Valladolid City Mayor, Jesús Julio Carnero, and the Regional Minister of Industry, Trade and Employment, Leticia García, presented today at the Innovation and Economic Development Agency of Valladolid, IdeVa, the pioneering and cutting-edge equipment that the Digital Content Tech Lab, located in Valle de Arán Street, next to the Ribera de Castilla Park, will have.

This is a strategic project that promotes the digital content industry and its supporting sectors, both locally and regionally, and today it has taken another step forward in this line of collaboration with the Junta de Castilla y León, with a strategy based on building local talent's loyalty.

As the mayor stressed: ‘for Valladolid it is strategic to retain local talent and support “indie” studios, those independent studios that are our “micro SMEs”, the smallest part of an industry that in Spain, last year, had a turnover of almost 2,400 million euros and more than 20 million players, but which reflects that little more than 1% of active video game studios in Spain are based in Castilla y León. And we have to make amends for this, and proof of this is the presence here today of two studios that are set to boost this sector and the recently formed Castilla y León Videogame Industry Association (AViCyL - Asociación de Videojuegos de Castilla y León)’.

For her part, the Regional Minister of Industry, Trade and Employment, Leticia García, pointed out that ‘the Regional Government's commitment to this project is part of the policies being deployed by the regional administration to promote industrial diversification and support the development of emerging sectors with a strong technological component’.

In this sense, she explained that ‘the new space will help to generate synergies between companies and professionals in the sector operating in the Community, to promote innovative projects, create jobs and generate dynamism and economic activity. Castilla y León, she insisted, must take advantage of the leadership and the economic and technological potential that this sector has in the cultural and entertainment market worldwide’.

Also speaking at the event were Iván José Gómez (CEO GAMEZ STUDIO), and David Lorenzo (CEO DALOAR STUDIOS), president and vice-president, respectively, of the recently constituted Association of the Video Game Industry of Castilla y León (ASIVI Castilla y León).

Both representatives of this sector are a good example that the digital content sector implies a great opportunity for new professional careers among young people. Far from being just ‘digital leisure’, it is a quarry and a school for training in new digital skills and abilities needed by strategic sectors such as the automotive, aeronautics and agri-food industries. It is also a sector that requires highly qualified jobs.

Likewise, in order to develop the activity in creative and integral projects, highly specialised equipment of high technological value is necessary, which will allow the aid that the Junta de Castilla y León granted to the City Council on October 10. 

The Lab will be equipped with:

• High-performance workstations, advanced monitors, and specialised peripherals, as well as advanced AI robotics equipment

• Interactive displays that will allow physical objects to be manipulated and see how they affect the digital content, as well as being a powerful promotional tool for specific events and projects at the centre

• A motion capture room equipped with motion capture suits, specialised gloves, facial capture systems and sensors that allow accurate recreation of human and object movements, opening up a range of possibilities for the creation of interactive content and detailed animations

• A virtual production set with high quality sound recording studio and cinema cameras that integrate with virtual production systems, enabling the creation of complex scenarios and immersive experiences

• Motion simulators, including virtual reality goggles, which will enable the development and testing of immersive virtual experiences, from gaming to educational simulations to training

• And finally, the innovative photogrammetry dome including a professional 3D scanner

These resources will enable the project to have the necessary tools to stay at the forefront of technology for audiovisual production; video game development; virtual and augmented reality content creation; and projects based on Artificial Intelligence.

Another advancement of the project is the strengthening of alliances in the sector. The City Council is already collaborating with Málaga and its Digital Hub; Madrid and its Video Game Campus, Madrid in Game; and Salamanca with its International Hub for Video Game and Animation Innovation. As a new development, Valladolid has joined the Creative Industries and Video Game Cluster in Madrid and will participate in its General Assembly on November 27.

Castilla y León Video Game Industry Association

The Tech Lab is helping consolidate the industrial ecosystem of the video game sector in Castilla y León. Thanks to collaboration between 2 indie video game studios, DALOAR in Valladolid and GAMEZ STUDIO in Zamora, the creation of the Castilla y León Video Game Industry Association has been promoted, with which the City Council is working on specific projects.

Collaboration Agreement between the City Council and DALOAR

At the end of last year, the City Council signed a collaboration agreement with PENTAKILL studio (now known as DALOAR), providing them with workspace at the Innovation Agency in exchange for their expertise and professional insights in this sector to successfully implement this strategy.

This approach has helped consolidate their headquarters in the city, as opposed to offers to relocate to other cities and countries. It has also allowed them to increase their team to over 30 employees, following the release of their video game, ‘The Occultist’, scheduled for September 2025, in which more than 200 professionals have participated (with expectations of doubling the staff for the development of a 2nd video game). It has also contributed to strengthening the local ecosystem through specialized training provided by the creators themselves.