The European video game industry is booming — innovation, education, and community go hand in hand in shaping one of the fastest-growing sectors of the creative industries. During a recent study visit to France, our delegation from Montenegro — representatives of Alicorn, CodeLab, and the ICT Cortex cluster — had the opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes look at the European GameDev scene and learn about the best practices shaping this exciting sector.
Our first stop was Espot Paris, one of the leading gaming and esports centers in Europe. It is a multifunctional space that combines gaming arenas, streaming studios, and venues for professional competitions, as well as educational workshops and promotion of esports careers. Espot is not just a place for entertainment but also an epicenter for gathering professionals, enthusiasts, and talents in the gaming world.
We also visited VirtualTime, a center that has been offering unique VR experiences, escape room challenges, and diverse interactive content since 2017. This center is a great example of how VR technology can be used for commercial entertainment, as well as a tool for education and the development of creative skills.
On the second day of our journey, we arrived in Angoulême, a French city known for its strong animation, comics, and digital media industry. A key highlight of the visit was Eurekatech, an incubator that brings together startups from the creative industries, with a special focus on the gaming sector.
We learned about the ways they support young teams – from business mentoring and technical resources to connecting them with investors and partners.
One of the most inspiring stops was ENJMIN (École Nationale du Jeu et des Médias Interactifs Numériques), an international school specializing in video game development and digital interactive media. We explored their programs, multidisciplinary approach, and practices that encourage creativity and collaboration among students of various profiles – from designers and programmers to narrative designers.
Inspired by this experience, we are thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of the first Game Development Center in Montenegro.
Our GameDevHub will be based on the successful models we explored in France, combining education, mentorship, and support for young teams and individuals eager to venture into the world of video game development. The goal is to create a sustainable ecosystem that will support the GameDev community in Montenegro and enable international collaboration and visibility.
This project is being realized with the support of the European Union through the Interreg VI-A IPA Croatia – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro Program 2021–2027.
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Montenegro is finally getting its first Game Development Center dedicated to video game creation! ICT Cortex, as a partner in the project “Investing in the Future: Video Game Development for New Generations (CBC GAIN)”, in collaboration with the SI-MO-RA Development Agency from Croatia and the INTERA Technology Park from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is bringing a completely new dimension to the technological scene of our country.
As part of the CBC GAIN project implementation, we conducted a visit to Mostar (November 2024), where we held a meeting with project partners SI-MO-RA and INTERA. During the meeting, we discussed the activities carried out so far and planned the next steps. The visit also included a conference at Code Hub Mostar, where our Executive Director, Tarik Zaimović, participated in the panel “The Gaming Industry as a Driver of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.”
