When the USA turns it back on Ukraine, the EU must increase its support
The USA is currently withdrawing its support from both the Ukrainian military and civil society. Over the years, EGDF has supported and facilitated several project initiatives aimed at supporting Ukrainian game industry and cultural and creative sectors. One of those projects was the Ctrl+Alt+Disinfo project by Global Game Jam. The project aimed to support the creation of games that promote media literacy and the fight against propaganda and disinformation. More than 2,000 game developers from 27 countries were involved in the project. Unfortunately, on the 4th of March 2025, Global Game Jam announced that, because of the U.S. Department of State’s decision to stop its funding for the project, the project will be discontinued.
The EU must increase its support for the Ukrainian gamedev community. Until the war is over, the focus of the Ukrainian government will be rightfully on protecting the sovereignty of Ukraine against Russian forces and securing the safety of their citizens. Consequently, EGDF calls, beyond continuing and increasing EU support for Ukrainian military, increased European support for local civil society and industry groups inside Ukraine. Only by supporting grassroots communities, like the game developer community, and their cooperation with their European counterparts, the governmental and non-governmental actors in the European Union are able to help Ukraine to start taking the first steps in rebuilding the country and securing its integration in the EU.
The EU must clearly include the game industry in the scope of its support activities for Ukraine. Furthermore, the Ukrainian game industry needs a prudent and smart development strategy for the upcoming difficult years, ensuring that local, national and international initiatives to support the industry are well coordinated.
The EU must keep its borders open for Ukrainians
The USA is currently considering mass deportations of Ukrainians. On the 6th of March 2025, the USA government informed that it is currently considering revoking temporary legal status for about 240,000 Ukrainians who fled Russian invasion of Ukraine to the USA. Some of them are game industry talent and game industry entrepreneurs, and this decision potentially puts them on a fast-track to deportation.
EGDF calls on the European Commission and EU member states to keep their borders open for international talent, including US-based Ukrainian game industry talent. The more complex and risky travelling to and working in the US becomes, the bigger opportunities it provides for the EU to become the most attractive game industry talent hub and the leading location for game industry events.
For more information, please contact
Jari-Pekka Kaleva
Managing Director, EGDF
jari-pekka.kaleva(at)egdf.eu
+358 40 716 3640
About EGDF
The European Games Developer Federation e.f. (EGDF) unites 24 national trade associations representing game developer studios based in 22 European countries: Austria (PGDA), Belgium (FLEGA and WALGA), Croatia (CGDA), Czechia (GDACZ), Estonia (Gamedev Estonia), Finland (Suomen pelinkehittäjät), France (SNJV), Germany (GAME), Italy (IIDEA), Lithuania (LZKA), Netherlands (DGA), Norway (VIRKE Produsentforeningen), Poland (PGA and IGP), Portugal (APVP), Romania (RGDA), Serbia (SGA), Slovakia (SGDA), Spain (DEV), Sweden (Spelplan-ASGD), Switzerland (SGDA), Turkey (TOGED) and the United Kingdom (TIGA). Through its members, EGDF represents more than 2 500 game developer studios, most SMEs, employing more than 45 000 people.
The games industry represents one of Europe’s most compelling economic success stories. Located at the crossroads of the ICT and cultural industries, the game industry is one of the rapidly growing segments of the cultural and creative industries. In 2022, there were around 5 300 game developer studios and publishers in the EU, employing over 90 000 people and running a combined turnover of over €19bn. In 2023, Europe’s video games market was worth €25,7bn, and the industry has registered a growth rate of 5% in key European markets. The European digital single market is the third-largest video game market globally.
Ukraine has been, is, and will be an important and essential part of Europe and European game culture. Before the Kremlin’s war, we celebrated a boom of local Ukrainian game developer studios building their own highly successful Ukrainian games. Furthermore, Ukrainian game developers played a crucial role in helping to shape the European games industry, and there isn’t almost any European game developer community without Ukrainian members. As a growth-oriented digital cultural industry, the video game industry can play a significant role in rebuilding Ukraine after the war by attracting private investment in the country, generating economic growth, creating new jobs and attracting both the Ukrainian diaspora and the leading global talent back to Ukraine.
For more on EGDF approach on rebuilding Ukraine, please visit: https://www.egdf.eu/documentation/3-enabling-digital-growth-with-public-funding/rebuilding-ukraine-2023/
EGDF is committed to respecting fundamental human rights and freedoms. EGDF defends freedom of speech, freedom of culture and arts, and freedom to conduct business and balancing these freedoms against other fundamental freedoms. EGDF is committed to respecting and improving the laws, regulations and norms of European society setting the limitations for the freedom of arts and freedom of speech.