Video games (illustration)
Video games (illustration)Thinkstock

A delegation of ten Israeli gaming companies arrived in San Francisco earlier this week to take part in Casual Connect, a leading gaming expo, according to an Economy Ministry statement on Thursday.

The delegation arrived Tuesday to take part in the three-day expo, which features over 300 of the world's biggest gaming companies showing off their latest exciting products.

Gili Ovadia, Head of the Economy Ministry's Economic and Trade Mission to California, welcomed the delegation's participation that her mission organized, together with the Unit to Promote Investments and Industrial Cooperation and GAMEIS, the Israeli gaming companies association.

"The games industry is one of the fastest growing fields in the world, with the combined value of the sector exceeding the combined value of the music business," said Ovadia.

"Israel has substantial knowledge in fields interfacing with the gaming industry, including the implementation of technologies like mass storage, information transfer and cyber security, all aspects which are in high demand in the gaming industry, especially in multi-user games."

The Israeli delegation will meet potential buyers and senior business partners from leading companies, such as Apple, Zynga, Amazon Gaming, Sony, Facebook and others, in an attempt to put Israeli games on the world map in a bigger way.

While still relatively new, the Israeli gaming industry already consists of roughly 1,000 designers and developers.

Adience is one of the companies in the delegation. It produces a unique platform to mobilize the management of a game audience and divide it into clusters on mobile devices, featuring technology mostly useful for developers and companies publishing cell phone apps wishing to analyze prospective audiences.

Another company taking part is Optimove, which features a platform to automate live transmissions that is used by over 150 customer-focused brands. Planet of the Apps, a boutique gaming studio located in the Jerusalem Hills, gives support to develop new ideas all the way from advertising concepts to the actual product launch.

The independent gaming development studio Tactisift is also on display, as is The Idolls, a company founded in 2014 that gained recognition for a musical game combining musical creativity with a life-simulation.