The video game industry is powering up and Brand Licensing Europe is celebrating gaming IP and its transition from the screen to retail shelves with a new Gaming Activation Area.

EUROPE–Brand Licensing Europe put video games in the spotlight this year with a brand-new Gaming Activation Area and gaming-focused keynote.

The dedicated Gaming Activation Area features both a showcase and demonstration area, as well as the chance to gain insight into some of the ways popular gaming IP can be taken from the screen to the store. The area also includes a mock retail environment, which is showcasing a variety of IP including titles like “Halo,” “Assassin’s Creed,” “Horizon Zero Dawn,” “Sonic Forces” and “Street Fighter,” among others, as well as cross-category merchandise, allowing visitors to see the full potential and applications of each brand.

Exhibitors participating in the Gaming Activation Zone include Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe, Ubisoft, Capcom, SEGA, King, Activision Blizzard, Rovio and Tinderbox.

In addition, Bioworld International is sponsoring the brand-new Gaming Activation Zone to support its European expansion. Within the zone, visitors can experience Bioworld’s product assortments from properties like “Call of Duty,” “Destiny,” “Horizon Zero Dawn,” “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”

Additional video game exhibitors that are on-site at BLE, but are not participating in the Gaming Activation Area, include Pokémon; Level-5 Abby; Striker Entertainment, which represents video game properties like "Five Night's at Freddy's" and "We Happy Few"; Sybo Games; and Those Licensing People.

"According to the LIMA Annual Global Licensing Industry Survey 2017, global retail sales of licensed merchandise within software, video games and apps grew by 8 percent from 2015 to 2016 and is predicted to continue growing over the next five years at least," says Anna Knight, brand director, BLE. "It's BLE's responsibility to support all parts of the industry and shine a spotlight on the ones showing growth.

"Also, the gaming market remains largely untapped when it comes to licensing thanks in part to a lack of understanding about the end user, the products and the potential–we want to educate licensees and retailers on the possibilities as gaming remains one of the most creative, exciting, forward-looking and lucrative entertainment markets," continues Knight. "The power of the gaming industry working together to educate is so exciting to me, and I hope our visiting licensees and retailers will be inspired by what they see."