In 2024, the Var departmental hotel in Toulon had turned for 48 hours into real game center On the occasion of the Global Game Jam: a competition where the participating teams have barely two days to create a video game.
A year later, the department, obviously caught up in the game, puts it back. But this time a trade fair – the Var Gaming Festival – came to be added to competition. “Last year, the Global Game Jam was an opportunity for us to discover a certain number of professions that contribute to the creation of a video game. We thought that this international competition could be the opportunity to Present these professions to young people and the schools that train in the region “explains Laetitia Quilici, vice-president of the departmental council in charge of digital, higher education, research and innovation. With behind, the ambition to make the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and therefore Var, a high place in the video game industry at the national level. “We really believe in this sector. It is for this reason that the department has financed the LED wall of Telomedia, the only public training to offer this tool to students”Felicitus quilici.
A sector that works by cycles
But this first edition of the Var Gaming Festival is involved in a somewhat special context. Despite figures that make you dizzy – the video game in France displayed in 2023 a turnover of 6 billion euros (4 billion without consoles or accessories), up 9.9% compared to 2022 – The sector is in crisis. “The figures for 2024 have not yet been released, but they will be less good. World level, tens of thousands of jobs were suppressed last year. Especially in Canada and the United States”declares Thomas Demachy, augmented gaming consultant (XR).
But the latter wants to be reassuring. “It is known: the video game sector is cyclical. It follows the cycle of game consoles. While waiting for the arrival of the new generation – the Nintendo Switch 2 is expected during the year. Even if They are not yet announced, the outings of the Xbox and PS consoles will follow – the players differ their purchases..
Another factor explains the slowdown in the sector. “Between 2020 and 2022, during the pandemic who forced people to stay confined to their homes, the video game sector exploded. Huge investments have been made there. The sector is now waiting for a fair return on investment”explains Thomas Demachy again.
-Other outlets than video games
Responsible for the brand new professional license in video games offered since the start of the last school year by the IUT of Toulon, Maillys Torche is also rather optimistic.
“Yes, we see a stagnation of the sector. We will probably go back to the situation before Covid. But the number of players remains very important and the mobile games work very well. As for our students, they know that their training In video games can open the doors of other outlets.she said.
Corentin Ferrière, representative of the E-Artsup school which has 13 campus, including one in Nice (and soon one in Marseille), is on the same wavelength: “The possibilities are numerous. In 2023, at the request of a crossroads, we created a fun video game as a support for a training. We also designed a driving simulator for the community of the Pays d'Aix”. But to return to video games proper, don't panic. “The year is complicated because it is a pivotal year that announces the arrival of new generation consoles and games. On this subject, the GTA 6 game, announced for 2026, and which will integrate artificial intelligence, is expected with great impatience by the players “says Corentin Ferrière.
To stay on an encouraging note, Thomas Demachy says: “I am sure that young people who will finish their training in 3 to 5 years will arrive in a peak in activity in the sector”.
