The Rise and Reset of Sweden’s $19B Gaming Capital Machine

FEATURE BY GDEV
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The Rise and Reset of
Sweden’s $1
9B Gaming
Capital Machine
#16 FEATURE BY

FEATURE BY GDEV
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GAMES MADE IN
2024
-2025 S
W ED EN
Stockholm
Gothenburg
SkövdeHedemora
Uppsala
Sweden accounts for 20% of
Gross Revenue in 2025.

FEATURE BY GDEV
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~$19B INVESTED in SWEDEN’S GAMING ECOSYSTEM, 2014
–2025 YTD *
LATE-STAGE
Series B+ and growth rounds
EARLY -STAGE
Pre -seed, Seed and Series A rounds
176
# OF DEALS
$ 344 M
DEAL VALUE
PUBLIC OFFERING
Listing, Fixed income & PIPE
I
II
III
22
# OF DEALS
$ 467M
DEAL VALUE
66
# OF DEALS
$ 8.3B
DEAL VALUE
METHODOLOGY
• Focused on analyzing Swedish
companies in gaming industry
• Included transactions from
2014 to 2025 YTD across VC,
PE, Public offerings and M&A
to capture the full industry
capital flow
TOTAL DEAL ACTIVITY *
2014 –2025 YTD
M&A
Mergers and acquisitions
IV
98
# OF DEALS
$ 10. 1B
DEAL VALUE
Leading Swedish Mobile Gaming Players
Top Swedish PC & Console Gaming Companies
362
# OF DEALS
$ 19. 2B
DEAL VALUE
Source: InvestGame
*As corrected to Oct .2025

FEATURE BY GDEV
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HISTORY OF SWEDISH GAMING INDUSTRY
Listings by
THQ
Nordic, Stillfront,
and peers turned
public markets into
growth capital .
Public equity became
acquisition currency ,
accelerating scale
and portfolio
expansion .
2016-2019
Listing Flywheel
1990 -1999
Demoscene and
LAN culture forged
an engineering -first
Sweden DNA .
The 1997 Home PC
Reform accelerated
mass PC adoption,
embedding technical
literacy nationwide
– a decade before
competitors.
Engineering First
2012 -2016
King $5.9B and
Mojang $2.5B
validated capital
efficiency at scale.
Founder- led
outcomes recycled
capital and
expertise back into
Sweden’s gaming
ecosystem.
Exit Validation
2000 -2006
Ericsson ’s collapse
released thousands of
elite network engineers
into gaming.
Spray’s sale freed
future Kingfounders.
DICE ’s 2006 sale
seeded a founder
generation boosting
gaming ecosystem.
Talent Migration
2006 -2012
Mojang and King
scaled profitably
with minimal or no
venture capital .
Bootstrapped
success proved
scale without
venture –fueled burn.
Capital Discipline
2019-2023
Zero rates and
COVID demand
rewarded scale
over profitability .
Embracer -led roll-
ups expanded
rapidly until macro
conditions shifted.
Industrial Roll -Up
2023 -2025
Rising rates and
slowing growth
collapsed the
multiple arbitrage
model.
Embracer’s 2023
reset set the sector
template : divest
assets, cut costs
and restructuring
portfolios.
Efficiency Reset

FEATURE BY GDEV
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Of Sweden’s ~1,100 gaming companies, 202 have participated in tracked capital transactions since 2014. Sweden accounts for ro
ughly 20% of
Steam’s 2025 gross revenue and, in the 2024 –2025 release window, Swedish developers delivered five of Steam’s global top -10 best sellers
Top Sweden –
domiciled public
traded companies*
Mobile –first Studios
& Publisher
Independent /
Creative / Private Studios
Esports & Competitive Gaming Platforms
Notes: (*) Selection based on market capitalization value as recorded by December 2025 –Source: Companies Market Cap

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$16 $61
$61
$27 $24
$19
$72
$55
$160
$90
2020 20212022202320242025 YTD
Early-stage Late-stage
$62
$31$184
$109
$88
• Private capital rebounded in 2024 after the 2022 –23 pullback.
• Late -stage rounds now dominate: Aonic’s $157M and Arrowhead’s $80M reflect investor preference for proven studios with commercia l
traction.
• Early -stage deal count normalized from 2021’s peak, signalling a maturing but still active pipeline.
NUMBER OF INVESTMENTS BY ROUND CATEGORY PRIVATE CAPITAL RAISED BY ROUND CATEGORY ($M)
15 23
18
1113
6
4 22
12
4
2020 20212022202320242025 YTD
Early-stage Late-stage
Metric Capital Partners and Active Ownership
injected $157M of growth funding to Aonic.
Tencent invested$80M for a
15.75% stake in Arrowhead.
$116
Behold Ventures is responsiblefor
7 early -stage investments across
2021 –2025.
4

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14 19
56
2
2
3
16
21
12 8
26
0 5
10 15 20
25 30
2020
20212022202320242025 YTD
Control acquisition Minority acquisition
NUMBER OF M&A DEALS BY DEAL TYPE VALUE OF M&A DEALS BY DEAL TYPE ($M)
$43.2 $79.5
$
21.3 $
9.9
0
10 20 30 40 50 60
70 80 90
10 0
11 0 12 0 13 0 14 0 15 0 16 0 17 0 18 0 19 0 20 0
21 0 22 0 23 0 24 0
2020
20212022202320242025 YTD
Control acquisition Minority acquisition
SAVVY Games Group
acquiredESLfor $1.05B. Embracer was the
primary engine ofthe
M&A activity in 2021 –
2022.
$68.7 $1,150
$89.4$7.4$16.1 $64.5
• Swedish M&A shifted from volume to selectivity after the 2021
–22 boom.
• ESL’s $1.05B exit to Savvy (2022) marked the cycle’s peak.

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$2,076 $2,662
$1,128
–
5 00
1 000
1 500 2 000 2 500
2020
20212022202320242025 YTD
Fixed income Listing* PIPE
$871
$125 $166
$102
$23.4
$8.1
$1,102
$1,783
$1,183
$1,003 $143
$393
$41
$1,228
$227
$90
$803
$103
NUMBER OF PUBLIC OFFERING DEALS BY TYPE PUBLIC OFFERING DEALS VALUE BY TYPE ($M)
• Sweden’s public gaming market shifted from equity -fueled growth (PIPE) to defensive debt financing.
• Listings went silent after 2022 -recent activity centers on Embracer’s carveout strategy, with Asmodee and Coffee Stain pursuin g separate listings.
223
25
3
1 3
12
1
10
4
443
2
13
97710
6
–
2 4 6 8
10 12
14 16
2020
20212022202320242025 YTD
Fixed income Listing* PIPE
Notes: (*) Direct listings, IPOs/SPAC.
Embracer raised over $4.4B
in fixed income and PIPE in
2020 –2022 period .
Embracer secured $652M
revolving credit facility.

FEATURE BY GDEV
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LARGEST PRIVATE INVESTMENTS ROUNDS IN SWEDISH GAMING (2014 –
2025 YTD)
DATETARGET RAISED TYPESUB-SEGMENT NOTABLE INVESTORS
Dec- 24
$157M GROWTH/EXPANSION MULTIPLATFORM
Jun- 25
$80M UNDISCLOSED
LATE -STAGE PC & CONSOLE
Oct -20*
$56M UNDISCLOSED LATE –
STAGE PC & CONSOLE
Nov -18
$41M PRE -SEED/SEED PC & CONSOLE
Jan- 16
$40M UNDISCLOSED LATE –
STAGE PC & CONSOLE
Apr -21
$30M UNDISCLOSED LATE –
STAGE VR/AR
Jul -21
$25M SERIES C VR/AR
Mar- 19*
$25M UNDISCLOSED LATE –
STAGE PC & CONSOLE
May- 16
$21M UNDISCLOSED LATE –
STAGE PC & CONSOLE
Apr -23
$20M SERIES A PC & CONSOLE
• Capital concentration intensified: the top 10 private rounds account for $495M+ of $8
11M total.
• Investors favouredproven studios -8 of 10 largest rounds went to late -stage companies with commercial traction.
Notes: (*) Stryda (formerly knows as G -Loot) has declared bankrupt at the end of 2023.

FEATURE BY GDEV
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L
ARGEST M&A TRANSACTIONS IN SWEDISH GAMING (2014 –2025 YTD)
• Three deals –King ($5.9B), Mojang ($2.5B), and ESL ($1.05B) – account for 93% of Swedish gaming M&A value.
• Global acquirers pay premium prices for Sweden’s proven IP and engineering talent.
DATE TARGET ACQUIRERUPFRONT EVSUB-SEGMENT
Feb -16
$5.9B MOBILE
Sep -14
$2.5B PC & CONSOLE
Apr -22
$1.05B MULTIPLATFORM/WEB
May- 18
$133M PC & CONSOLE
Dec- 22
$100M MULTIPLATFORM/WEB
Jul -19
$96M PC & CONSOLE
Jan- 19
$56M PC & CONSOLE
Oct -23
$41M MOBILE
Nov -21
$39M MOBILE
Oct -23
$38M PC & CONSOLE

FEATURE BY GDEV
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MOST ACTIVE M&A INVESTORS IN SWEDISH GAMING (2014
–2025 YTD)
# ACQUIRER DEALS (1) DEALS TOTAL VALUE SELECT COMPANIES
111
$120M
2 5
$65.9M
3 5
$38.6M
4 3
(2) $43.6M
5 3
$38.4M
6 3
$24.9M
7 3
$2.2M
8 2
$12.1M
9 2
$2.3M
10 1
$5.9B
Sweden’s most active gaming acquirers are driven by a strategy to consolidate talent and IP across mobile and PC & Console . Local players like
Embracer lead volume to build scale, while global buyers such as Tencent target high -quality studios to deepen their content pip elines.
Notes: (1): Included deals with disclosed values only –a significant number of Tencent’s deals do not disclose values.
(2): Recorded deals before being a part of Embracer Group.

FEATURE BY GDEV
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SWEDISH GAMING COMPANIES WITH THE MOST PUBLIC OFFERINGS (2014
–2025 YTD)
# TARGET TOTAL
VALUE OFFERINGS
TOTAL SE
IPO/Listing Dates TYPESUB-SEGMENT
1
$5.3B 10 Nasdaq Stockholm 22/12/2022LISTING & PIPE & FIXED INCOME
MULTIPLATFORM/WEB
2
$1.5B 11 Nasdaq Stockholm 26/05/2021LISTING & PIPE & FIXED INCOME MOBILE
3
$222M 2 Nasdaq Stockholm 17/10/1997LISTING & PIPE & FIXED INCOME MOBILE
4
$152M 2
Nasdaq First North
Premier Growth
Market 07/12/2020
LISTING & FIXED INCOME
MULTIPLATFORM/WEB
5
$142M 2 N/A 1 N/A FIXED INCOME MULTIPLATFORM/WEB
6
$110M 5 Nasdaq Stockholm 02/10/2017 LISTING & PIPE
PC & CONSOLE
7
$93M 3 Nasdaq Stockholm 17/06/2024LISTING & PIPE & FIXED INCOME MULTIPLATFORM/WEB
8
$65M 1
Nasdaq First North
Premier Growth Market 31/05/2016
LISTINGPC & CONSOLE
9
$60M 2 Nasdaq Stock Market 26/07/2024 LISTING & PIPE
MULTIPLATFORM/WEB
10
$25M 1 Nasdaq First North
Stockholm 2 22/11/2016 LISTING
MULTIPLATFORM/WEB
Embracer, Stillfront, and MTG raised $7B combined across 23 offerings 85% of Swedish gaming public capital. Nasdaq Stockholm emerged as
the de facto exchange for European gaming consolidators.
Notes: (1): Raised through bond issues – Aonic is still private.
(2): THQ Nordic is now part of Embracer.