PH game developers join Vancouver video game industry summit

The Philippine booth at the External Development Summit or XDS 2024 is one of the biggest this year, with a dozen Filipino participating game development companies.

Trade Commissioner Mario Tani said the Department of Trade and Industry wanted to give the country’s game development industry a boost in the international market, especially as it contributes about P1 trillion pesos to the economy.

“We have 12 companies showcasing the talent that we have in game development and how we can engage more Canadian companies and work with them," said Tani, "to promote gaming, game development, and even learn, maybe try to learn more state-of-the-art technology."

This is the 12th year of the External Development Summit, which started in Vancouver in 2013.

The summit brought together hundreds of attendees from 40 countries with the aim of connecting the buyers and sellers in the video game industry.

XDS organizers warmly welcomed the Philippine delegation, with founder Chris Wren saying their presence in XDS will bring more attention to Filipino game developers.

“In: I feel today, and especially with the Philippines' involvement in X-D-S, that the Philippines is really putting themselves on the map within the games industry, which, by the way, is a $200 billion industry globally,” said External Development Summit founder Chris Wren.

Filipino game developers expressed appreciation for being in this esteemed event and are excited to form valuable connections here.

“This is a very expensive event to join, and this is the top of the food chain in video game development,” said Alvin Juban, chairman of the Game Developers Association of the Philippines. 

“We are always  proud when we get the attention of the government because this is the high skill level that we want Filipinos to achieve.”

The United Nations International Trade Center also gave partial funding support to four of the Filipino participants, including Pixel Mafia, Buko Studios, Animation Vertigo Asia, and Neun Farben.

The U.N. agency is helping small businesses in developing countries get access to international markets and trades.

“We're taking a cohort of game development companies in the Philippines to visit trade fairs and conferences,” said Michelle Vu of the U.N. International Trade Center. 

“We've already taken them to several trade fairs in Europe. We help with capacity building, offer them training on export marketing plans.”

Although the industry is still in its early stages in the Philippines, Animation Vertigo CEO Marla de Castro Rausch believes it is not just the Filipino’s skill and artistry that gives him an edge in the market but his heart.

“Filipinos, more often than not, are concerned about not just finishing the product, but actually making sure that the client looks good, that they actually get to do the job well, and that they do meet the deadlines or the milestones that they have.” she said. 

During the XDS, the DTI also promoted its next GameDev Summit that will be held in Boracay in February 2025.

The GameDev Summit is a landmark industry event in Asia-Pacific that also features the XDS main stage.