Pakistan is all set to enter the $430 billion global gaming and animation industry as the government is planning to set up a center of excellence in Karachi. The center of excellence would house startups in the gaming and animation sectors.
Pakistan is all set to enter the $430 billion global gaming and animation industry as the government is planning to set up a center of excellence in Karachi. The center of excellence would house startups in the gaming and animation sectors.
According to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT), the main purpose of this center of excellence is to make Pakistan one of the key regional players in the gaming, animation and multimedia industry by providing proper equipment, facilities, and training to youth. The ministry also envisages facilitating gaming and animation startups through incubation programs to transform them into successful and sustainable businesses.
According to MoITT’s tech innovation arm Ignite (National Technology Fund), the center of excellence will run an incubation program for startups as well as provide state-of-the-art facilities to the industry for developing and producing innovative work using various labs, studios and similar infrastructure.
According to the MoITT, the center will offer short courses of six months and one-year certification programs to 1,500 individuals every year. The center will also provide the space for the gaming and design community in Pakistan to hold conferences, seminars, product launches, demos and trainings. The center will also serve as Research and Development (R&D) space for local and international researchers.
According to Ignite, if 1,500 animators and graphic designers are trained every year, exports and foreign investment will increase. More than 10,000 animators will be trained and 80 startups will be incubated by the year 2025.
According to MoITT, the global gaming industry is worth $160 billion whereas the global animation industry stands at $270 billion. Both industries are growing at 9.17 percent annually, the global gaming industry will reach $260 billion by 2025 with the global animation industry expected to reach $415 billion by the same time. The internal study of the MoITT says that Pakistan has the potential to enter both industries and there is a need to channelize the sector.
Pakistan has 178 million mobile subscribers out of which 93 million have 3G/4G services and has great potential to meet both the demand and supply side of the gaming and animation industry, says the study. According to the study, Pakistan can earn up to $500 million from the gaming and animation industry by the year 2025.
Source: Pro Pakistani