GREAT SUCCESS FOR THE SIXTH EDITION OF FIRST PLAYABLE

IIDEA :

Milan, July 18, 2024 – The sixth edition of First Playable, the business event for the video game sector organized by IIDEA (the association representing the industry in Italy) and the Toscana Film Commission – Fondazione Sistema Toscana, in collaboration with the ICE Agency and with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture, concluded with great satisfaction. This edition confirms the success of an event that in just a few years has become a key international meeting point for Italian and international professionals.

The initiative, which took place this year from July 3 to 5 in Florence at Cinema La Compagnia, the House of Cinema of the Tuscany Region, and the Innovation Hub of Nana Bianca, featured panels, business meetings, workshops, awards, and networking moments. Over 500 industry professionals attended the event, including 50 companies from 12 countries (Australia, Canada, Cyprus, South Korea, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, USA) and over 180 teams of Italian video game developers. Through the Meet To Match platform, more than 1,000 business meetings were scheduled. There were also in-depth moments: during the kick-off conference, 11 international speakers took the stage, and with the support of sponsors, 9 workshops on business or technical topics were conducted. The Italian Video Game Awards ceremony, broadcast exclusively on the Twitch channel of media partner Multiplayer.it, was watched live and online by over 15,000 viewers.

For the first time this year, First Playable established a country partnership with France, thanks to the collaboration of the Institut Français Italia, the cultural diplomatic network for the promotion of French culture abroad, SNJV (Syndicat National du Jeu Vidéo), the association representing professionals and video game production companies in France, and CNC – Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée, the public body responsible for implementing multilateral policies in cinema, audiovisual, and video games.

Thalita Malagò, General Director of IIDEA, stated: "The 2024 edition of First Playable was a great success, consolidating the event as a premier meeting place for the Italian video game developer community and strengthening its role as an international showcase of excellence for the Italian video game industry. The support from central and local institutions was crucial, confirming the strategic importance of the initiative for promoting Made in Italy in the video game sector. We look forward to 2025 with new ideas to further develop the initiative."

Stefania Ippoliti, Director of Toscana Film Commission, commented: "For the Tuscany Region, this long-standing partnership with IIDEA and the continued focus on the Italian video game world is a source of great satisfaction, confirmed by the surprising numbers that indicate rapid growth. But more importantly, the quality of the projects is the most encouraging premise for the future."
 
Matteo Masini, Head of the Consumer Goods Office at the Italian Trade Agency (ICE), stated: “The Italian Trade Agency has been collaborating with First Playable since its inception and continues to support the growth and internationalization of Italian companies in the video game sector, an entrepreneurial community that is extremely dynamic and has significant potential for international development. This collaboration has once again enabled the participation of a delegation of high-profile international operators in this edition of the event, selected and invited through the Agency’s foreign network offices in markets of greatest interest to our companies in Europe and worldwide.”

The sixth edition of First Playable was made possible thanks to the support of numerous partners: Meet to Match was the Matchmaking Partner of the event; Epic Games/Unreal Engine was the Diamond Partner; Memorable Games and Vigamus Group were Gold Partners; and Audio Network, Broken Arms Games, GPEM, LCA Studio Legale, Milestone, Nacon Studio Milan, Red Bull with the Red Bull Indie Forge project, Slitherine, and Xsolla were Silver Partners. Multiplayer.it was the media partner of the Italian Video Game Awards.

More information is available on the official event website www.firstplayable.it

For further information, please contact:
Stefano Petrullo - Renaissance PR
Telephone: +44 7828 692 315
E-mail: [email protected]

Sophie Carter, Renaissance PR
Telephone: +44 7810 848 320
E-mail: [email protected]

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About IIDEA
The Association was founded in early 2000s. Our original members were mainly multinationals operating on Italian soil. Since 2011, with the establishment of several game development studios in our country, we broadened our membership base to Italian videogames-producing companies, which nowadays represent most of our members. In 2019, we opened the Association’s gates to esports business operators, such as teams and tournament organizers.Currently, the Association is composed of over 100 members, including videogames hardware manufacturers, videogames publishers, Italian game developers and esports business operators. Internationally, in 2002 IIDEA joined Video Games Europe, which is the European videogames Association located in Brussels. Since 2005 IIDEA is member of the Video Games Europe Board of Directors. Moreover, the Association is also members of the PEGI Management Board, videogames age ratings system helping parents in making informed choices during the purchase of a videogame. In 2020 IIDEA join EGDF. We are an agile, slender and results-oriented Association. Our line of work is very pragmatic and based on the constant involvement of our members in order to ensure that our action keeps abreast of the industry steady evolution. Our members are at the hearth of any choice or action carried out by the Association.