and even live in. Having passed through the ‘early adopters’ phase, Polish gambling is ready for new challenges and further growth.

(Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)