The westernmost town in Slavonia, Novska, whose economic strengths have traditionally been agriculture, textile, and wood industries, is confidently becoming the center of the gaming industry. Work on realizing this vision has been ongoing since 2016, and the two renovated buildings housing the entrepreneurial incubator PISMO and around 70 tenants, both novice entrepreneurs and companies, are the best proof that the vision has come to life.
With a carefully designed plan that encompasses all levels of education and specially tailored training in a town of 11,000 residents, a critical mass is emerging ready to take their share of the pie in the video game market, which, according to estimates by the market analysis company for video games and e-sports, Newzoo, will reach a value of $200 billion next year.
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—The rapid growth of the gaming industry was the reason why the Development Agency of Sisak-Moslavina County – Simora decided to build an incubator specialized for video games. In a project worth nearly 25 million kuna, of which 20 million kuna are non-repayable EU funds, two buildings have been renovated over several years, housing offices, impressive simulators with VR equipment, a music studio, a video studio, a motion capture studio with 24 cameras, a photogrammetry studio with 170 cameras (where Lider’s photographer Ratko Mavar did not remove the blissful smile from his face), a multimedia space, and a conference hall.
Through these unique studies in Croatia, we were guided by Ivana Matanović, responsible for public relations at the PISMO incubator, explaining that alongside building infrastructure, they also had to take care of the workforce.
One hundred people on the waiting list for training
To start, two training programs have been launched to equip participants for independent video game creation – for programmers and for advanced training in graphics for video games. These trainings are free, last six months, and are held daily for eight hours. The Croatian Employment Service provides unemployed individuals with at least a four-year high school diploma with compensation equal to the minimum wage and travel expenses during the training. This has generated enormous interest. As many as 87 participants were unemployed before attending the training, and 66 percent of them are working in the IT sector within the first month after completing the six-month program.
– The sixth training is now finishing, and most of them already have secured jobs. This is one of the best trainings funded by the CES. This is also the reason why Simora received a European award as the best development agency. There are already one hundred people on the waiting list, even though we open calls twice a year. We take the best; all candidates must pass testing – emphasizes Matanović, noting that so far, 220 participants have completed this training, of which 67 have launched startups in the PISMO incubator, and they currently have about a hundred employees.
High School Program
As more and more young people applied, Simora realized there was a need to establish a regular high school education program. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, a curriculum was created, and since 2019, twenty students can enroll in the video game development technician program at the Technical School in Sisak and since 2020 at the Secondary School in Novska.
– This year, the third class has already enrolled in Sisak and the second in Novska, and after high schools in this area did not participate in the IT competition for 14 years, video game development technicians, thanks to this program and additional work with our mentor Dominik, 'smashed it' at the competition this year. Given the high interest in the high school program, we realized we need a student dormitory in Novska, so the City and County have invested in that as well – Matanović cheerfully recounts how a significant transformation of Novska has begun thanks to the commitment to developing the gaming industry.
As participants in the training come from various cities, a rental housing market has emerged, and it will further expand with the renovation of Hotel Knopp, originally built in the second half of the 19th century, which had been neglected for decades.
– The local population certainly feels the benefits. Participants in our training live here, eat, and engage in the life of the local community. The gaming world is improving Novska; they always find something. They have smaller projects, but they are just getting educated; later, they will be able to do much more and better. For example, the participants of the last generation created an excellent application for the gym in Novska because they realized they did not know how to handle the equipment, and the gym is open 24/7 with no one to show them. They went to the owner and sold him that application – Matanović shared some anecdotes from daily life in the incubator.
Gaming Campus – Strategic Project
Although it is lively in PISMO and there is no shortage of projects, the next giant step is in its infancy – the construction of a campus in Novska, which should make this town the European center of gaming. The campus, within which a faculty, student and pupil dormitory, an accelerator for the gaming industry, and an entrepreneurial incubator for eSports, i.e., an eSports arena with several thousand seats are planned, has also been included in the list of strategic projects of Croatia. The estimated value of the investment is 50 million euros, but inflation and rising raw material prices could slightly increase that amount.
– For the construction of the campus, we expect funds from the Just Transition Fund, and part of the project documentation will likely be financed from the NPOO. We have already signed a contract with the designer for the preparation of project-technical documentation. Construction is planned over two years; that is how long it will take from the first shovel to the first tenants – says Matanović.
She explains that the campus will allow startups that have grown in the incubator to move to the accelerator, and students who currently have no opportunity to continue their education in the video game development technician program after completing high school will be able to enroll in a five-year study at the faculty in Novska, which will be part of the University of Zagreb. Since eSports will likely soon become an Olympic sport and is already a large market in itself, the eSports arena on the campus will be very attractive and will allow, Matanović explains, for games to be refined while multiple people play them simultaneously.
