If you’re one of an estimated two million video gamers in Ireland, you probably don’t need to be told this is an industry in rude health.
Globally, video games generated revenues of US$184bn in 2023, far surpassing the movie industry’s international box-office takings of US$33.9bn. However, unlike other sectors of the digital economy, video games enjoy a somewhat lowkey business footprint in Ireland.
Back in 2020, when AB Ireland first touched on the subject, a new tax credit was poised to correct this. The years since have certainly been kind to the sector: The Irish Post reported in May that ‘the video game industry in Ireland had its best-ever year in 2024, generating well over €600m in revenue’. By the end of 2027, that figure is expected to rise to €810m.
‘The Irish games industry is where the animation industry was 20 years ago’
However, the role played by the digital games corporation tax credit, introduced in November 2022, is not entirely clear-cut. Following what appeared to be low initial uptake of the credit, Imirt, the industry’s representative body, called for adjustments to its application last year, largely around recognising the globalised nature of the industry.
Currently, the tax relief is only available where a digital game is ‘developed and completed’ by a company in Ireland. Imirt wants qualifying expenditure to include post-launch investments (such as significant games updates) and for Irish studios that provide contract work to third parties outside the country to be eligible. ‘There are a few little tweaks that need to be made to make it much more attractive and derisk it a little bit’, Colm Larkin, ceo of Imirt told RTE News.
Explosive growth
Ireland’s gaming industry has also been overshadowed by the success of our nearest neighbour. In 2024, the BBC said the UK’s video games industry, recognised as the largest in Europe, employed around 76,000 people, bringing £6bn a year into the economy. It also noted an uptick in activity in Northern Ireland, reporting the sector there to be ‘booming’ with some 40 active gaming companies.
Gaming’s appeal for investors
- There is strong return-on-investment potential that can be achieved under private ownership.
- There are low overheads, high margins and exit valuations similar to software-as-a-service companies.
- Games are scalable at low cost, allowing developers to capitalise product expenditure on the balance sheet as an asset.
- Data and insights are leverageable for R&D and advertising.
- Games have immediate global reach and are relatively resistant to economic cycles.
- There is potential for recurring revenue in the form of microtransactions; the global online microtransaction market size is valued at $522.5bn.
- Other recurring revenue opportunities include limited edition content, subscriptions, brand collaborations, live services, advertising and downloadable content.
- Gamers are willing to pay for new and innovative experiences.
- As the younger generation of gamers grows, older gamers gain purchasing power.
Source: KPMG
Indeed, at a time when some uncertainty hangs over the future of Dublin’s Silicon Docks – thanks to 2025’s potent brew of tariffs, looming trade wars and the in-progress AI revolution – the mood in the gaming sector across the island is defiantly upbeat. A mix of smaller independent studios and larger, globally recognised companies is providing fertile ground for what many predict could be a giant leap forward.
Emmet O’Neill, CEO of gaming company StoryToys, sees parallels with other sectors of Ireland’s creative economy: ‘I think the Irish games industry is where the animation industry was 20 years ago,’ he says. ‘We have successes here and there, some homegrown and some as part of international games companies. But, just like the animation industry in the early 2000s, there is room for explosive growth right now.’
Investment opportunities
That sense of latent potential hasn’t gone unnoticed in financial circles. Dublin-based, London Stock Exchange-listed gaming company Keywords Studios made headlines in 2024 when it was acquired by EQT Ventures in a deal worth £2.1bn.
It was a move indicative of a sector that is ‘buoyant and optimistic’ and ‘ripe for consolidation’, according to Christopher Brown, a partner at KPMG Ireland. ‘Gaming is an industry traditionally overlooked by investors in Ireland, yet there are indicators that the tides are now changing,’ he says.
‘There are opportunities to acquire developers at a lower valuation’
Financial opportunities exist across a number of levels, from the merging of smaller companies to the acquisition of offloaded assets at ‘depressed prices’ from listed companies under pressure from shareholders. In the Irish market in particular, ‘investors recognise that there are opportunities to acquire developers at a lower valuation and receive great return on investment,’ he says.
Structural benefits
Piquing financial interest further is the tight business structure of many gaming companies. ‘Gaming companies typically have low overheads, high margins and obtain exit valuations like those yielded by software as a service companies,’ Brown says. (See boxout: ‘Gaming’s appeal for investors’).
Key gaming trends
- Just like the movie industry, remakes and reboots are big business.
- The independent gaming sector is growing, and big names are falling short, allowing space for indie companies to prosper.
- New PC gaming platforms are attempting to challenge the incumbent.
- Cloud gaming services are growing, allowing game streaming in real time.
- Next-generation consoles are set to battle it out for dominance.
- Early access to games is enhancing the game development process.
Source: explodingtopics.com
An industry poised for strong growth is also one in recruitment mode. Alan Bridgeman, Riot Games’s vice president, enterprise, EMEA and APAC, believes finance professionals shouldn’t overlook these opportunities, even if gaming itself isn’t part of their downtime. Being part of key teams such as finance that ‘play a significant and important role’ in the business ‘doesn’t necessarily require a high level of digital or gaming skills’, he says. It will, of course, always pay off to understand how this fast-moving industry is evolving. (See boxout: ‘Key gaming trends’.)
The introduction of the digital games corporation tax credit was a vote of confidence in a sector yet to reach its full potential here. With questions now being asked about Ireland’s revenue dependence on a small number of tech giants, the prospects for a further revamp of the credit look promising. Surging growth and further job creation in the sector would certainly bring some welcome bonus points to the government’s books in the years ahead.
