David 
31/12/2015
We would like to wish all of our members a very happy New Year and thank you all for your continued support this past year. 2015 (our third operational year) was a great year for both FLEGA and the Flemish Games Industry as a whole. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of 2015!
March – De Croo launches Start-Up Plan
Alexander De Croo introduced his Start-up Plan, a package of measures aimed at start-ups, growing young companies (scale-ups) and SMEs.
August – The Belgian Pavilion at Gamescom
In association with Startups.be and WALGA and the financial support of Flanders Investment & Trade, screen.brussels and Wallonia.be (AWEX), FLEGA created the first Belgian Pavilion at Gamescom. The pavilion gathered 12 amazing Belgian studios and was visited by a large number of interested parties, which led to some great networking opportunities and ample attention from both the specialised gaming and mainstream press.
September – The first BelgianGamesCafe
Following the huge success of the Belgian Pavilion at Gamescom, the three Belgian regions united again on September 16 for the first BelgianGamesCafe, a relaxing games meetup in Brussels. Well over a hundred Belgian game developers, students, government officials and journalists got together to exchange ideas and showcase their games while enjoying complimentary snacks and drinks.
September – Larian breaks own Kickstarter record
The Divinity: Original Sin 2 Kickstarter campaign went live on August 26. In just six hours the sequel raised as much money as D:OS in 12 days time. The counter hit 660K in 24 hours and the first stretch goal was reached only a few hours later. The $1.000.000 milestone (= 200% funding) was reached on August 31. At the end of the campaign 42.713 backers pledged $2.032.434. Talk about a successful crowdfunding campaign!
October – The founding of FAB Games
FLEGA was one of the main initiators for FAB Games, the Federal Association of Belgian Games. Together with our colleagues from Wallonia and Brussels we founded FAB Games on October 22. FAB is the technical umbrella organisation that covers all federal matters such as our lobby for a tax shelter for the games industry and national events. Regional associations FLEGA and WALGA maintain their regional focus and stay fully operational.
October – The Flemish Games Booth at Gameforce and FACTS
FLEGA was present at Gameforce and FACTS with a Flemish Games Booth that showcased games from several talented Flemish developers. FLEGA negotiated low booth rates to give our indie developers the chance to showcase their games to the public at a reasonable cost.
December – VAF Gaming Fund announces subsidies Q4
Throughout the year FLEGA helped VAF in creating more awareness for its funding. The result: a lot more projects were submitted and the quality of the projects was higher than ever. Several studios received funding and are working on some amazing games.
There you have it! As you can see a lot of positive things happened for the Belgian Games Industry in 2015. Let’s make 2016 even better together!
