You can walk over to someone, ask them to look at your game, get advice
In a world where video games now generate more revenue than film and music combined, Israel has quietly built one of the industry's most distinctive ecosystems — 15,000 workers strong, rooted in the marriage of artistic instinct and technical precision that defines the country's entrepreneurial character. In July 2026, Xsolla, the infrastructure backbone powering 60% of the world's top-grossing games, opened its first physical community hub in Tel Aviv, giving form to a collaboration that had long existed in spirit. The move signals not merely a business expansion, but a recognition that the next chapter of global gaming may well be written in Hebrew.
- Gaming has surpassed film and music to become a $189B industry, and Israel — with €10B in annual revenue and 15,000 jobs — is staking its claim at the center of that shift.
- The opening of Xsolla's 500-square-meter Tel Aviv hub in July 2026 marks the company's first physical presence anywhere in the world, a deliberate bet on Israel's creative-technical culture.
- Developers working in isolation face a familiar wall — great ideas stall without funding, mentorship, or the right connection — and the Xsolla Club is designed to be the room where those walls come down.
- Israel's gaming ambitions are stretching beyond entertainment: a startup founded by a former tank commander is using first-person shooter technology to train soldiers in virtual mission rehearsals.
- Xsolla is already planning additional hubs globally, building a network where a developer from Tel Aviv can walk into a club in New York and instantly find their community.
Video games have become the world's largest entertainment industry — $189 billion a year, outpacing both film and music. Behind the titles players know by heart sits an invisible infrastructure, and Xsolla is much of it. The U.S.-based company operates in over 200 countries, handling payments, distribution, promotion, and monetization for developers worldwide. Its technology powers 60% of the world's 100 highest-grossing games.
In July 2026, Xsolla made its first move into physical space, opening a 500-square-meter community hub in Tel Aviv. Daily lectures, workshops, and networking sessions fill the space, which functions as co-working environment, incubator, and gathering place for an industry that prizes collaboration as much as code.
Israel's gaming sector already employs more than 15,000 people and generates roughly €10 billion annually. Its reputation is built on mobile gaming — Moon Active's Coin Master has been downloaded over 300 million times — and on a cultural combination that industry leaders describe as uniquely Israeli: artistic creativity fused with technical and data-driven thinking.
That fusion is now reaching into unexpected territory. Digital Combat Academy, founded by a former tank commander turned game designer, has built military training technology modeled on commercial first-person shooters, allowing soldiers to rehearse missions virtually, with the platform analyzing decision-making and communication in real time.
For developers, the Xsolla Club offers something harder to manufacture than code: proximity. As one member put it, you can walk across the room, ask someone to look at your game, and get feedback that changes your trajectory. Xsolla's broader vision extends this model globally — a network of hubs where industry connections travel with you, wherever you go. In Israel, that story was already well underway before the doors opened.
Video games have quietly become the world's largest entertainment industry. The numbers tell the story: $189 billion in annual revenue, enough to dwarf both film and music. Behind the household names—Mario with over 900 million copies sold, Pokémon at 500 million, Call of Duty crossing the same threshold—sits an infrastructure most players never see. That infrastructure is what Xsolla builds.
The U.S.-based gaming technology company operates across more than 200 countries, providing the machinery that lets developers sell, distribute, promote and monetize games worldwide. Payment solutions, promotional networks, influencer channels, advertising monetization—Xsolla handles the unglamorous work that makes the glamorous games possible. The company's technology now powers 60% of the world's 100 highest-grossing games. It is, by any measure, a central nervous system of the global gaming ecosystem.
In July 2026, Xsolla opened its first physical footprint: a 500-square-meter community hub in Tel Aviv. The space hosts daily events—lectures, networking sessions, workshops, meetups—designed to help both aspiring and established developers grow their businesses. It is part co-working space, part incubator, part gathering place for an industry that has learned to value proximity and collaboration as much as code.
Israel's gaming sector employs more than 15,000 people and generates approximately €10 billion in annual revenue. While Japan owns the console giants and the United States dominates blockbuster studios, Israel has carved out a distinct reputation in mobile gaming. Moon Active, based in Tel Aviv, created Coin Master, a mobile game downloaded more than 300 million times worldwide. The country's strength, according to industry leaders, lies in a particular combination: artistic creativity paired with technical expertise. "Gaming combines two things that are very characteristic of Israelis," one executive explained. "It's artistic creativity on one hand and technology and data on the other. It's the perfect combination between art and numbers."
That same blend is now extending beyond entertainment. Digital Combat Academy, an Israeli startup, has developed game-based military training technology that allows soldiers and tactical units to conduct virtual mission rehearsals in immersive environments modeled on commercial first-person shooter games. The founder, a former tank company commander with two decades of military experience who later worked as a game designer at companies including Playtika and SuperPlay, built the system to train soldiers without sending them into the field, wasting ammunition, or risking injuries. The platform analyzes decision-making and communication, providing feedback to improve performance.
For developers, access to funding, mentorship and industry connections can matter as much as a strong idea. The Xsolla Club fills that gap. One developer described it simply: "It's like a co-working space, but everyone here develops games. You can walk over to someone, ask them to look at your game, get advice, and then see your progress over time. That kind of feedback is incredibly valuable." The space creates something harder to replicate remotely—the friction of proximity, the chance encounter, the expert glance across a table.
Xsolla's vision extends far beyond Tel Aviv. The company is developing additional hubs globally and expects to announce further expansions in the coming years. The model is deliberately social: developers connect online, then meet in person. A member in Tel Aviv traveling to New York could visit the club there and immediately connect with the local gaming community. Wherever you go, you know where to find people in the industry.
As Israel continues to strengthen its reputation as the "Startup Nation," gaming is emerging as one of its fastest-growing sectors. Supported by technological expertise, entrepreneurial culture, and a growing collaborative ecosystem, the country's developers are increasingly positioned to create the next generation of global gaming successes. The Xsolla Club is not the beginning of that story—it is a physical manifestation of a story already well underway.
Citas Notables
Gaming combines artistic creativity on one hand and technology and data on the other. It's the perfect combination between art and numbers.— Israeli gaming industry executive
I wanted a product that could train soldiers without sending them into the field, wasting ammunition or risking injuries.— Founder and CEO, Digital Combat Academy
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a payment infrastructure company like Xsolla need a physical space in Tel Aviv? Couldn't they do everything online?
They could, but they'd miss something crucial. Developers need more than transactions—they need feedback, mentorship, the chance to show their work to someone who understands the specific challenges of game development. A Slack channel can't replace sitting across a table from another developer who's solved the problem you're facing.
So this is really about community, not technology?
It's both. The technology is the foundation—Xsolla's payment and distribution systems are what make the games possible. But the community is what accelerates growth. A developer in Tel Aviv can get advice from someone who's already shipped a successful mobile game. That's worth more than most mentorship programs.
Israel has 15,000 people working in gaming. That's not huge compared to the U.S. or Japan. Why is the country punching above its weight?
Because they've combined two things most places struggle to merge: artistic creativity and technical rigor. You need both to make games. You need the imagination to dream up something people want to play, and the engineering discipline to actually build it. Israel's startup culture has trained people to do both.
The military training application is interesting. Does that change how you think about gaming?
It shows that the skills are transferable. The same technology that makes a mobile game engaging—immersion, feedback loops, decision-making under pressure—can train soldiers. Gaming isn't just entertainment. It's a way of teaching and learning that works across domains.
What happens if Xsolla opens hubs in 20 cities? Does it still feel like a community?
That's the bet they're making. They're betting that the community isn't defined by geography but by shared purpose. A developer in Tel Aviv and a developer in New York are solving similar problems. If Xsolla can connect them—online and in person—then the network becomes stronger, not weaker.