Sweden leads in VR; while new studios join huge hits like Minecraft, Battlefield and Candy Crush Saga in making Sweden one of the world’s best game development hubs.

The 2017 edition of the Swedish Game Developer Index published in September, revealed 1 in 10 players worldwide have played a game made in Sweden, with a headcount totalling in the hundreds of millions.

Sweden is a global hotspot for the games industry, both in terms of homegrown companies and foreign players. Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Bethesda and Rovio have all invested in Swedish game development, either through acquisitions or establishing their own operations. Entertainment franchises, including Star Wars, Mad Max and, most recently, Avatar, did their gamedev in Sweden. Several game developers are also listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in Stockholm, outperforming the index more than tenfold (171.7% increase in last twelve months compared to 14.8% average across all sectors).

Startups in the games industry have also grown in Sweden, seeing a year-over-year increase of 22 percent that brings the grand total of Swedish game studios to 287. What many of those studios are working on, continues to change, to meet industry trends. So now nearly 10 percent of all Swedish games companies working in VR.

“Sweden is blessed with great game developers, but we would hire more if we could. Now we’re looking to attract new talent from overseas. Some companies have also opened offices in places like New York, Los Angeles, London and Berlin to tap into that talent pool,” said Per Stromback, spokesperson for Dataspelsbranschen (Swedish Games Industry). “Sweden is constantly rated one of the best places to do business and live from top publications and developers are working even harder to make Sweden a particularly appealing place to work as they attract new games creators from across the globe.”

As part of the BerlinBalticNordic.net programme, media:net invites companies from the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region, and companies from the wider BerlinBalticNordic.net partner countries network to join in a 48h innovation tour to Stockholm, 12-13 April 2018.

You will have the opportunity to look into the Swedish capital’s gaming economy, a city which is rich in innovation and tech talent. We will meet with world-leading developers working in PC, console, mobile, indie games, middleware and more. The programme will include company visits to globally successful studios working in VR and Gaming, a look inside an exciting startup indie studio, networking meetup including pitches from members of the Swedish gaming community. There will be inspiration, interaction and plenty of opportunity to discuss business. We will visit Futuregames, a two year higher vocational game development education programme which is growing the next generation in Swedish gaming.

Sign up for the programme here: 48h-stockholm-berlinbalticnordicnet.eventbrite.de!

Alongside a packed 2-day programme, there is the opportunity to book 1-2-1 meetings tailored to the interests of your own company. Register your interest with Rebecca Lautner (Lautner@medianet-bb.de).

For those interested in booking some individual meetings, places are limited to 10 companies – you must complete an online registration profile!

Deadline for registration for individual meetings is 10th March 2018.

 

Reasons to join us!

  • Swedes are quick technology adapters, have high technical skills, are good team-players, deliver on time and have a super entrepreneurial approach.
  • Sweden invests in gaming education and research.
  • Games developed in Sweden include titles like Battlefield 1, Minecraft, Candy Crush Saga, Goat Simulator, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Mad Max, Star Wars Battlefront, Europa Universalis IV, Bait! and Payday 2.
  • Revenue (turnover) of Swedish game developers increased to EUR 1.4 billion in 2016, representing a 1000 % increase since 2010.
  • 25 % of all revenue is being generated by medium sized companies and smaller.
  • Nearly half of all employment is being generated by medium sized and smaller companies.
  • The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the period 2006-2016 is 34 %.
  • Nearly 10 % of Swedish games companies are working on virtual reality experiences.
  • High English proficiency & some German
  • Sweden is one of the world’s leading nations in the development of internationally respected and accessible games of the highest quality.
  • Easy market access, regular low-cost flight routes between TXL – Stockholm Arlanda

Since we start on April 12 early in the morning, we recommend that you arrive already on April 11. To entice you furthermore there will be an optional get-together on April 11 in the evening.

See you soon!

If you have any questions about the tour, feel free to contact us at any time!

 

 

Image: Henrik Trygg/mediabank.visitstockholm.com