Monster Shooter has been downloaded by 4 million users since 2011 Courtesy of Gamelion Studios

Polish game programmers are now playing a leading role in the growing popularity of mobile game applications. Some 40 percent of smartphone users in Europe currently use game apps on their phones, according to a recent survey by digital analytics company comScore, and an increasing number of these apps are being designed by Poles.

Polish programmers now constitute the third-most important group of game designers for the Windows Phone operating system, according to Sebastian Szczygieł, CEO of Gamelion Studios, a leading Polish game programming company.

“Poles have created over 4,000 apps for Windows, and for Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, we made 1,000 each,” he said.

Gamelion Studios’ flagship product “Monster Shooter” has already been downloaded by 4 million users since it launched in 2011, and around 100,000 people play the game every day, only 3 percent of whom are Poles.

Even more impressive is one of Poland’s biggest game hits, “Speedx 3D,” created by Polish designer Bartłomiej Janusz. The game has been downloaded 13 million times since 2009, and over 300,000 people play it every day.

But Polish game programming is still in its “baby stage,” according to Mr Szczygieł.

“This business is still considered very much a niche here in Poland, whereas in the USA the market is very advanced,” he said.

But although Polish talent is somewhat in the shadow of those working in Western countries, Google and Microsoft are now recognizing their worth, providing many Polish programmers with benefits and loyalty programs.