CTalkIsrael’s gaming sector is 2% of its GDP - so why is the government ignoring it?
CTalk
Israel’s gaming sector is 2% of its GDP - so why is the government ignoring it?
Ofir Katz, Head of Game Design & Development Department at Tiltan School of Design & Visual Communication, laments the absence of the Israeli government with regard to its booming gaming sector.
Ofir Katz, Head of Game Design & Development Department at Tiltan School of Design & Visual Communication
(Photo: Sinai David)
“For some reason, the government hasn't acknowledged the gaming industry in Israel here, even though it's making billions of dollars a year,” said Ofir Katz, Head of Game Design & Development Department at Tiltan School of Design & Visual Communication. “It's much easier to be funded when you're making cinema or music, which are much smaller industries in Israel.”
Katz was speaking to CTech at Gaming 2024, where he was lamenting the absence of government assistance in the sector. Whereas traditionally the Israeli government assists with prominent sectors such as Cybersecurity, or arts like cinema, he feels the gaming sector has been neglected, despite making billions of dollars and being an impressive export from Startup Nation.
According to a panel earlier that day, it was revealed that the gaming industry in Israel employs roughly 14,000 people and accounts for approximately 2% of its GDP.
“I really hope that there will be some assistance because, in the meantime, we have to find other sources of funding,” he added. “It's not just about the commercial stuff, but like in every other creative industry, whether it's cinema, television, or musical theatre, there's the more commercial stuff that brings the money in and the more artistic stuff. And the artistic stuff usually needs the help of the government in Israel. We don't have that for games.”
You can watch the full discussion in the video above.
