French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his support for the "Odyssée" video game museum project, led by Benoît Theveny (known as Tev), on the Twitch channel IciJaponCorp.

The initiative aims to create a video game museum in Bussy-Saint-Georges, Paris, and had successfully raised over €1.7 million via an online crowdfunding campaign.

Macron's message was directed not only to the channel's audience but also to the gaming community and industry professionals. He congratulated viewers for their mobilization and expressed his gratitude to visitors of Paris Games Week (PGW), the largest video game trade show in France, which ran until the day of Macron's speech. Notably, PGW is organized by the Syndicat des Editeurs de Logiciel de Loisir, representing commercial interests.

Macron acknowledged the significance of the gaming sector, which provides thousands of jobs, includes 600 studios, and features exceptional educational institutions. He also highlighted the reduction in VAT to 5.5% on competitive video game events, a measure included in the 2024 finance bill.

Tev, a Youtuber and entrepreneur, has been championing the idea of a private video game museum for several months. He aims to display a vast collection of video game-related items, including more than 2,000 consoles and tens of thousands of game boxes and vintage computers. These items could become part of the museum's collections.

Tev and Ludovic Charles, another French entrepreneur, accepted the proposal of the Bussy-Saint-Georges mayor to create the video game museum as part of a sports and entertainment project. The "Odyssée" project's vision is to establish "the largest video game museum in the world." While detailed plans for the building are yet to be defined, the building permit is expected to be submitted in early 2024. The museum's rent will be financed by revenues from a commercial space focused on Japanese culture.

The high patronage label granted to the "Odyssée" project by Macron is honorary and does not entail material support. However, it enhances the project's credibility and visibility, as well as attracting media attention. This label signifies "a mark of interest from the head of state" and can assist in securing financing.

Macron's endorsement signifies his renewed commitment to the video game industry. In September, he publicly acknowledged that his previous statement characterizing "certain young people" as "intoxicated" by video games had angered gamers. Photo by Remi Jouan, Wikimedia commons.