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π Digital π Economics

Video games, Esports and AI: an anatomy of today's digital markets

3 episodes

1

The European video game industry and its dependence on digital infrastructure
2

Esports: everything you need to know about this exploding digital market
3

The AI bubble: deciphering an economic phenomenon

Épisode 1/3

The European video game industry and its dependence on digital infrastructure

On January 13th, 2026

4 min reading time

Jan Stormann

Economist at the OECD

Jean Langlois-Berthelot

Doctor of Applied Mathematics and Head of Division in the French Army

Digital infrastructure has become a determining factor in performance and end-user organisations.
For example, European video game studios operate in an environment where more than 90% of digital resources are controlled by non-European companies.
Moreover, between 75% and 80% of studios use two American graphics engines, and more than 70% of server infrastructures rely on non-European clouds.
Platforms define and influence the conditions under which projects in the sector are carried out, limiting conventional evaluation criteria.
To evaluate a company’s strategic positioning, it is necessary to evaluate the likely future trajectory of the infrastructure on which it depends.

Épisode 2/3

On October 1st, 2025

5 min reading time

Pierre-Jean Benghozi

Emeritus CNRS Research Director at Ecole Polytechnique (IP Paris)

Jean-Paul Simon

Director and Founder of JPS Public Policy Consulting

Esports is a rapidly growing digital market, generating $2,396.9 million in revenue in 2024.
Asia has been a pioneer in esports, and enthusiasm among its populations is greater than in Europe or North America.
In most current Esports, game developers and publishers belong to the same company and therefore to major studios.
Since events are distributed via online platforms, the latter can negotiate directly with organizers, making the market less lucrative financially than other sports.
Esports is a niche market on the fringes of the video game industry, which means that most players are far from profitable at the moment.

Épisode 3/3

On November 25th, 2025

6 min reading time

Pierre-Jean Benghozi

Emeritus CNRS Research Director at Ecole Polytechnique (IP Paris)

Currently, the global digital economy is being redefined by AI platforms, which are themselves restructuring markets, standards and behaviours.
There are two trends in the AI sector: the trend towards integration and the trend towards specialisation.
Two phenomena can also be observed: the “Solow paradox” and the bubble effect.
The rise of these global players is leading to technological lock-in, which accentuates asymmetries of dependency.