Geographically speaking, Malta seems to have an outsized impact on some of the biggest entertainment industries in the world – particularly when it comes to the many forms of modern gaming. In 2019, Silvio Schembri, the parliamentary secretary for financial services, digital economy, and innovation, as detailed in the Gaming Malta publication, was planning for several initiatives like grants, tax rebates, and a bursary programme to develop video games and create new facilities to do so. Education would be at the heart of the vision, which would, in turn, lead to more local talents developing more games. Luckily, there are already prime examples of gaming success on the island.
Malta’s well-founded place in gaming
Malta certainly has a foot in the door of the video games industry and continues to build its profile in many different ways, but where the country is already firmly established as a hub for gaming entertainment is iGaming. Malta is firmly established as a leading authority trusted to govern the fairness of games and platforms, even to the extent that it influences studios not based on the island. Microgaming is one of the most popular developers in the industry and a huge selling point to players. This explains why the leading platforms listed by casino rewards offer free spins on the famed Mega Moolah progressive slots and rely on their catalog to provide a world-class experience.
The developer delivers games to sites all over the world, but they are beholden to Malta’s trusted regulatory authority, the MGA. Malta certainly has its own home development studios, but it’s the regulator that’s held the country’s sterling reputation. In video gaming, it’s much more about building up the sector in Malta and raising the profile of its talents. Already, several hit games have been developed or partially developed on these shores, including Candy Crush Saga, Metro Exodus, XIII, and the endless mobile runner Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!
Then, of course, there’s also Gaming Malta’s hefty game expo, Playcon. Running from November 30 to December 3 at the MFCC in Ta’ Qali, it made the cut for the Times of Malta highlighted events of the week, featuring educational activities, eSports competitions, development exhibitions, interactive activities, and a cosplay showcase. Among the many exhibitors were Blood Bowl Malta, the ESL, Gamebreaker, Minecraft Education, Red Bull Gaming Ground, Ubisoft, and World Pro Racing. The huge event will do wonders for developing new talents and getting more people involved in the industry.
Malta’s headline developer working on the next hit
In May 2014, due to issues arising from the situation in Ukraine, 4A Games expanded to Sliema, which also made it easier to build within the European Union. After the move, the studio released Metro: Redux – the second in the acclaimed Metro game series, followed by Arktika. 1 for Oculus Studios in 2017, and then their biggest release yet. Metro Exodus greatly expanded on the first two games, opening up to wider environments and telling a more expansive story.
Metro Exodus also utilized the 4A Engine developed by 4A Games. The graphics middleware engine revolutionized the experience, bringing in elements like skin shaders, volumetric fog, destructible environments, water simulations, 3D sound positioning, and much more. It was quite the feat of development, and technology truly shone through in the gameplay. The quality of the game clearly still holds up even with a jump to new hardware. Since its February 2019 release, Metro Exodus has sold over 10 million copies – as of February 2024 – and the studio coupled this announcement by confirming two more games coming to the series.
Next up, developed by Vertigo Games, is Metro Awakening. The virtual reality adventure story set in the Metro universe is scheduled for release in 2024. For non-VR gamers, the more exciting revelation was that the fourth game in the mainline Metro series is confirmed to be in development. The announcement came with the caveat that it’ll be released “when it’s ready,” but even just teasing its upcoming release with the metro-style graphic will be enough to get some thinking that there’ll be a proper reveal soon. It was detailed as being on the way in 2020, with a full engine overhaul announced for next-gen, so maybe more information is set to arrive soon.
It may not have much information out in the public domain just yet, but following the success of Metro Exodus, Metro 4 looks set to be a hit, further raising the profile of Malta in the video games industry.
Disclaimer: Play responsibly. Players must be over 18. For help visit https://www.gamcare.org.uk/.