The European Parliament has voted to encourage investment and support growth of professional talent in the Esports community and gaming industry as a whole. A long-term plan has been suggested to ensure the growth of the gaming and Esports industries, as well as to preserve "culturally significant" video games.
An overwhelming majority of members in the European Parliament have expressed interest in going ahead with this European video game strategy with the intention of supporting everyone involved with Esports and gaming, including developers, Esports initiatives, and players themselves. This doesn't represent the first time that the EU Parliament has recognized the value and importance of the gaming industry, either. While existing initiatives such as the Creative Europe and Horizon Europe programs have helped to provide some funding to the industry in the past, the new resolution acknowledges the inefficiencies of those efforts.
The approval of this new resolution to enhance financial support of the gaming industry comes after a pre-vote which occurred early in March. A major part of the resolution is to fund and recognize Esports, as professional gaming leagues along with the success of the gaming industry in general is recognized to be a huge economic and cultural factor in Europe. In addition, the resolution also proposes the protection and preservation of culturally significant video games to ensure their playability and validity in the future. Though the executive body has expressed intention to take action with the strategy, how exactly the propositions will be implemented is yet to be worked out by legislators.
The European video game strategy provides a long list of different propositions, with many being focused on benefiting Esports teams such as the winner of the recent League of Legends World Championship, DRX. The intentions to foster and enhance talent in the industry can potentially open up opportunities for more people to get involved with the development of video games in the EU as well, which could have a profound impact on the creative industry going forwards by helping to encourage the development of digital skills. In terms of funding, the EU Parliament aims to provide a reliable financial infrastructure that takes into account future challenges and fast-paced changes within the industry.
The proposed strategy could do a lot for the Esports and gaming industries even outside of Europe, and comes as a huge win to the industry both financially and as a way of further legitimizing the gaming industry in the eyes of countries across the world. It will also raise awareness of environmental issues among gamers and encourage the industry to become more eco-friendly, while encouraging linguistic diversity in games to ensure their accessibility to a wider range of people.
Source: European Parliament