In an interview on "Terevisioon," Andri Allas, the organizer of the video game festival Mängudeöö, said, "Compared to what we've had previously in the Estonian context, by 2024 we can certainly talk about an industry, but compared to the rest of the world, we still have several significant steps to take." However, he noted that Estonia is performing quite well compared to the rest of the Baltic region. "Estonia's video game industry turnover in the past few years has been around €50 million, with Latvia being about half that size and Lithuania being about twice as large."

According to Allas, there are currently around 60 active game companies in Estonia, employing about 800 people. "This year, at least 14 Estonian games will be released, which is a record," he remarked, though he acknowledged that game development in Estonia still requires a great deal of personal sacrifice.

On Saturday evening, the video game festival Mängudeöö will take place for the 26th time at the Apollo cinema in the Ülemiste Center. "We will also be selecting Estonia's Game of the Year for 2024, with nine nominees currently in the running. We have a very professional jury coming in," Allas explained, adding that this is the first time Estonia will be selecting a Game of the Year.

Estonia's biggest success in video gaming so far has been Disco Elysium, released in 2019, which has attracted millions of players internationally and won countless awards. Another recent success story is Buckshot Roulette, developed by young Estonian game developer Mike Klubnika. "Unexpectedly, it caught the attention of some of the world's most popular YouTubers, who played the game, and within ten days, it sold over two million copies," said Allas.

Estonia is also developing virtual reality (VR) games, with two having been released this year. The first of these, Bootstrap Island, became the first Estonian game to receive full funding from the Creative Europe Media fund. "Developed by Maru VR, it's a Robinson Crusoe-like game where you find yourself stranded on a deserted island and try to survive," explained Andri Allas.

According to Allas, creating VR games requires special expertise. "While a regular video game operates in two or three dimensions, virtual reality involves many more mechanics that need to be considered," he noted.

The Estonian game with the largest budget this year is the virtual reality game Into The Radius 2. "The game company is now called CM Games, but they were previously known as Creative Mobile. They developed very successful mobile games, and then skipped traditional computer games entirely, moving directly into VR development," Andri Allas explained.

Meanwhile, the Estonian computer game Rusty's Retirement draws inspiration from the popular Facebook game Farmville, but with its own unique twist. "It's an idle game, meaning you can open it on your desktop, go about your daily tasks, and the game runs in the background. It's surprisingly successful, having sold over 200,000 copies in just ten days," Allas noted.

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