More than 600 companies dedicated to software development have chosen Guadalajara as its headquarters. A significant number of these companies are focused on the development of video games and animation, two industries with accelerated growth and in which Mexico has stood out.
In 2018, the videogame industry reported $43.8B in revenue worldwide, according to data from the Entertainment Software Association and the NPD Group. In the same year, the animation industry obtained $259B in revenue, according to the report Global Animation, VFX & Games Industry: Strategies, Trends & Opportunities, 2019.
In Mexico, the video game industry represented an economic spill of one billion dollars in 2017, placing this country as the Latin American leader in the industry, surpassing Brazil by more than 90 million dollars. The animation industry is still developing but reports an annual growth of 18%.
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To sustain this growth, it is not enough with economic incentives or infrastructure facilities for companies, but it is also required to develop human talent that can compete internationally.
Schools of animation and video games in Jalisco
Until a few years ago, there was no educational offer in Mexico focused on videogames or animation, especially in Jalisco. Many of the companies had to invest in the training of personnel that later left the company to receive better job offers abroad. At present, this situation has changed. Several schools consider these industries within their curriculum.
In Guadalajara, the offer is increasingly, and even there are specialized educational centers in these areas, such as the Digital Arts University, the Amerike University or the University of Advanced Technologies. These schools offer specialized degrees in both videogame development and animation. Other private schools have incorporated subjects for the development of videogames into their curricular map, while others, such as the Universidad Panamericana, offer undergraduate studies in these areas. In the public universities, the University of Guadalajara has a diploma for the creation of 3D characters, animation, and special effects, as well as a Bachelor degree in Video Games in its campus of the Coast.
Guadalajara’s schools usually have agreements with animation studios in the city. Amerike University, for example, has 18 deals with animation studios and 14 with video game developers and belongs to the Jalisco Association of Creative Industries.
The Jalisco Association of Creative Industries feeds this expanding ecosystem. This association, presented at the Guadalajara International Film Festival in 2016, aims to “turn creative industries into one of the strategic industrial, economic and cultural sectors of the country to generate wealth.”