Georgia has become a magnet for entertainment activity. Film and television productions created close to $5.1 billion in economic impact in fiscal year 14.
Yet film and TV are not the only entertainment sectors thriving here. Digital entertainment encompasses the creation and distribution of software, games, digital apps, music and even advanced concepts such as augmented reality, virtual reality and motion capture.
Digital entertainment giants such as Turner, Cox Communications and Cisco Scientific Atlanta continue to flourish here. These digital leaders join Dragon Army, Big Nerd Ranch, Rockfish Interactive and Floyd County Productions to make up the 70-plus digital entertainment companies clustered in Georgia.
Over the past few years, our department has supported more than 15 company relocations, all of which have created hundreds of advanced careers in digital production. Just this past month, we announced a second expansion from Hi-Rez Studios, a gaming company headquartered in Alpharetta.
There are key strengths digital entertainment companies continue to take advantage of in Georgia. These same factors will also support the digital entertainment boom in the future.
The ability to directly access creative, fresh talent from our universities and technical colleges is essential for digital entertainment companies and the industry’s future in Georgia. Nearly 20 colleges and universities offer interactive design career paths and thousands of students are engaged in interactive design classes or video game programs.
Last month, the Princeton Review ranked SCAD and the Georgia Institute of Technology in the top 25 for graduate and undergraduate programs in Game Design in 2015. The University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia produce more than 75,000 graduates each year. Graduates in a variety of areas, from graphic design, animation and computer engineering to gaming music soundtracks, are all entering Georgia’s talent pool with a fresh take on the industry.
Moreover, Georgia ranks in the top five U.S. states with the most software publishers. The technical talent and expertise in software development that Atlanta offers companies, coupled with the artistic creativity of its young population, is a competitive advantage.
The digital entertainment industry is changing at a rapid pace. It needs the right kind of collaborative culture to foster and support new ideas in the industry. Consumers are looking to Atlanta-based global leaders such as Coca-Cola, Home Depot and The Weather Channel to make their products and services more accessible, dynamic and mobile. As a result, we’re seeing corporations invest in innovation and research that touches on digital entertainment production.
An environment where gamers, engineers, animators, inventors, researchers, app developers, businessmen and corporate executives come together to collaborate on new ideas is crucial to moving the digital entertainment industry forward. This kind of culture is exactly what companies will find in Georgia.
Finally, rich media and video consumption, which includes streaming high-quality content over the Internet, creates a unique need for changes in data infrastructure. Increased Internet speeds and expanded broadband service is a major force behind the growth in entertainment and media.
With two of the country’s largest fiber optic routes intersecting in the city, metro Atlanta ranks in the top five U.S. markets for total bandwidth. The fact that Comcast, AT&T and Google Fiber have all announced plans to lay fiber in Atlanta over the next couple of years is a testament to the future of this industry in Georgia.
With a creative talent pool, collaborative corporate culture and a solid technology infrastructure, Georgia is well-equipped to support the digital entertainment boom. We are already on the playing field as a national media hub. We will continue to foster our growing cluster of digital entertainment talent in the area.
