Italy is one of the biggest gaming markets, both in Europe and in the world, with more than $1.2 billion spent in the last year. When it comes to games, it’s always been more of a nation of consumers rather than creators. But this is changing.
Why is this happening now? A number of factors exist, but two of the most important are a more mature game-developer community and a growing startup scene. And this is influencing the entire Italian game industry: Universities are introducing design courses, and VCs are investing in gaming startups.
Recently, many Italian games have received international recognition. The creativity that defines the “Made in Italy” when it comes to clothing, automobiles, and food is now becoming recognizable in games.
Italy has over 100 game development studios, and mobile development has significantly increased in the last years, involving half of the total Italian games production.
Here’s a showcase of 10 great mobile games Made in Italy, released in the last couple of years:
Sleep Attack TD
Developer: Bad Seed
Genre: Tower Defense
Download: iOS | Android
Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf
Developer: Forge Reply
Genre: Role-playing game
Download: iOS | Android | Amazon
Dengen Chronicles
Developer: Mangatar
Genre: Trading-card game/RPG
Download: iOS | Android | Windows Phone
From Cheese
Developer: SpinVector
Genre: Puzzle
Download: iOS | Android | Windows Phone
OverVolt Crazy Slot Cars
Developer: Interactive Project
Genre: Racing
Download: Android | Windows Phone
SBK14
Developer: Digital Tales
Genre: Racing
Download: iOS
Syder Arcade
Developer: Studio Evil
Genre: Shoot ’em up
Download: iOS | Android
Haunted Manor 2
Developer: RedBitGames
Genre: Adventure
Download: iOS | Android
Bubble Fish Party
Developer: Xplored
Genre: Party
Download: iOS | Android
Fotonica
Developer: Santa Ragione
Genre: Runner
Download: iOS
Keep an eye on the Italian gaming scene — this is only the beginning.
Raffaele Gaito is the cofounder of Mangatar and BizDev. A game developer, he writes about startups and gaming, both in Italian and English, on several blogs.