Cyprus has broken into Europe’s ten largest video game industries by revenue, with more than 400 companies on the island generating an estimated €3.2 billion from games in 2025.

The finding comes from the first industry report published by the Cyprus Game Makers Association (CYGMA), which attempts to measure a sector that has expanded rapidly but remained largely absent from official statistics.

According to the report, 415 game studios and related companies were operating from Cyprus last year. Cyprus-based publishers released 571 new mobile games, which recorded about 615 million downloads, placing the island third worldwide behind China and Vietnam and ahead of the US.

The mobile segment as a whole generated an estimated €1.8bn. A further 36 PC and console titles were released, selling about 1.5 million copies, with total revenue from that part of the industry estimated at €1.4bn.

Tourist arrivals to Cyprus fell by 1.1 per cent in July, but a 55.8 per cent jump in visitors from Israel kept the overall decline small while nearly every other major market weakened.

A total of 582,754 tourists arrived during the month, compared with 589,116 in July 2025, according to figures released on Tuesday by the statistical service (Cystat).

Although July remained below last year’s level, arrivals were 5.7 per cent higher than in July 2024, when the island welcomed 551,229 tourists.

For the January to July period, arrivals reached 2,238,769, down by 8 per cent from 2,432,129 during the corresponding period of 2025. Cyprus therefore received 193,360 fewer tourists during the first seven months of the year.

However, the gap has continued to narrow. At the end of June, arrivals for the year were still 10.1 per cent below 2025, while the monthly decline stood at 1.7 per cent.

Crypto users in Cyprus are being urged to check exactly which company holds their assets after the end of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, known as MiCA, transition forced unauthorised providers to withdraw and gave fraudsters a convincing new way to target investors.

Since July 1, 2026, companies may provide crypto-asset services in Cyprus only if they are permitted to do so under the MiCA.

The deadline did not mark the introduction of MiCA itself. Rules covering crypto-asset service providers had applied since December 30, 2024, but Cyprus allowed businesses already operating under its previous national framework to continue temporarily.

That arrangement ended on July 1 or earlier if a company’s MiCA application was approved or rejected.

Cyprus has already embraced mystery boxes, spinning wheels and online auctions. Live-shopping platforms are taking those familiar retail tricks and turning them into a nightly show.

At the Mall of Cyprus this year, Ivan was handed the keys to a new electric Renault 5.

His route to the car had not begun in a showroom. It began inside a sealed mystery box. 

Cyprus retailer POW! The Shop had hidden 30 golden Renault replicas among boxes sold through its stores and website. Finding one earned the customer a place in the final draw. Ivan found replica number 12 and eventually won the car, according to the retailer’s winner announcement. 

For most customers, the box contained merchandise. For a lucky few, it contained another chance. 

Most people in Cyprus know little about the digital euro and fewer than four in ten are ready to use it, with fears over the monitoring of transactions and the future of cash dominating public concern.

Maria Kontou said in a blog published by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) that 61 per cent of those surveyed had no knowledge of the digital euro, while just 1 per cent considered themselves fully informed.

Kontou explained that digital payments had developed rapidly over the past decade, both globally and across Europe, including Cyprus, with many everyday transactions now carried out through electronic wallets and mobile applications, online and in physical shops.

As this shift gathers pace, she said the European Central Bank (ECB) was developing the digital euro as “a digital form of money” that would be issued by the ECB and made available to everyone in the euro area for payments with and without an internet connection.

DP World Limassol completed its annual two-month internship programme, giving four undergraduate students hands-on experience in port operations and the wider maritime sector.

Now in its sixth consecutive year, the programme allows students pursuing maritime and related studies to work alongside the company’s teams and contribute to projects while developing their practical and technical skills.

This year, DP World Limassol welcomed Elpida Markou and Styliana Efstathiou from the Cyprus University of Technology (Tepak), alongside Agathoklis Antoniou and Charis Nikolaou from Frederick University.

Over the two months, the four students gained direct exposure to the workings of a modern port, strengthening their technical knowledge and developing a deeper understanding of the maritime industry.

Seasonally adjusted services production in both the euro area and the European Union increased by 0.8 per cent in May 2026 compared with the previous month, according to a report from Eurostat.

The official statistical office of the European Union reported that the positive monthly performance followed growth recorded in April 2026, when services output rose by 0.7 per cent in the euro area and by 0.3 per cent across the wider bloc.

On an annual basis, services production expanded by 2.4 per cent in both the euro area and the European Union when compared with May 2025.

Across the single-currency area, real estate activities spearheaded the monthly growth in May 2026 with an increase of 2.1 per cent relative to April 2026.

The professional, scientific and technical activities sector in the euro area grew by 1.0 per cent during the same period.