Krakow to invest in gaming industry

The Krakow Film Commission will now be transformed into the Commission for Audiovisual Arts.

“One can only applaud such projects,” Marcin Kandefer, chairman of the city's tourism and promotional department, told the Rzeczpospolita daily.

“I hope that the investment in games is a success,” he added, noting how popular the games are among young people.

City councillor Pawel Wegrzyn, who is also chairman of the European Gaming Academy, was instrumental in persuading the city to back the project.

“Polish games, not least hits such as The Witcher, are significantly more popular in today's world than our films,” he said.

“The investment of the city in such productions is an opportunity for further promotion [of the industry],” he said.

Krakow-based firm the Bloober Team, which is set to launch a game called Assault Armies as part of Sony's new Playstation Vita package, looks likely to be one of the beneficiaries of the new wave of investment.

The current value of the gaming market in Poland is estimated at between 300-400 billion zloty (71 – 96 billion euro). Analysts predict that this is set to rise – along with the global gaming market – by some 15 percent by 2015.

Up until now, the Krakow Film Commission has helped facilitate the production of many movies in the city, both local and foreign. Cooperation with Bollywood film-makers has been one of the most fruitful partnerships in recent months. (nh/pg)