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Cyprus GDP Growth Accelerates To 3.3% In Q2, Outpacing EU

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 7, 2026

Cyprus recorded one of the European Union’s stronger economic performances in the second quarter of 2026, with GDP growth accelerating to 0.8% from 0.5% in the first quarter.

On an annual basis, GDP increased 3.3%, up from 3.0% in the previous quarter, according to Eurostat. That outpaced quarterly growth of 0.6% in the euro area and 0.7% across the EU, while annual growth reached 1.2% and 1.4%, respectively.

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Ireland Leads As Austria Contracts

Ireland posted the EU’s strongest quarterly growth at 10.2%, followed by Slovenia at 1.8% and Lithuania at 1.7%. Austria was the only member state to record a contraction, with GDP falling 0.1%.

Employment Growth Supports Cyprus Economy

Cyprus also recorded stronger employment growth, with employment rising 0.5% in the second quarter after remaining flat in the first. Year over year, employment increased 1.6%, although that was slower than the 2.0% gain recorded in the first quarter.

Across the EU and euro area, employment increased 0.1% in the quarter. Portugal posted the strongest increase at 1.0%, followed by the Czech Republic and Malta at 0.9%, while employment fell 0.8% in Finland and 0.4% in Greece.

Trade Provides Strong Support

Hours worked increased 0.1% quarter over quarter in both the EU and euro area, and were up 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively, from a year earlier.

Household consumption contributed 0.2 percentage points to quarterly growth in both regions, while government consumption had little impact. Investment was broadly flat in the euro area and added 0.1 percentage points to EU growth, while inventory changes reduced growth by 0.5 percentage points in both.

Net trade provided the strongest boost, contributing 0.9 percentage points to euro area growth and 0.8 percentage points to EU growth.

US Growth Slows By Comparison

US GDP increased 0.4% in the second quarter, down from 0.5% in the first. Annual growth slowed to 2.1% from 2.7%. For Cyprus, the latest figures show growth accelerating above the EU average alongside stronger employment, while trade and domestic demand continued to support broader European activity.

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At WN Cyprus, 84% Of Showcased Game Teams Were Looking For Backing

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 28, 2026

While policymakers and business leaders discussed how the island could support more studios, 84% of the teams participating in the Developer Showcase were looking for an investor, a publisher, or both, according to organisers.

More than 20 teams presented projects at WN Conference Cyprus’26, held at Parklane in Limassol on 17 and 18 September. According to WN’s post-event figures, the conference drew 503 attendees from 251 companies, with 52% of participants holding C-level roles. The two-day event brought together developers, publishers, investors and technology companies for meetings, discussions and game demonstrations. It was WN’s fifth consecutive annual conference in Cyprus, where the organiser has held games industry events since 2018.

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The funding needs revealed by the showcase gave added weight to one of the programme’s central questions: can Cyprus develop from a location for international company headquarters into a country where studios can also find talent, investment and support for new projects?

Dr Nicodemos Damianou, Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, discussed that question with Tanya Romanyukha, General Manager of TechIsland. Their conversation covered access to talent and finance, as well as the conditions needed for more studios to build and grow from Cyprus.

Investment decisions under pressure

The rest of the programme also reflected the difficult commercial environment facing game developers. Discussions raised the topics of cautious investment, layoffs, changing player behaviour and the effect of artificial intelligence on production and distribution.

In To Scale or Not to Scale: That Is the Question, Pavel Istomin, Publishing Game Producer at Hypercell Games, and Nikolay Shapovalov, Chief Publishing Officer at playducky.com, considered how studios decide whether to commit more money to a game or stop development. Phillip Black, co-host and co-author of Deconstructor of Fun, moderated the discussion, which focused on the market data and early performance indicators used in publishing decisions.

A separate session examined how games can attract an audience before release. FLEXUS founder Semyon Kozyura joined Julia Lebedeva, COO and Partner at WN Media Group, to discuss Dear Passengers, which organisers said had accumulated three million Steam wishlists before launch.

Four teams also presented their projects to an industry jury during the Indie Pitch:

Through Your Eyes by Omeelia GmbH
Anicards by Dragocat
World of Sea Battle by THERA INTERACTIVE
Synvector by North Souls Games

The AWS Developer Showcase Awards distributed $7,500 in AWS credits. Mirrorbane, presented by Pavel Moskvin, received $5,000, while Midnight Watcher: Village, presented by Kirill Reznichenko, received $2,500.

Six Cyprus Games Industry Awards announced

The Cyprus Games Industry Awards were presented during the WN Networking Party on 17 September. A public vote determined the shortlists before a jury selected the winners in six categories. Companies did not have to be founded or headquartered in Cyprus to qualify, but were required to have a presence on the island and contribute to its games industry.

The 2026 winners were:

Growth and Marketing Partner: OHM Agency
Publisher of the Year: AppQuantum
PC Games Achievement: Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era by Unfrozen
Mobile Games Achievement: Standoff 2 by AXLEBOLT
People and Workplace Award: MY.GAMES
Game Commerce and Payments Partner: Xsolla and Unlimit

The awards covered game development, publishing and the companies providing marketing, employment and payment services to the sector.

WN has provisionally scheduled its next Cyprus conference for 4 and 5 November 2027.

For many of the teams showing their work in Limassol, however, the next milestone remained commercial. The application data indicated that more than four in five were still seeking the investment or publishing relationship needed to take their games further.