GamingMalta is set to showcase Malta’s iGaming ecosystem as a cohesive force, as part of a national presence at ICE Barcelona. The event brings together leading stakeholders into a single space starting January 19^th, 2026.

Besides the GamingMalta team, the expo space will host representatives from the Malta Gaming Authority, Identita’, Bank of Valletta, and Malta Enterprise, thus offering a comprehensive view of how the island’s iGaming system operates in practice.

This move comes at a particularly crucial time for the industry. Regulation has dominated boardroom discussions over the past two years, as jurisdictions across Europe and beyond introduce new licensing regimes and compliance requirements.

In many jurisdictions, these shifts have arrived quickly and unevenly, leaving operators having to repeatedly reassess where stability can realistically be found. GamingMalta CEO Ivan Filletti emphasises that Malta’s position has been shaped in the opposite direction, through regulatory continuity and institutional consistency and support built over time. That steadiness has allowed the island to retain influence that belies its small size.

“Leading players in the iGaming ecosystem have responded to the consistency of the framework that Malta provides. Through these years, Malta has gained the reputation of being the world’s iGaming Silicon Valley, and the expo space at ICE will reflect this. We are relentless in our work to ensure that Malta remains the home of excellence for everything related to gaming, and this is the approach that we will be presenting at ICE,” Mr Filletti explains.

The Malta booth will create a single point of contact for companies that are interested in bringing their business to the island, with experienced professionals on hand to answer any questions about licensing, banking, workforce mobility, and compliance. There will also be an interactive element, thanks to a virtual reality roulette experience developed by Malta-based studio Draw & Code.

“Operators, investors and any businesses operating within the iGaming ecosystem can engage directly with the institutions that shape the jurisdiction. This is the natural next step for our Make It in Malta campaign, which has successfully highlighted how the island’s infrastructure has contributed to the success of big names that have now made Malta their headquarters,” Mr Filletti elaborates.

Malta holds numerous attractions for those seeking to move their business here, with the landscape and legislation structured in such a way as to facilitate operations. Experienced suppliers, service providers and regulators operate within close proximity, reducing the distance between policy and implementation. Initiatives such as the iGaming Council, which brings operators and policymakers into ongoing discussion, have reinforced this closeness, creating feedback loops that are often missing in larger jurisdictions. And now, with Envision 2050 – Malta’s broader national strategy – placing gaming as one of seven priority sectors for economic growth, GamingMalta is firmly focused on ensuring that this vision is translated to reality in a sustainable manner.

“The sector already contributes around €1.5 billion to the Maltese economy, with projections pointing to a significantly larger share by 2035. But what we’re working on goes beyond the figures, with a strategy that places gaming firmly within the country’s future economic planning,” the GamingMalta CEO says.

For companies making long-term decisions, he adds, this kind of long-term policy planning matters. And Malta’s workforce is central to this strategy. The gaming sector employs around 14,000 people, supported by training pathways and labour mobility policies that operators consistently rate highly. Surveys conducted by the Malta Gaming Authority show strong satisfaction with skills availability, workforce ethics, and training quality, while institutions such as MCAST have expanded courses aimed directly at the sector.

“Alongside this established gambling sector, Malta has seen parallel growth in esports, game development and immersive technologies. These fields draw on overlapping skills and infrastructure, creating space for collaboration without forcing convergence,” Mr Filletti continues.

GamingMalta views this development as part of a broader move towards a high-value, innovation-driven economy. That direction will be embedded in its Gaming Manifesto, which builds on two decades of industry presence and outlines priorities ranging from maintaining competitive taxation to strengthening responsible gaming standards and supporting innovation.

“This is linked to the Vision2050 which reflects an understanding of the sector as embedded in Malta’s economy rather than transient. This is also evidenced by the fact that, among the island’s largest gaming operators, the average length of operation now exceeds a decade.  Once companies establish themselves, they tend to stay.”

As ICE Barcelona opens its doors, the Malta booth will place Malta’s iGaming institutions, regulators and industry bodies in the same room. The picture that emerges is one of a system built to function over time, shaped by policy continuity and long-term planning. And for operators making decisions with regulatory and operational consequences, this tried-and-tested approach is key.

Book your meeting with GamingMalta, MGA or any of the co-participants at ICE on: https://www.gamingmalta.org/make-it-in-malta/ and visit the Make it in Malta booth in Hall 4 Booth 4C40.

This article has been published on iGamingCapital.MT by Content House. 

GamingMalta’s CEO Ivan Filletti and iGB’s very own global content director, Robin Harrison-Millan, chat about GamingMalta’s mission, its new 2050 manifesto and its role in promoting GamingMalta’s ecosystem.

Filletti shares why Malta is thriving as an iGaming ecosystem, how gaming contributes to their economy, the future of immersive tech, esports and entertainment and why retaining talent is key.

This feature has been published on iGB News. 

“Gaming” in the Maltese islands is typically understood as referring to iGaming, otherwise known as the gambling and sports betting industry. Many might be unaware that serious works are being carried out for Malta to become “a home for gaming excellence” – the world of gaming that includes e-sports, video game development, and immersive technologies.

The CEO of the GamingMalta Foundation, Ivan Filletti, told The Malta Independent on Sunday that the global video game industry – known as the “interactive entertainment” sector – is larger than the film and music industries put together and that “it dwarfs iGaming internationally” in terms of annual global revenue. GamingMalta is essentially responsible for the strategies and policy efforts of the gaming sectors.

In Malta today, aside from some local talent making a name for themselves in the video game world, such as Anvil Game Studios, Flying Squirrel Games Malta, and others, there are between 25 and 30 video game studios that have set up shop in the Maltese islands in recent years. Deriving from different parts of the world, including Israel, the UK, France, Germany, and Ireland, most of these studios are indie companies; among them, Malta has become home to AAA company 4A Games as well.

Malta is also aiming to be a home for gaming events to be organised. Earlier this summer, a competitive Counter-Strike event hosted in Malta raked in a total of 66 million live online viewers with a peak viewership of 800,000 people, for a total of 17.5 million hours watched, Filletti said. In addition, a three-year contract was signed in August for e-sports tournament organisers BLAST to host nine major e-sports events in Malta. This deal includes utilising a 5,000 square-metre e-sports arena in Ta’ Qali and setting up a 1,000sqm studio for their operations.

Regarding the 66-million viewership total from this August, Filletti remarked “Can you imagine the return of investment for Malta when [viewers] are seeing the GamingMalta logo, videos of Malta, and shots of the islands?”

“We brought ESL to Malta where Counter-Strike pro league seasons are played. Top tier e-sports teams came to the islands, we were never on their radar before,” Filletti stated.

Even some renowned e-sports teams, such as Furia, Imperial E-sports, and OG Esports, are relocating to the Maltese islands as activity within the video game and e-sports world continues to develop here.

Filletti stated that since works to build this sector from the ground up began in 2019, “the sector is still small.” He said that the sector is still nascent as the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in the early 2020s slowed down the potential for these studios to relocate to Malta. GamingMalta is incentivising the movement of video game companies into Malta, despite this sector’s forced slow start, through its own incubator space known as “Basecamp” and other means. Basecamp is advertised as a “soft landing ground,” operated by GamingMalta, for gaming companies and video game developers to initially set up before growing and opening their own offices in the Maltese islands.

The foundation is promoting the Maltese islands as an ideal home for the video game industry, in hopes that the Maltese islands can become a global leader on both gaming fronts in the long-term. It does so by advertising Malta as a “well-connected,” sunny destination with beautiful beaches and steep history; Malta’s rich history can be very inspiring to game designers, with one e-sports company founder telling Filletti on one occasion that Fort St. Elmo reminded of him of a CounterStrike map.

“It’s all about the story that we are creating and showcasing that Malta welcomes this. It’s not just about tax. The fact that they can sit down with us, they can speak to us about their business plans, and we’re supporting them – we’re helping them to find talent, we’re helping to give them space, we’re helping them from Malta Enterprise. It’s a sum of all parts, there is no particular silver bullet, it’s relentless,” Filletti said.

The GamingMalta Foundation was originally founded to consolidate and build up the iGaming sector in Malta. GamingMalta CEO Ivan Filletti believes that “Malta is the Silicon Valley for iGaming,” with 14,000 people employed in this industry contributing 7% of Malta’s gross value added (GVA). Today, it works to sustain, build, and consolidate this ecosystem, Filletti said. The GamingMalta Foundation was founded by the Maltese Government and by the regulator of the iGaming industry, the Malta Gaming Authority, as a non-profit foundation to promote gaming in Malta. Nowadays, it is working to promote both avenues of gaming through the consolidation of the iGaming sector and the nascent building of the interactive entertainment sector.

Filletti acknowledged that we need to continue communicating the potential of this gaming sector as well as the pace at which it is growing in Malta, which is why part of GamingMalta’s strategy is to get this message across and let people know that video game development is becoming part of the country’s gaming fabric.

He said that GamingMalta’s mission to embrace the world of interactive entertainment in Malta has received cross-party support by both sides of the Parliament, the Opposition and the Government. Given this full political backing, led by the Ministry for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects, Filletti said that “no-one is holding us down” in striving for the aims tied to this sector.

Hence, GamingMalta is “relentlessly” working to build up the interactive entertainment sector in Malta by building ecosystems. Filletti commented that if video game companies need investors, access to education (through connections with MCAST, the University of Malta, as well as Unity and Unreal Engine), rights to produce something, “it’s here.”

Among the talent that has already moved to Malta or Basecamp in the past half-decade or so are Exient, who have co-developed various Angry Birds titles; Keywords Studios, through which the studios Electric Square and Sperasoft have set up; people working on the Metaverse; and in a few more weeks, top Roblox design agency Feenix will come.

Some of the companies that have already come to Malta have had a hand in developing some of biggest video game franchises in the world, including the EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA) games, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Assassin’s Creed, The Sims, The Elder Scrolls, Mafia, Diablo, and many more.

“We never had this on the island before because we started at ground zero, you could say,” Filletti said.

Filletti said that in 2019, his Foundation decided to look at the broader church of gaming, beyond the gambling and betting industry, into what Maltese authorities refer to as interactive entertainment. As to why this decision was taken, Filletti mentioned the country’s need to develop new economic niches and said that “it was nearly a natural fit that we’ve built an iGaming ecosystem, so why don’t we build a video game ecosystem?”

In this regard, he noted that an investor looking into iGaming will still look to Malta for video game developments; however, he admitted that the greatest challenge for this to happen is for all this to be known.

“We are working hard to get well-known for this. It’s not always public that there’s all this activity going on at the moment,” he said.

Filletti observed that video game studios are reaching out to build relations with the iGaming sector to potentially ameliorate the games they have to offer on their respective platforms. He pointed out that with the Maltese islands looking to embrace both of these sectors in its long-term future, “Malta can serve to bridge that gap.” He believes that Malta has its own unique selling point and a great opportunity in this regard.

Additionally, Filletti commented that Malta is “very unique” in that the “gaming” moniker here is applied to both the gaming and iGaming sectors. He stated that he does not see the “shared” gaming term to act as a deterrent for the interactive entertainment industry’s growth in the Maltese islands.

The GamingMalta CEO remarked that through this journey, Malta is not only looking to garner economic activity through video games and e-sports by bringing in key players within the international scene, it also wants to ensure this activity by support the development of local grassroots teams. This is all enshrined within Malta’s Vision 2050, in which “Digital & Gaming” is seen as one of the seven high-value sectors that is envisioned to significantly increase Malta’s GDP by 2035.

Filletti is confident that Malta will succeed in becoming an international home for this gaming industry, even if Malta is competing against larger jurisdictions like France and the UK, and even financial juggernauts such as the United Arab Emirates and billionaire Saudis. A subsidiary group of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund acquired ESL Gaming – one of the world’s largest e-sports tournament organisers – for a sum of €1.7 billion. Despite this international competition and not buying into this sector sooner, Filletti believes that “Malta is going to win on this, and we’re winning it already.”

“We were never on the map of these people at all. Today they say they’ll come to Playcon next year. 30,000 people came to Playcon this year, that’s no joke,” Filletti said.

The GamingMalta head was asked to give the main barriers Malta must overcome to reach its goals for this gaming sector. Filletti mentioned competing with larger and richer jurisdictions, especially since Malta only joined this race in 2019; ensuring that we “always” have adequate funding and funding initiatives to grow the sector; and guaranteeing that Malta can entice talent to come here by marketing the country as a destination to nurture and back them.

This interview has been published on the Malta Independent.

From regulatory certainty and talent depth to immersive innovation, Malta will showcase its full iGaming ecosystem at ICE Barcelona 2026. The Malta experiential showcase booth promises a unified national presence highlighting why the island remains the home of gaming excellence.

Given the sweeping reforms proposed and passed in iGaming jurisdictions worldwide in recent times, it is hardly surprising that ‘regulation’ has remained the most pressing issue for operators over the past two years.

In a turbulent landscape though, Malta has nurtured a long-established reputation for regulatory stability that has enabled the picturesque Mediterranean republic, with a population of just over half a million people, to punch well above its weight.

At ICE Barcelona 2026 in January, the island’s qualities as an iGaming jurisdiction will be showcased to the sector like never before at the Malta booth.

Designed to promote the destination as the world’s online igaming jurisdiction and the home of gaming excellence, the Malta space will be a hub of activity throughout gaming’s biggest show, with a virtual reality roulette experience created by Malta-based Draw & Code offering a compelling centrepiece.

“We have built the world’s iGaming Silicon Valley in Malta, and the expo space will be testament to our relentless approach in this regard,” says GamingMaltaCEO Ivan Filletti. GamingMalta is an independent non-profit foundation jointly established by the Government of Malta and the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).

A coordinated national presence

The Malta booth will serve as a live ecosystem, bringing together leading industry voices, including founders, operators, service-providers and regulators, with visitors able to discover first-hand how businesses scale from Malta.

Notably, a coordinated national presence will be on show at gaming’s most influential annual gathering. For the first time, GamingMalta and the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)  will be joined by government’s economic development agency Malta Enterprise, Malta’s largest bank, Bank of Valletta (BOV) and Identita responsible for citizens’ identity management and the implementation of migration processes will come together to present a united front.

This collaborative representation is not only designed to amplify Malta’s credibility – by enabling questions to be answered on a range of topics in the same place, from licensing and banking to staffing. It also signals unity in action.

“Going as a unified front communicates government and ecosystem alignment; that Malta isn’t a loose cluster but a coherent jurisdiction that supports long-term business,” GamingMalta explains. “This is especially persuasive to institutional investors and regulated operators.”

Such alignment is illustrated by Malta’s relatively predictable regulatory outlook. With GamingMalta’s ongoing R.E.S.P.E.C.T. campaign spearheading reputation management for the industry through the pillars of responsible gambling, entertainment, speed, professionalism, enhanced due diligence, consistency and talent, the focus is now on cementing Malta’s status as the home of gaming excellence.

Embracing the sector

According to GamingMalta, though, the attraction of Malta is “a sum of all the parts rather than one silver bullet”.

Regulatory certainty, international recognition and reducing market entry friction are important factors, while the ecosystem density on the island ensures experienced suppliers are plentiful.

Additionally, as a springboard to the European Economic Area, with English in use as the language of business, and with substantial talent and immigration pathways, there are a multitude of reasons for gambling businesses to land in Malta.

Above all, GamingMalta believes the island has established a jurisdiction that has fully embraced the sector, from cross-political support to initiatives like the iGaming Council – a GamingMalta-led initiative that brings together operators and policy-makers.

A cornerstone of the Maltese economy

Underpinning Malta’s presence at ICE will be the government’s recently published Envision 2050 long-term strategy, which sets out clear and measurable targets for the nation’s development.

At the heart of this, Malta is targeting a more sustainable average annual GDP growth rate of 5% by 2035 driven by strategic investment in seven priority sectors – one of which is gaming.

Moreover, gaming has already proven itself to be a cornerstone of the Maltese economy. According to Envision 2050 projections, the sector’s contribution is expected to rise from €1.5 billion (£1.31 billion/$1.76 billion) to between €2.3 billion and €2.8 billion, making up 6%-7% of the nation’s projected GVA by 2035.

With a focus on strengthening leadership in the gaming industry, ensuring transparency, player protection and fair competition, Envision 2050 will ensure the sector continues to be a major contributor towards the national economy.

According to GamingMalta, this blueprint signals a clear north star, showing how Malta is “a safe and resilient nation, inspired by heritage and driven by progress, fostering a healthy quality of life for all”.

‘Make it in Malta’ campaign

The creative thread which will support this drive at ICE is the ‘Make it in Malta’ campaign, highlighting success stories and case studies from a mature and practical ecosystem for growth.

“This approach reinforces the ‘home of gaming excellence’ brand by showing evidence – such as deals, hires, regulatory clarity and investment – rather than simply asserting it,” adds GamingMalta, which underscored the strength of “operator-led storytelling”.

GamingMalta adds, “Nobody promotes a jurisdiction better than the companies who have grown there. They supply credibility, concrete metrics and relatable roadmaps for peers. Success breeds success and Malta is the perfect stage for your global ambitions.”

A talented workforce

There is solid evidence to back up such claims. At a recent iGaming Council meeting, new investments totalling €60 million by different operators were confirmed.

Furthermore, Malta’s 14,000-strong gaming industry workforce, as well as its safe and stable work environment, is widely recognised as a key growth driver. According to an MGA survey last year, 85% of gaming operators based in Malta were satisfied or highly satisfied with the availability of skilled personnel and the quality and cost-effectiveness of local training opportunities versus other leading jurisdictions.

Similarly, around 80% of respondents were satisfied or highly satisfied with the ease of labour mobility, with favourable perceptions regarding workforce ethics even higher at 87%. Malta also offers an appealing quality of life attracting top tier talent to the island many working in the igaming industry.

From a gaming workforce perspective, GamingMalta stresses that Malta’s pool of talent will be the key differentiator in the next phase of growth.

“Talent scales businesses,” says GamingMalta, who added that institutions like the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) offer courses targeted at individuals who aim to progress in the gaming industry.

“Without a pipeline of developers, ops staff and compliance specialists, operators stall. That’s why migration policy and skills programmes – including Identità and Malta Enterprise initiatives – are critical. Business-friendliness remains the accelerant, but stable regulation and accessible talent are the engine.”

A technological convergence

Malta is also benefiting from a timely convergence of technology through the simultaneous growth of esports, game development and immersive innovations.

“The respective ecosystems can feed into and collaborate with each other, albeit as different animals,” GamingMalta says. “Ultimately, it all boils down to entertainment and how consumers are attracted or relate to entertainment platforms.

“We will be consolidating the gambling sector by focusing on a strong regulatory framework ensuring transparency and fair competition and simultaneously accelerate interactive entertainment sectors through fiscal initiatives, technological innovation and talent development.

“Malta’s long-term strategy is to build a resilient, innovation-driven, high-value economy. The gaming, esports and interactive media sectors align perfectly with this national direction because they represent the type of future-proofed, knowledge-intensive industries Malta aims to anchor over the next 25 years.”

GamingMalta’s own ‘Manifesto’ builds on this drive with a blueprint designed to build on 20 years of success to secure the future of Malta as an in-demand destination for operators.

Among the key pillars of the Manifesto’s 10-point plan are a focus on keeping corporate tax competitive, maintaining political support, improving sector skills and developing off-island relations, as well as driving up responsible gaming standards and encouraging innovation.

Attracting and retaining operators

With a strong regulatory framework, competitive gaming tax structure and strategic position as a gateway to European gambling, casino and lottery markets, over 350 operators are already based on the island.

However, Malta’s gaming industry stakeholders are laser-focused on providing a framework that encourages further growth – and, like the operators it hosts, the desire is to attract, as well as retain.

Some of the industry’s biggest names have relocated to the republic. Meanwhile, at the end of 2023, across Malta’s largest 100 operators by turnover, the average period of operation on the island was 13 years – illustrating that once major players arrive, they tend to stay.

As GamingMalta CEO ​​Filletti said following ICE earlier this year: “Malta may be small in size, but our impact on the iGaming industry continues to be immense.”

Now, as a small nation with a big reputation, Maltese stakeholders are aligning to harness opportunities at major events like ICE, so the island can build on its status as the gold-standard of iGaming industry destinations.

Book your meeting today with GamingMalta, MGA or any of the co-participants at ICE on: https://www.gamingmalta.org/make-it-in-malta/ and visit the Make it in Malta booth Hall 4 Booth 4C40.

This article has been published on iGaming Business.

Global Gaming Women’s Knockout Impostor Syndrome brought two days of focused development to The Brewhouse in Mrieħel on 9 and 10 December. The event gathered women from across the igaming sector to work on confidence, communication, visibility, and leadership. The programme was delivered by Tara Alvarez Garcia from TYS Coaching, whose sessions created space for honest discussion and practical skill-building.

GamingMalta supported the event as part of its commitment to strengthening inclusive leadership and creating an environment where women can contribute fully to the sector’s growth. The sessions looked at challenges many professionals face, from impostor syndrome and pressure at work to stepping forward in team settings. The second day moved deeper into management skills, with strong engagement throughout.

The event highlighted the value of practical tools that shape how people communicate and lead, reinforcing the wider effort to build a resilient talent base in line with Malta’s long-term strategic direction. Global Gaming Women continues to provide mentorship, peer support, and learning that help people develop skills and form meaningful connections across the sector.

MCAST’s recent game jam brought a strong mix of energy and practical learning to the Institute of ICT. More than 50 students worked through a 72-hour challenge built around retro gaming, taking inspiration from classic titles while shaping their own mechanics and ideas. The pace was constant, moving teams from early sketches to 14 playable games, with each group testing, adjusting, and rebuilding as they responded to feedback and tight deadlines. The process mirrored real production conditions, giving students a closer look at how decisions are made when time and resources are fixed.

Participants developed their projects in Unity and Unreal Engine, both central to the teaching programme at MCAST. The event blended technical skills with teamwork and problem-solving, creating an environment where students could apply what they learn in class to a live brief.

For GamingMalta, this work sits firmly within Malta’s long-term Vision 2050 for talent development. Events like this help build a steady pipeline of creators who understand the realities of game production and are ready to contribute to the sector’s growth.

The BLAST R6 Europe and MENA League Finals took place on 6 and 7 December at the BLAST Studio Arena in Malta, bringing together leading Rainbow Six Siege teams competing for a €100,000 prize pool and a place at the Six Invitational 2026. The event added another strong chapter to Malta’s growing track record in hosting top-tier esports competitions.

Across both days, the tournament showcased the strength of Malta’s esports infrastructure and the country’s ability to support events of this scale, drawing professional teams and industry partners who value a reliable and well-equipped host location.

For Malta, supporting the Finals reinforces the broader effort to position the island as a recognised centre for gaming and esports, building on long-term work to develop talent, facilities, and international visibility in the sector.

This year’s University of Malta Faculty of ICT Game Jam brought together more than 50 students for a focused weekend of collaboration and hands-on development. Running between 5 and 7 December, the event created a live production setting where participants worked under tight timelines, tested ideas quickly, and translated concepts into working prototypes. The theme centred on road safety and good driving habits, giving students a clear brief while still allowing space for creative interpretation.

Teams built their projects using Unity and Unreal Engine, two key tools in the faculty’s teaching programme. The pace was constant, with students moving from early sketches to functional builds in a matter of hours. You could see ideas shift as teams refined mechanics, solved problems, and responded to real production pressures.

GamingMalta supported the Game Jam as part of its ongoing commitment to strengthening Malta’s talent base and widening access to practical learning opportunities. Each edition helps emerging creators gain experience that matches the expectations of the digital gaming sector while building stronger links within the community.

The winning project, Look Both Ways, used a fox-rescue concept to highlight road safety, asking players to navigate busy streets while guiding lost animals to safety. It captured the theme clearly while showing thoughtful design choices and teamwork.

Events like this speak to the direction of Malta’s growing ecosystem. Students walk away with new skills, new contacts, and a sharper understanding of how different disciplines come together in game development. GamingMalta is proud to support this work and looks forward to seeing how these experiences shape the next steps for the participants and for the wider sector.

The International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling 2025 took place between 1st and 5th December at the Radisson Blu Hotel in St Julian’s. ICIDS is recognised as one of the leading global gatherings for researchers and creators working in interactive narrative, covering areas such as videogames, immersive media, AI-driven storytelling, and digital arts. Each year it brings together an international community exploring how technology reshapes the way stories are told, experienced, and produced.

The conference offered a full programme of talks, workshops, and showcases, giving participants a platform to exchange knowledge and highlight emerging practices. It also underlined the growing relevance of interactive narrative across education, entertainment, culture, and digital media.

GamingMalta supported this year’s edition through an accompanying art exhibition hosted at the Malta Chamber of Commerce in Valletta. The exhibition created an accessible space for visitors to engage with the ideas behind interactive storytelling, meet international experts, and experience creative work first-hand. It encouraged conversations between researchers, practitioners, students, and industry figures, strengthening links across the immersive-tech ecosystem.

For GamingMalta, partnering with ICIDS supports Malta’s long-term direction for digital growth set out in Vision 2050. The collaboration promotes creative use of technology, strengthens skills in areas tied to future industries, and contributes to a community capable of driving new opportunities in storytelling, design, and interactive experiences.

Two major international companies strengthened their presence in Malta during November, marking another step forward for the country’s digital and gaming sectors. Gentoo Media and Clever Advertising both opened new operations, further reinforcing Malta’s role as a trusted base for high-value digital activity.

Gentoo Media opens its headquarters in Malta

Gentoo Media inaugurated its new headquarters in Malta, adding more than 70 roles to the local workforce. The company specialises in digital affiliation and marketing strategies and employs 360 people across Serbia, Denmark, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Seventy team members are already based in Malta, most of whom are Maltese.

Minister for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects Silvio Schembri attended the opening and described it as a sign of confidence in Malta and the opportunities it offers. He highlighted the company’s contribution to the country’s growing digital economy and the value it brings to young Maltese and Gozitans.

Gentoo Media CEO Jonas Warrer said that Malta has played a central role in the company’s journey and that the new headquarters reflect a long-term commitment to growing from Malta.  GamingMalta CEO Ivan Filetti added that Gentoo Media’s new space at The Quad represents more than an office, calling it a reflection of the ambition driving Malta’s digital sector.

Clever Advertising launches new Malta office with €7.5 million investment

Clever Advertising, a Portuguese company operating across five continents, also inaugurated its new office in Malta during November. The €7.5 million investment includes €6 million dedicated to the new premises at the former Wembley factory site in Gżira and a €1.5 million investment in the local video-game development company NARC.

Clever Advertising employs over 350 people worldwide. Thirty roles are already active in Malta, with plans to grow this number to 80 in the near future.

Minister Schembri attended the inauguration together with the CEOs of GamingMalta and the Malta Gaming Authority. He noted that this expansion reflects the trust international companies continue to place in Malta. He referred to recent announcements that eight companies will create around 1,300 new high-quality jobs with a combined €60 million investment.

A new programme funded by Clever Advertising was also unveiled, offering Maltese youths hands-on experience and practical training in the digital sector to support their entry into high-quality careers.

GamingMalta CEO Ivan Filetti welcomed Clever Advertising to Malta’s gaming ecosystem, noting that the company’s investment supports the goals outlined in Malta’s Vision 2050.

Clever Advertising’s Managing Director, Alberto Simoes, said Malta was a strategic choice due to its strong talent pool, proximity to key clients, and the regulatory frameworks supporting both gaming and financial services.

Both milestones continue to underline Malta’s credentials as a home for gaming excellence.

They widen opportunities for nurturing and attract talent reinforcing the country’s direction of placing high-value sectors, skills, and long-term resilience at the centre of economic growth, as outlined in Malta’s Vision 2050.