CYGMA - Cyprus Game Makers Association

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CYGMA - Cyprus Game Makers Association

CYGMA is the industry association representing game creators in Cyprus and strengthening the island’s place on the global game development map.

18/08/2026

➡ 415 game companies on an island of one million people.

Per capita, no country in the world has more game companies, more game revenue, or more game installs than Cyprus. Games earned over €3.2 billion here in 2025.
Nobody was counting this before, but now we present the Cyprus Video Game Industry Report 2025 - the first proper measurement of the industry this island has quietly built.

Counting it was one of our main goals for this year, and we can finally say it's done, thanks to all our members and partners.
72 pages, nine sections: the global market, the Cyprus market, companies and employment, investment and M&A, the economic framework, talent and education, community and events, CYGMA, and a full methodology.

📚Free to read: https://cygma.eu/cyprus-video-game-industry-report-2025/

Coming to gamescom? Printed copies are at the CYGMA stand B-03 in Confex (24–25 Aug) and at the Games from Cyprus pavilion, Hall 03.2, F-030G (26–28 Aug).

26/05/2026

📆This Friday, May 29, GDCy Fest 2026 takes over St. Raphael Resort in Limassol - and CYGMA is right in the middle of it.
If you're new to gamedev or curious about how the industry works in Cyprus, here's what to know.

🎮For teenagers - Entering GameDev.
This is the first track at GDCy Fest built specifically for ages 14-19, and we've been working on it for months. Curated by Julia Tarasova, our Head of Education (and founder of KidIT), the program is built around one question: how do you actually get into this industry?
The lineup is people who do it for a living - speakers from MY.GAMES, Strikerz Inc., Holyday Studios, Apnea Academy, Robolab, and Cyprus University of Technology. They'll cover how to start without waiting years, what AI means for future careers, what artists need to know now, and what local universities and programs are doing.
It opens at 14:20 in the Teens Corner. If you have a teenager who plays games and wonders whether there's a real career behind it, this is the day to come.

🎯For the industry - Cyprus GameDev.
Cyprus has 300+ game studios. Most people don't know that. The Cyprus GameDev track runs all day and covers what's behind that number: banking, hiring, legal, indie growth, and what it actually takes to operate a studio here.
At 14:30, Jane Artemova, our Head of Strategic Partnerships, takes the stage with "Video Games Industry Challenge - Developing Cyprus Indie Games Scene from Scratch". An honest look at what's working in the local indie scene, what's stuck, and what comes next.

👀 Also worth a look: Game Marketing.
Our Head of Brand, Julia Paliy, is curating the Game Marketing track. If you're working on a game and trying to figure out how to reach players, this is where those conversations are happening.

🤩Want to meet us?
The whole CYGMA team will be at St. Raphael all day. Book a meeting through the GDCy Meet platform, or just find us between sessions - happy to talk memberships, partnerships, the Cyprus scene, Gamescom planning, or anything else gamedev.
See you on Friday!

Check out the full agenda in comments!

08/05/2026

If your teenager plays games and has ever wondered how they’re actually made — this is for them 🔥

On May 29, as part of GDCy Fest 2026, CYGMA is hosting the first dedicated Teens Track at a Cyprus game industry event. Free entry for ages 14-19. 100 spots available, registration required ➡ https://cygma.fillout.com/t/4HD6zDpJGcus

The afternoon brings together working game developers, 3D artists, and industry professionals for a program built around one question: how do you turn genuine interest in games into real skills and a real career?

Anton Gorodetsky from MY.GAMES opens with an honest look at how the games industry is structured and how young people are actually getting in.

Dmitry Kononenko, Art Director at Strikerz, follows with something a lot of young creatives are quietly anxious about: what AI is really doing to the artist’s profession. His take, as a concept artist, sculptor, and lead 3D artist who works with these tools every day, is more useful than most of the noise out there.

A session led by Antonina Americ from Robolab, alongside indie developers and 3D artists who started as teenagers themselves, covers portfolios, freelancing, and what the first real steps actually look like.

Despina Michael-Grigoriou from Cyprus University of Technology presents the local university pathways available to aspiring developers.

And Max Fomichev from Holyday Studios addresses the bigger picture: which roles in game development are changing, and what that means for people who are just starting out.

The track closes with a panel where senior professionals answer the question they probably wish someone had answered for them: What would you do if you were starting today?

Hosted by Yulia Tarasova, Head of Education at CYGMA.

📅 May 29 | 14:00–18:00 | GDCy Fest 2026
🎫 100 free tickets for teenagers | parents attending with their child can also get a discounted ticket at registration
🔗https://cygma.fillout.com/t/4HD6zDpJGcus

If you know a teenager who’s into games — share this with them.

24/04/2026

CYGMA was at the 10th Professional Services Conference this Tuesday - and game development was on the agenda.

Andrey Ivashentsev joined the panel alongside George Mountis and Aleksandra Mirgorodskaya from Chrysostomides Advocates & Legal Consultants and Roman Zanin from Wargaming for a productive conversation about where the industry stands and what it needs to grow.

"Being invited to this conversation is something we don't take lightly. It signals that the broader business and financial community is genuinely looking to understand how gaming and entertainment are reshaping the economy. We came to listen, and we heard a real openness to that dialogue. We also shared our perspective: Cyprus has grown from 50 to nearly 400 studios, and the ecosystem is ready for the infrastructure - financial, regulatory, and governmental - to grow with it. Countries like the UK, Germany, and Turkey offer good reference points for what that support can look like. We're grateful for the seat at the table. And we're committed to making the case - constructively, and with data."

The dialogue is opening up.

16/04/2026

CYGMA at the 10th Cyprus Professional Services Conference
Our General Manager, Andrey Ivashentsev, will be speaking on a panel about the future of Gaming & Digital Entertainment at one of Cyprus's most prominent professional services events.
The conference, presented by Bank of Cyprus and themed "A Sector in Transition", brings together key voices across industries shaping Cyprus's economic future. Game development is now part of that conversation.

📅 21 April 2026 | Hilton Nicosia
Proud to represent the industry at this level. If you're attending, come join the conversation.

08/04/2026

Plug and Play Tech Center has officially launched in Cyprus — marking another important step in the development of the island’s innovation ecosystem.

CYGMA was invited to join the launch event in Nicosia, bringing together international partners, local stakeholders, and government representatives. The initiative is driven by the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, including dedicated support and budgets aimed at accelerating startup development.

The programme was also presented at the Presidential Palace, highlighting strong institutional backing.

Alongside broader discussions on innovation, investment, and international collaboration, we focused on one of the upcoming programs, which is expected to be dedicated to game development. We are already exploring partnership opportunities within this initiative to ensure Cyprus-based studios can directly benefit from access to global networks, expertise, and funding.

For the game development industry, this is a meaningful and very practical step forward — reinforcing Cyprus as an emerging hub at the intersection of Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.

Glad to be part of this — and ready to contribute 🚀

Address

Lampousas, 1
Nicosia
1095

Website

https://cygma.eu/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/cygma-cyprus/

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