This article is about the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

market and culture in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Consumer availability

Distribution

Distribution in Belgium is usually done by publishers that cover the entire

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: ...

, although some of the publishers' offices are located in Belgium. Since not every publisher has a separate office for the Benelux, certain publishers take care of multiple labels, including those of other publishers.

Rating

Belgium supports the

PEGI PEGI () or Pan-European Game Information is a European video game content rating system established to help European consumers make informed decisions when buying video games or apps through the use of age recommendations and content descript ...

rating system but there is no legislative basis.

was developed and is owned by the

Interactive Software Federation of Europe The Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) is an independent federation, representing the interests of the video game industry in Europe to the main stakeholders: EU institutions, international organisations, academics, or the general p ...

which is based in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Sales

In 2011, the Belgian consumer bought 6.54 million games. More than 84% of those games were console games. The sales generated a revenue of 220 million euro, which means they stayed stable compared to 2010.

Belgium's appearance in video games

Belgium as a setting

Belgium is not often used as an originally created setting for video games, although it does appear in some types of simulation games. ;World War II games The famous

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

is featured in the following video games: * ''Battle of the Bulge, various wargames simulating the battle.'' * '' Call of Duty: United Offensive, the American campaign is set during the Battle of the Bulge.'' * '' Medal of Honor: European Assault, the final campaign is set at the start of the Battle.'' * ''Bulge '44 (HPS Simulations) An operational level strategy wargame, covering many scenarios, both historic and alternative.'' * '' Call of Duty: WWII, Battle of the Bulge, Ardennes map in multiplayer'' ;Racing games * Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is a popular racing circuit. It's the host of the Belgian Grand Prix and has been featured in many Formula One games and other racing games like Need for Speed: Shift, Race Driver: Grid,

Forza Motorsport 5 ''Forza Motorsport 5'' is a 2013 racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One. The game was released on November 22, 2013 as a launch title. The game was revealed on May 21, 2013 during the X ...

and Gran Turismo.

Belgian video game characters

* Anna from the game Valiant Hearts: The Great War is a nurse who was born in

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...

* In most of the international

sports game A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport ( ...

s, such as the FIFA football games and olympic video games, teams or players from Belgium are featured. * Phillipe Loren, one of Saints Row The Third's villains is of Belgian origin. * Sens from the game Rainbow 6 Siege

Video games based on Belgian works

Many video games are based on Belgian comic books: *

XIII XIII may refer to: * 13 (number) or XIII in Roman numerals * 13th century in Roman numerals * XIII (comics), ''XIII'' (comics), a Belgian comic book series by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance ** XIII (2003 video game), ''XIII'' (2003 video game), a ...

* Video games based on The Adventures of Tintin * Video games based on The Smurfs * Largo Winch: Empire Under Threat * Spirou * Video games based on Lucky Luke

Video game development

Representation

The Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA) is the organization that represents the interests of the music, video and video game industries in Belgium. The Flemish Games Association (FLEGA) represents the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

video game industry, The Brussels-Capital Region Games Association (games.brussels) represents the Brussels video game industry, the Walloon Games Association (WALGA) represents the Walloon video game industry.

Game developers from Belgium

There are 64 game developers registered with the Flemish Games Association. Some of the game development studios in Belgium include:

Defunct game developers

Games developed in Belgium

* ''

Adventure Rock ''Adventure Rock'' (previously known as ''CBBC World'') was a virtual online world for children based on Ketnetkick,''Adventure Rock'' Credits, found within the game interface and created by the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC in association ...

'' * ''

Ary and the Secret of Seasons ''Ary and the Secret of Seasons'' is an action-adventure game developed by Belgian indie studio Exiin, ported on consoles by Fishing Cactus and published by Modus Games. The game was released on Microsoft Windows via Steam, and Xbox One, Play ...

'' * '' Baldur's Gate III'' * '' Beyond Divinity'' * '' Divine Divinity'' * '' Divinity II: Ego Draconis'' * '' Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance'' * '' Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga'' * '' Divinity: Dragon Commander'' * '' Divinity: Original Sin'' * '' Divinity: Original Sin II'' * '' Hyperball Racing'' * '' Sunset'' * '' The Endless Forest'' * '' The Graveyard'' * '' The Path'' * '' Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries'' * '' Outcast''

Game publishers from Belgium

Education

University college

Other

Syntra LIMBURG offers multiple video game courses.

Media

Print media

Television

Programs

Defunct Programs

Defunct Channels

* GUNKtv

Online media

* eurogamer.be
9lives.be

Sensei Gaming

Les Players Du Dimanche

N-Gamz

4WeAreGamers

GameBrain

Belgian Games Industry
(Companies list)
Belgian Game Industry Directory

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Video games in In Belgium