The Swedish Gaming Industry in 2024

1
DATASPELSBRANSCHEN
Swedish Games Industry
Swedish Games Industry 2024
Game Developer Index
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

2
Third Edition
November 2024
Published by The Swedish Games Industry
Research & text: Alexander Milton, Elin Carlsson,
Marléne Tamlin, Johanna Nylander
Layout: Emilie Ihre
Illustration, cover: Stina Rahm
Translation: Sarah Fagerström
Editor: Johanna Nylander

The Swedish Games Industry is the trade organisation
for video game companies in Sweden. The organisation
represents the industry as a whole through the industry
associations Spelplan-ASGD (game developers, producers,
education, academia and support members) and ANGI
(publishers and distributors).

Dataspelsbranschen | Swedish Games Industry
Magnus Ladulåsgatan 65, SE-118 27 Stockholm
www.swedishgamesindustry.com
Contact: johanna.nylander@dataspelsbranschen.se
Perfect Random – Sulfur
KAPITELNAMN
Rubrik
Minctius, si te volorest atur sunt qui sum dolores maio
consectas Agni consequiam esto dolum de odis eleste
sinciatum fugiatur, sitam, quati dest min cullendita
nectas et erionse quibus ea volore pe nem hilles auda

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Key figures from the last five years. Change from previous years in brackets. We have used the aggregated annual exchange
rate defined by the Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, for conversions from SEK.
Key Figures 20232022202120202019
Number of companies 1,010
(+8%) 939 (+20%) 785 (+18%) 667 (+14%) 586 (+14%)
Domestic Net Sales
Swedish companies SEK 34,582
(+6%)
EUR 3,013 (-1.5%)
USD 3,259 (+1.5%)SEK
32,516 (+18%)
EUR 3,058 (+13%)
USD 3,212 (+0.1%)SEK
27,522 (+24%)
EUR 2,713 (+28%)
USD 3,207 (+33%)SEK
22,182 (+25%)
EUR 2,115 (+26%)
USD 2,410 (+28%) SEK
17,815 (+25%)
EUR 1,682 (+21%)
USD 1,883 (+15%)
Global Net sales MSEK
Swedish companies 90,429
(+5%) 86,500 (+47%) 58,887 (+70%) 34,728 (+42%) 24,551 (+28%)
Net sales per employee
in Sweden TSEK 3,805
(-1.2%) 3,850 (+11%) 3,465 (+3%) 3,363 (+12%) 3,007 (+12%)
Domestic Result Swedish
companies MSEK 1,128
(-94.2%) 19,329 (+563%) 2,917 (-56%) 6,611 (+69%) 3,903 (+39%)
Result in Swedish
companies globally MSEK -11,395
(-158%) 19,763-1,246 (-117%) 7,553 (+45%) 5,225 (+52%)
Number of employees
in Sweden 9,089
(+8%) 8,445 (+6%) 7,944 (+20%) 6,596 (+11%) 5,925 (+11%)
Of which men 6,888 (75.8%) 6,429 (76.1%) 6,169 (77.7%) 5,186 (78.6%) 4,699 (79%)
Of which women 2,150 (23.7%) 1,977 (23.4%) 1,755 (22.1%) 1,410 (21.4%) 1,226 (21%)
Number of employees
in Swedish companies
abroad 15,792
(-4%) 16,494 (+48%) 11,158 (+56%) 7,177 (+121%) 3,253 (+25%)
Key Figures Thunderful Gothenburg –
SteamWorld Heist 2
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

4 SUMMARY
Even in challenging economic times, the Swedish
games industry stands strong. Despite reduced access
to capital, more companies are starting up, more people
are being hired and revenue is increasing.
Summary
2023 was a year of change in the Swedish games indus-
try. Several game studios announced that they were
closing down their operations, and the media reported
on setbacks in the industry. Despite this, Swedish game
industry remain stable. The industry is growing in terms
of companies, revenue and employees. At a local level, the challenges are greater, and for
the individuals affected by redundancies and layoffs
during the year, it is a situation they would rather have
been without. There have been fewer investments and
acquisitions, and there were more Swedish sellers than
buyers. Access to capital is one of the industry’s key
challenges going forward. At the same time, games are digital consumer ser-
vices in a global market. There are few other products
and services that are as global as games that sell
directly to consumers. The players are the biggest and
most important investors in the industry, purchasing
games because they want the unique experience that
only a good game can provide.
The Game Developer Index 2024 compiles the Swedish
companies’ latest reported fiscal year (2023).
Key takeaways:
• The Swedish games industry’s domestic revenue
grew to SEK 34.6 billion in 2023, an increase of 6.4%
in the Swedish companies. The growth is however
dulled by the increasingly strong euro compared to
SEK, converting to a slight decrease to EUR 3 billion.
In total, including subsidiaries abroad, the Swedish
industry had a revenue of SEK 90.4 billion (EUR 7.9B),
an increase of 4.5%.
• More women work in the industry. In 2023, a total
of 2,150 positions at game companies in the country
were held by women, corresponding to 23.7% of the
labour force.
• In Sweden, 644 new employees were hired in 2023,
an increase of almost 8% of the industry total. Swed –
ish game companies employed 9,089 people in 2023
in Sweden and 15,792 people abroad, globally it is a
caused by divestments.
• 108 new companies were established in 2023, mean-
ing there werea total of 1,010 game companies at the
end of the year. Among these, 196 companies had
five or more employees.
Sudden Snail –
Esoteric Ebb

5
• In 2023, seven investments and acquisitions reached
our attention. In the first half of 2024, 16 investments and
acquisitions were reported, two of which had a value of
over SEK 1 billion. In twelve cases, Swedish companies were
the sellers and in eleven cases the buyer was Swedish.
• Game companies paid SEK 1.8 billion in corporate tax
on their profits and an additional SEK 1.9 billion in payroll
taxes during the year. The players contributed SEK 1.7 bil-
lion in VAT through game purchases. In total, this translates
to over EUR 470 million in domestic tax contributions from
video games in Sweden.
• The industry is profitable, with a majority of the companies
that generate revenue also making a profit.
• In 2023, total profits dropped to SEK 1.1 billion (EUR 98
million). This is mainly due to the performance of a few
individual companies.
• 23 Swedish game companies are listed on the Swedish
stock exchange. Their combined revenue was SEK 64 billion
(EUR 5,6B) in 2023.
• Game development in Sweden accounted for an estimated
2,275 tCO2e in 2022, equivalent to 0.015 percent of emis-
sions from all Swedish industries.
Table of Contents
Key Figures 3
Summary4
Foreword6
Revenue and Results8
Highlights10
Number of Employees14
Largest Companies21
Number of Companies18
Inclusion and
Gender Distribution 22
Company Groups and
the Stock Exchange 26
Game Developer Map – Sweden
30
Swedish Game Companies
Around the Globe 38
Game Developer Map – Global
40
The World Market42
A Treasure Trove of Games45
Play Safe48
Alarmism Then and Now50
Acquisitions and Investments52
Game Developer Educations54
Entrepreneurship and National
Collaborations 60
No Games on a Dead Planet
64
Threats and Challenges68
Methodology70
Become a Member of
the Swedish Games Industry 72
Glossary
74
Mirage Game Studios –
Space for Sale
Morbid Games –
Traum
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

6 FOREWORD
Foreword
There was no shortage of crises in the headlines in
2023. Interest rates up, inflation skyrocketed, the Swed-
ish currency down, share prices plummeted. Many
redundancies and closures. There was also the break-
through of so-called generative artificial intelligence,
which some said would have major consequences for
the labour market. War and unrest. 2023 ought to have
been a really bad year for Swedish game companies. The previous years had been unusually good. Low
interest rates made it attractive for companies and
owners to invest and take financial risk, for example
bets on new projects. Many foreign investors came
to the Swedish games industry. The shares of listed
game companies rose and several made high-profile
acquisitions abroad. Many games were sales hits. The
pandemic lockdowns meant that many players around
the world played more, as they had little else to do.
The games brought joy and community – and sales in-
creased. In addition, many countries – albeit not Swe-
den – had introduced ambitious subsidies to give their
game companies an edge in the international competi-
tion. In short, many poured more fuel on the fire. After the good years came the hangover. Many major
game projects had been delayed due to the pandemic.
Global game sales declined for the first time in many
years. Several global players engaged in consolidation, leading to redundancies, partly because many roles
were duplicated. Russia’s war on Ukraine caused many
international investors to withdraw from Europe. In-
flation put pressure on wages and profits. Credit cost
rose with interest rates and companies often struggled
with their margins. Many owners opted for profit over
growth, and investment declined. 2023 ought to have
been a really bad year for Swedish game companies. The debate on artificial intelligence took off. Would
human labour be replaced by machines also in creative
professions? Capital replacing labour? Some argued so.
Others pointed out that all the previous technological
leaps in game development had been realised in more
games. Bigger and better. It used to be that all game
developers wrote their own graphics engines, these
days a few standardised dominate the market. Shared
graphics repositories – ‘asset libraries’ – save a lot of
work for game artists who modify existing 3D models
and textures instead of building their own from scratch.
Motion capture has streamlined animation. And so on.
Each such technological leap meant an increase in pro-
ductivity, which in theory could have been turned into
increased profits, reduced labour costs or something
else. But in reality, the productivity gains have been
realised in more games. Bigger and better. Same story
this time around.
2023 Ought to Have
Been a Really Bad Year for
Swedish Game Companies

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2023 ought to have been a really bad year for Swed-
ish game companies. But it turned out to be a new re-
cord year. Employment increased. So did revenue. And
the number of women. The increases weren’t as big
as some previous years, but nonetheless: all time high.
It wasn’t all sunshine and soda popin’ 2023, though.
Investments decreased, due to the factors above (but
investments have increased again in 2024). The num-
ber of Swedish companies’ employees abroad also de-
creased due to divestment of foreign subsidiaries (but
total revenue increased). Why is it that Swedish game companies are going
against the tide of the economic crisis? The best answer
is that we make good games. And we make many dif-
ferent kinds of games that reach many different kinds
of players. From simple puzzles to almost infinitely de-
tailed strategy games. Children’s games and games for
adults. Big and small. Technologically groundbreaking or
ingenious in their simplicity. Swedish game companies
have all kinds. That’s the best recipe for the future too.
Stockholm, November 2024
Per Strömbäck
Managing Director, Swedish Games Industry
Star Wars Outlaws –
Ubisoft Massive
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

8 REVENUE AND RESULTS
Swedish game companies continued to grow in
2023, increasing their revenue by 6% to SEK 34.6
billion. This is an increase of almost SEK 2 billion
and nearly a doubling in the last five years.
Revenue and Results
In recent years, a couple of large groups have grown
larger, partly through investments and acquisitions, and
a significant proportion of the acquisitions have taken
place outside Sweden. In total, Swedish companies and
groups generated a revenue of almost SEK 56 billion in
subsidiaries outside Sweden, and the total global net
revenue of Swedish companies in 2023 was just over
SEK 90 billion. Not to be confused with the total value
of sales to consumers at the distribution level. On a global scale, Swedish companies have success-
fully taken market shares, attracted expertise and,
not least, created entertainment for several hundred
million players worldwide. However, the weak Swedish
krona affects the comparative revenue internationally
and can be interpreted as virtually unchanged. In euros,
domestic revenue decreases slightly to EUR 3 billion,
while in dollars it increases marginally and is measured
at USD 3.2 billion. Revenue including Swedish-owned companies abroad decreases to EUR 7.9 billion, and
remains stable in dollars at USD 8.5 billion. With 108 new companies, the Swedish industry is
growing steadily and has increased its revenue over the
past decade from just over SEK 9 billion in 2014 to SEK
34.6 billion in Swedish companies and SEK 90.4 billion
when foreign subsidiaries are included. In 2023, the
revenue of the Swedish-owned foreign subsidiaries was
higher than the revenue of the Swedish-registered com-
panies for the third consecutive year, an effect of the
many large acquisitions that have taken place outside
Sweden. Nine Swedish companies had a revenue of over SEK 
1 billion during the year and the ten largest companies
account for two-thirds of the total revenue. More com-
panies are getting bigger and in 2023, 43 companies had
a revenue of over SEK 100 million – 12 more than in 2022.
During the year, total industry profits dropped to SEK 1.1
Revenue in billion SEK
Swedish companies’ revenue in foreign subsidiaries
Revenue of Swedish companies in Sweden
2021 20222023
2020
2019
2018
2016 2017
2014 2015
55,8
34,6
32,5
54,0
27,5
31,4
22,2
12,5 17,8
6,7 14,34,9 13,0
0,5 12,3
0,2 9,Q
0,M 11,7 0,M

9
billion. This can be attributed to the fact that 2022 was
a record year in terms of profitability, which was due to
a couple of large dividends, and that Embracer Group
reported a loss of SEK 7 billion in its Swedish parent
company. In the same year, King reported a profit of 5.2
billion. Without these two outliers, the industry’s profit
would be SEK 2.7 billion in 2023. In total, the companies
have paid 1.8 billion in corporate tax and over 1.9 billion
in social security contributions. A few companies stand out in terms of increased rev-
enue, including Beyond Frames, The Gang and Snowprint
Studios , all which increased significantly during the year.
Global Revenue
In 2023, the revenue of Swedish-owned foreign sub-
sidiaries continued to increase. It’s a minor increase compared to previous years, but noteworthy consid-
ering the major restructuring that has taken place in
several of the Swedish global groups. Embracer Group remains the largest with a consolida-
ted revenue of SEK 42.2 billion, which means that the
Karlstad company continues to be the country’s largest
group in game development, and one of the largest
game company groups in Europe. Stillfront Group and
MTG also account for a significant share of the global
revenue. In 2025, this value is expected to decrease
slightly as Embracer Group is split into three groups, one
of which, the board game division Asmodee, will fall out-
side the scope of this industry report. Embracer Group’s
revenue in Sweden is not affected by this as the subsid –
iaries with primary operations outside game develop-
ment are not included in the data.
Thunderful Gothenburg –
SteamWorld Heist 2
SEK EUR USD
2022
2020
2018
2016
2014
0%
100%
200%
300%
Industry growth measured in Swedish krona (SEK), euro (EUR)
and dollar (USD). In 2014 the domestic net sales in Swedish
game companies was SEK 9.3 billion, which corresponded to
EUR 1 billion or USD 1.4 billion.
Industry Growth 2014–2023
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

10 HIGHLIGHTS
The number of games launched by Swedish studios
varies from year to year, but the industry is big enough
that individual titles are no longer decisive for the
annual performance. Below is a summary of some of
the major events in 2023 and most of 2024.
Highlights
In February 2024, Arrowhead Game Studios released
Helldivers 2, the sequel to Helldivers from 2015. The game
reached one million copies sold in just three days, and
by early May the figure was 12 million, making it the
publisher Sony’s most successful PC title.
In 2024, Avalanche Studios Group was hard at work on
adding new features and content to its self-published
titles. theHunter: Call of the Wild saw the release of seven
DLCs and surpassed 1.6 million MAU. Four DLCs were
added to Call of the Wild: The Angler.
Gothenburg-based retro game studio Bitwave released
the game Gimmick! 2 in September 2024, a sequel of
the 1992 Gimmick! created by Sunsoft. In addition, Bit –
wave has released a number of classic titles from distin-
guished Japanese game developer Toaplan on Steam
over the past year.
After eight years of persistent development, Coffee
Stain Studio’s factory simulator Satisfactory was re-
leased in version 1.0. With six million copies sold since
its Early Access launch five years ago, players finally
had access to the full game experience. A console ver-
sion of the game was also announced.
In December 2023, Embark Studios released The Finals
and the studio continued their work on the upcoming
ARC Raiders, which is scheduled for release in 2025.
Embracer Group has had a year characterised by
organisational restructuring and the upcoming group
split. Several of their Swedish subsidiary studios have
released successful games during the year through, for example, Amplifier Game Invest and Coffee Stain.
Globally, Embracer Group continued to develop its
reputable brands, such as Tomb Raider and Lord of the
Rings, reaching millions of players worldwide.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, G5 Entertainment’s
operations have been affected as the company has
had offices in the war-torn countries. Employees from
Russia have been evacuated and the company has been
dealing with the effects of the war in Ukraine. Despite
the difficulties, the company has delivered impressive
results.
King’s journey of success continues. In 2023, the Swed –
ish company reported an increase in revenue, more
employees and contributed almost a billion SEK to
the Swedish treasury in corporate tax. In October 2023,
Micro soft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, which in-
cludes King, went through. When the deal was an-
nounced, the price tag was over SEK 620 billion at the
exchange rate at the time. In 2024 Farm Heroes Saga and
Candy Crush Soda Saga celebrated ten years since their
first launch. In Malmö, King expanded and moved to
a new spacious central office. In 2024, a two-month
international Candy Crush Saga competition took place,
with Stockholm resident Suzanne making it to the final
round in Los Angeles. Suzanne came in second place
and won around SEK 2.6 million.
On April 1st 2024, Landfall released its new game Con-
tent Warning for free for one day on Steam. As a result,
over six million people acquired the game for free, and
two months after the release, the game had almost nine
million players worldwide.

11
Uppsala-based MachineGames opened another office
in Sundsvall in 2024. During the year, the studio contin-
ued development of the upcoming title Indiana Jones
and the Great Circle, which will be launched at the end
of 2024.
Mojang celebrated 15 years in 2024. Minecraft is the
world’s best-selling game title with over 300 million cop-
ies sold. The anniversary was celebrated with new con-
tent in the game in the form of a major summer update.
In August 2024, Jens ‘Jeb’ Bergensten made a radio fea-
ture in Sommar i P1, talking about his time at Mojang and
his thirteen-year journey as head of design for Minecraft.
The film, A Minecraft Movie, will premiere in April 2025.

In 2023, Resolution Games was recognised by the
World Economic Forum as a ‘Technology Pioneer 2023’
alongside hundreds of other promising tech companies
worldwide. In late 2023, the studio released the VR game
Racket Club and in early 2024 announced a partnership
with US game studio Wizards of the Coast to create the
first officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons game exclu-
sively for VR.

Thunderful Games, with studios in Gothenburg, Malmö,
Karlshamn and Skövde, launched SteamWorld Build in
December 2023 and SteamWorld Heist II in 2024, mak-
ing it the seventh addition to the popular SteamWorld
series.
In August 2024, Ubisoft studio Massive Entertain-
ment launched its highly anticipated game Star Wars
Outlaws in partnership with Lucasfilm Games. In Decem-
ber 2023, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, developed with
Lightstorm Entertainment and FoxNext Games, was
released. The Malmö studio continues its work on Tom
Clancy’s The Division 3. The Division series has a total
of almost 40 million players worldwide.
Stunlock Studios in Skövde is the developer of V Rising,
which on May 8th 2024 left Early Access and was re-
leased in full version for PC. On June 11, the game was
also re
leased for PlayStation 5 and, by September, had
over 4.7 million players worldwide.
Blue Scarab Entertainment , a new Stockholm-based
MMORPG developer led by Colin Cragg and Enno Reh –
ling, announced its opening in July 2024. The studio is funded by an investment of over SEK 74 million from
Chinese Netease and Swedish Behold Ventures, along
with a group of private investors.
At the end of 2023, the bankrupt Kinda Brave Publish-
ing group was acquired to form the new Kinda Brave
Entertainment Group together with Windup Games,
which was listed on the stock exchange on June 3 2024.
During Gamescom 2024, Windup announced its new
title Hela.
On September 26th 2024, the doors opened to a new
ex hibition, The Romantic Eye, at the Nationalmuseum
in Stockholm. The exhibition explores how we manage
the issues and ideas of the period on a daily basis, and
how it is conveyed today through, for example, social
media and games. The exhibition features the game
Unravel by Coldwood Interactive as an example of
how games were influenced by Romantic philosophy.
At the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg, Swe-
den, the exhibition A World of Games is on display until
May 2026 and features a large collection of games span-
ning different times and places – from 4,000-year-old
board games to today’s computer games. It also raises
questions about games of money and power, and tells
the story of games that have been banned for various
reasons. The exhibition highlights the significant role
that games have played in people’s lives over thousands
of years.
Sudden Snail –
Esoteric Ebb
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

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The annual Swedish Game Awards, organised by the Swedish
Games Industry in Stockholm, celebrates new talent, stu-
dents, and hobbyists. There are also two awards in a profes-
sional category dedicated to established game developers. A jury of senior game industry experts reviews and evalu-
ates all applications, nominates their top picks in each cate-
gory and votes on the winners. The Professional category awards are nominated and
selected directly by the jury without an application SURFHVV7KHZLQQHURIWKH*DPHU
V&KRLFHDZDUGLV
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*DPH$ZDUGV6KRZFDVH 7RSDUWLFLSDWHLQWKH6ZHGLVK*DPH$ZDUGV New Talent
category, submit your game on the website. Applications
open in spring and close in mid-summer. Rules and
formalities are updated annually and can be found at:
www.gameawards.se
Swedish Game Awards 2024
Winner in the Professional categor y
GAME OF THE YEAR
Helldivers 2
by Arrowhead Game Studios BEST DEBUT
Planet of Lana
by Wishfully Studios
Winner in the New Talent categor y
GAME OF THE YEAR
Traum
by Morbid Games
(The Game Assembly)
BEST DESIGN
FleshBound
by Splatterpunk
(Futuregames)
BEST ART
Stage Fright
by Smoggers

(The Game Assembly)
BEST TECHNOLOGY Schrödinger
by Singularity Studios
(Uppsala University – Campus Gotland)
BEST AUDIO
FleshBound
by Splatterpunk
(Futuregames)
BEST NARRATIVE
Traum
by Morbid Games
(The Game Assembly)
BEST MOBILE GAME
Between Life and Death by Cult Classic Creations
(The Game Assembly)
BEST DIVERSITY EFFORT
Traum
by Morbid Games
(The Game Assembly)
GAMER’S CHOICE
Sonder
by Finally Games
(Stockholm University) Wishfully Studios – Planet of Lana
KAPITELNAMN

13
At the 2024 NYX Game Awards, Fast Travel Games’
Vampire: The Masquerade – Justice was the winner in
several categories, including Meta Quest VR Game –
Best Gameplay and Meta Quest VR Game – Best Art
Direction. Starbreeze Entertainment won the Game
Video – Movie/Film and Game Strategic Campaign
categories for PAYDAY 3.
Midjiwan, the studio behind The Battle of Polytopia,
won Best Indie Developer at the Pocket Gamer Mobile
Games Awards 2024.
At the 2024 Nordic Game Awards, Embark Studios’
The Finals won Best Technology and the award for
Best Debut went to Dimfrost Studios and their game
Bramble: The Mountain King.
The award-winning game Passpartout 2: The Lost Artist
by Flamebait Games won the Swedish Design Award
2023 in the 3D/VR/AR category.
Arrowhead Game Studios and their game Helldivers
2 won Best Game Design at the Develop:Star Awards
2024.
The Outsiders rhythm-FPS Metal: Hellsinger won the
Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game at the 12th
annual New York Game Awards 2023.
The game Planet of Lana by Wishfully Studios was
named one of the best Xbox games of 2023 at the Xbox
Excellence Award.
Other Notable Achievements
and Awards
Gothenburg-based Oddiko won first prize with their
upcoming game Meadgard at The Very Big Indie Pitch
in London in early 2024.
The above list is not exhaustive, there are many more
examples of successes for Swedish companies in the
past year.
Wishfully Studios – Planet of Lana
Campground Interactive –
Steel Effigy
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

14 NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
The number of employees in the Swedish games
industry is increasing and several companies are hiring.
In 2023, the number of employees increased by almost
8% to 9,089 people in the industry.
Number of Employees
Employees in Swedish Companies
The number of people employed in the games industry
in Sweden increased by just under 8% in 2023 to 9,089
people. This corresponds to 644 new full-time positions.
The largest employer in Sweden is Ubisoft Entertain-
ment, which employs over 750 people. 19 companies
have more than 100 employees in Sweden. 123 compa-
nies have ten or more employees. In addition to employees in Sweden, Swedish-owned
companies employed around 15,800 people around the
world outside Sweden. This means that a total of 25,000
people were employed by a Swedish-owned game de-
velopment company during the year. More about this in
the chapter Swedish Game Companies Around the Globe. The number of employees is based on the annual
accounts’ average full-time employment for the entire
financial year. This means that the actual number of
people working in the industry is often higher, as many
companies that have expanded had more employees at the end of the year than at the beginning. The data
does not include hired consultants from agencies out-
side the industry, interns, or people employed in newly
founded companies that have yet to turn in their annu-
al reports. Considering these hidden figures, the act
ual
number of people working in the industry is higher. In the survey The South Swedish Game Development In-
dustry 2024 (Game Habitat), 89% of respondents stated
that they had a permanent full-time job. Almost no one
works part-time. In 2023, several game companies reported financial
challenges, with both layoffs and closed studios around
the country. To some extent, this reflects the recession
and the global market, which has affected listed compa-
nies in particular. Despite this, new hires have increased
by almost 30% compared to 2022. Reviewing the major companies in the industry, tak-
ing reported closures and layoffs into account, shows
2021 20222023
2020
2019
2018
2016 2017
2014 2015
9,089
8,445
7,944
6,596
5,925
5,320
4,670
3,750
3,439
3,117

15
an employment increase in 2024, and in October there
were over 9,350 employees in the industry in Sweden.
In the long term, the supply of skills remains a major
challenge, along with providing good conditions for
small businesses to grow.
Artificial Intelligence as a Tool for
Game Development
Few phenomena have been as thoroughly debated
in recent years as the use of AI in game development.
Concerns that increased AI use would lead to layoffs
have been raised, but are not reflected in the statis-
tics. It is clear that generative AI services are steadily
improving and, according to a survey conducted by
Unity, 62% of companies surveyed use AI in some way
during the development process. Overall, AI is used
for a wide variety of purposes such as art production,
programming and testing, as well as in operations like
moderating chats. Generative AI brings inherent risks of infringing on
the rights of game developers and reducing the ability
to protect their IP. In the spring of 2024, the Swedish
Patent and Registration Office (PRV), in collaboration
with the Swedish Games Industry, presented a guide
with information and advice specifically regarding
intellectual property, copyright and trademark protec-
tion for creators of digital games. It can be found at:
www.prv.se/en/game-development
Work Permits
Swedish game companies remain attractive employers
for foreign talent. From January 2021 to August 2024,
around 1,500 work permits were granted to non-EU/EEA/
EFTA nationals in the occupational codes used for game
development. During the same period, approximately
180 applications were rejected, and it appears that the
proportion of granted applications has dropped slightly
in 2023 and 2024 compared to previous years, accord-
ing to statistics from the Swedish Migration Agency. The
figures include first-time applicants and applications for
extensions of previous permits, with the proportion of
unsuccessful applications being significantly higher for
work permit extensions than for new applications. Of the applications, 34% were for programming staff,
28% for art, animation and VFX, 16% for design and the
remaining 22% for other professional categories such as
sound design, QA, producer, analytics and marketing.
The single largest occupational categories were Game-
play Programmer and Engine Programmer with around
14% each. Looking at age and experience, 72% of the applica-
tions regarded people aged 30 or older, of which 39%
were over 35 years old, and 55% were categorised as
Senior, Expert, Lead/Manager and Director/Renowned
Expert. Almost 80% of the applications were for male
staff, a proportion that is boosted by the large propor-
tion of programmers and people over 35 and the
Resolution Games – Demeo Battles
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

16 NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
fact that relatively few women are yet to be found in
the more senior roles. Looking at the age range 24–34,
women make up 26% of applicants, and in some art and
design roles the distribution of applicants can be virtu-
ally even. In the survey, The South Swedish Game Development
Industry 2024 (Game Habitat), 59% of employees stated
that they were Swedish citizens, 14% of these also had
citizenship in another country. 40% of respondents had
their degree from a country other than Sweden.
Number of Employees by Occupation
In the employment statistics compiled by Statistics
Sweden (SCB), most occupational roles in the games
industry are grouped into one of two occupational
codes (SSYK), which are code 2173 Designer in games and
digital media, which covers several occupations in art
and design, and 2513 Developer in games and digital me-
dia, which covers occupations in game programming. In
addition to these, game developers of various speciali-
sations are found under other occupational codes, and
employees in the occupational codes may also work for
companies in industries other than game development.
For example, web designers, film artists and animators
are classified under code 2173, regardless of which in-
dustry they work in. Similarly, some game development
roles fall under other classifications and therefore do
not appear in the statistics. The sample gives an indica-
tion of the number of employees in the country within
various occupational roles as well as the growth of the
labour market. In the addressed occupational codes, the share of
women has increased from 21.5% to 22.9% between
2021 and 2022, which is the latest year with updated sta-
tistics. This increase may seem small, but looking at the
growth in occupations, the number of men increased
by 8.6% and the number of women by 17.8%. This pro-
portional increase of women was also reflected in the
Swedish Games Industry 2023 – Game Developer Index data,
where 44% of new hires in 2022 were women.
Iron Gate – Valheim (from trailer by Brikk)
2173 Art and Design
Women
Men
2513 Developers
Women
Men
2,000
0
4,000
6,000
8,000
2019 2020 20212022
Number of Employees
by Occupational Role

17
INDUSTRY VOICE KONRAD TOLLMAR
Research Director at Electronic Arts
‘Although AI research has made significant progress, there is still a long way to go
before the new technology
is usable’
Hi Konrad, you are Research Director at Electro-
nic Arts. Why does a game studio have its own
research lab?
Both today’s and tomorrow’s AAA games are developed
with the latest technology, and to stay ahead and un-
derstand how to build the best games, we need our own
research. One such example is training AI agents in the
games to handle new unexpected situations, where we
have used data augmentation to improve how we train
AI agents who otherwise mainly imitate in their learning
process.
What is the biggest challenge in AI (in the games
industry) right now?
There are many challenges. Although AI research has
made significant progress, there is still a long way to
go before the new technology is usable. We are often
told that AI is like a black box that you cannot influence.
Therefore, we need more experience and interfaces
that make AI tools effective in more areas than gener-
ating images and text.
How does AI improve games, and what can gener-
ative AI actually do for games?
This is a question that remains to be answered. Today,
very little AI is used in games, but technologies such as
GenAI show new possibilities to enhance the experience in games with bigger worlds and more content. AI

can also be used to test games more effectively and
thus improve the experience for the player. One of
our research areas has been using AI to create differ-
ent test personalities as part of preparing games for
an ever-growing audience of players at launch.
What AI-related developments will we take for
granted in games in 5–10 years that we are not
doing today?
AI will improve our ability to build complex systems.
Computer games are an example where we want to
both simulate and visualise advanced worlds in real
time. However, programming with AI, i.e. data, is not
that easy. Partly the technology is still undeveloped,
and it is also a new way of programming that takes
years to learn. We see AI as an essential area that
needs more expertise and research to become useful
in games.
Doublecap –
Liftlands
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

18 NUMBER OF COMPANIES
In 2023, 108 new game companies were registered
in Sweden. The number of limited companies in the
Swedish games industry totalled 1,010 at the end of
2023, a net increase of just under 8% compared with
the previous year. 196 companies had five or more
employees.
Number of Companies
By the first half of 2024, more than 60 new companies
had been registered, some of which can be found in the
chapter Game Developer Map – Global later in the report.
37 companies have either closed down or switched the
majority of their activities to non-game related in 2023. Despite the relatively high number of closures, the in-
creasing number of new companies is a positive signal
that shows a high level of activity in the industry even
under challenging economic circumstances. The ent-
repreneurial spirit is strong in Sweden, an argument
reinforced by the high number of micro companies
compared to other European countries. When larger
companies restructure or, experience and expertise are
often transferred to new, smaller companies. The so-called micro companies with fewer than ten
employees make up 87.5% of the entire games indus -try. Micro companies generated a combined revenue
of SEK 6 billion in 2023. 96 companies, almost 10%, are
classified as small enterprises, having at least ten but
fewer than fifty employees. These companies gener-
ated SEK 5.7 billion in revenue and employed around
2,000 people. There were 24 medium-sized enterprises
with between 50 and 249 employees, around 2.4% of
all companies, which accounted for SEK 11 billion in reve –
nue and just over 2,800 employees. The largest companies with over 250 employees
together employed just under 3,300 people and gener-
ated SEK 11.8 billion in revenue in 2023. The average revenue per employee is relatively even
across all size classes of companies, between SEK 3 and
4 million per employee a year, with larger companies
generally at the higher end of the range. Swedish game
Number of Companies in Sweden
1,010
785 939
667
586
513
442
389
321
268
2021 20222023
2020
2019
2018
2016 2017
2014 2015

19
companies are thus commercially successful under
different conditions, but still comparable in relation to
costs regardless of the size of the company. There are
good reasons to invest in both large and small game
developers.
Sole Traders, Consultants
and Holding Companies
Two-fifths of all the companies have no employees.
241 companies have only a single employee. These are
often sole traders, consultants or holding companies. Many freelancers and consultants run their own
companies. While it is common for contractors to set
up a sole proprietorship to carry out smaller commis-
sions or even develop and release games, more people
are using limited companies (aktiebolag), which pro-
vide greater financial control. In 2023, there were 207
sole proprietorships registered with SNI 58.210 – pub –
lishing of digital games as their main industry code. Some consultants work full-time through their limited
companies, while others manage them alongside their
employment to keep side projects separate from their
regular job. A number of the limited companies included in the
statistics are so-called holding companies, i.e. limited companies set up primarily to manage ownership of
one or more other companies. In principle, any limited
company can conduct holding activities, making it dif-
ficult to distinguish the proportion of Swedish game
companies run exclusively as holding companies. Holding activities may occur for purely economic or
technical reasons, but also as part of investments where
the shareholding is concentrated in the holding com-
pany. This does not preclude the company from also
carrying out assignments for customers or developing
its own solutions, which further blurs the line between
pure holding companies and conventional games com-
panies.
Studio Closures and Bankruptcies
During the past year, 37 companies were removed
from the database. This generally means the company
has been liquidated, acquired by another company
or changed its main activity to something irrelevant
to the games industry. It is not always clear what has happened to a com-
pany with no operations, as game companies are often
left dormant instead of being liquidated, as there may
be passive revenue from previously launched games.
Acquisitions do not always take the form of a complete
Midjiwan – The Battle of Polytopia
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

20 ANTAL BOLAG
Solo enterprises
Without employees
Micro enterprises
Fewer than 5 employees
Micro enterprises
Between 5–9 employees
Small enterprises
Between 10–49 employees
Mid-sized enterprises
Between 50–249 employees
Large companies
Companies with 250 or more employees
takeover, but are sometimes carried out through acqui-
sition of assets and liabilities that leave a completely or
partially empty company behind. Among the businesses that have closed down in the
past year, either through redundancy or bankruptcy, is
Toadman Interactive, whose offices in Stockholm, Visby
and Oslo have been closed down, while the remaining
Berlin office has lost some staff. In May 2024, Fall Damage was declared bankrupt by
its parent company Fragbite Group, which acquired the
studio in October 2023. As part of Embracer Group’s
restructuring, it was decided, among other things, that
42%
39%
7%
10%
2%1% Number of
Companies by
Size
Pieces Interactive in Skövde would be closed down three
months after the launch of the game Alone in the Dark. In June 2024, Sideline Labs, with Gold Town Games
as the largest owner, was declared bankrupt. Flamebait
Games in Skövde, after ten years of game development
and the successful launch of Passpartout 2: The Lost Artist ,
decided to close the studio for good. In July 2023, Kinda Brave Publishing with its subsidiary
studios went bankrupt. The bankruptcy estate was later
acquired by new owners to form the now publicly listed
Kinda Brave Entertainment Group.
Paving Ways to the Games Industry
At the beginning of 2024, the Swedish Games Industry
launched the report Paving Ways to the Games Indus-
try . The report identifies three overarching challenges
that can arise on the path into the Swedish games
industry. The three main areas are categorised as:
Skills – The need to validate, match and complement
the existing skills of people with experience from other
countries and industries.
Barriers – Includes visible and invisible barriers such
as lack of language skills, cultural clashes, lack of
networks, discrimination and various bureaucratic
obstacles such as rules on residence permits, social
security numbers and work permits.
Awareness – Many people are unaware of the
game industry as a potential career opportunity.
This includes individuals and organisations that
support people on their journey to work.
An example from the report is when the Malmö-
based studio Sharkmob offered staff from their
Ukrainian partner company employment in Swe-
den after the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.
Through the Temporary Protection Directive, the
newly arrived and newly employed Ukrainians
were able to start working immediately, but faced
several other bureaucratic obstacles, such as
problems acquiring social security numbers and
work permits. The full report is available at:
dataspelsbranschen.se/hllbarhetsrapporter

21
Largest Companies
Company Net Sales M EUR Net Sales M EUR
2023/2024
1 King
665
2 Mojang 351
3 Paradox Interactive 231
4 Toca Boca 140
5 EA DICE 138
6 G5 Entertainment 115
7 Exertis Ztorm 98
8 Avalanche Studios Group 92
9 Embracer Group 90
10 Ubisoft Entertainment 84
Swedish Revenue in M EUR
Company
Employees
working
in Sweden 2023/2024
1 Ubisoft Entertainment
765
2 King 714
3 EA DICE 677
4 Embracer Group 538
5 Avalanche Studios Group 476
6 Paradox Interactive 454
7 Sharkmob 357
8 Embark Studios 297
9 Mojang 210
10 Toca Boca 188
*The key figures for revenue are from the last reported fiscal year starting in 2023. The key figures for employees from Embracer Group, EA DICE, King, Toca Boca and
Paradox Interactive are from their last reporting period. Others were confirmed with the respective companies in September and October 2024. All are reported at
group level in Sweden.
Employees in Sweden
A majority of the companies showed positive
results, 60 companies reported a profit of more
than a million SEK and 126 companies had ten
or more employees. Only the net sales of compa-
nies registered in Sweden are included below.
The chapter Swedish Game Companies Around the
Globe provides a list of the global revenue of the
largest Swedish companies.
More companies are growing. Nine companies reported
revenues over SEK 1 billion (EUR 87 million), and 19 companies
had more than 100 employees. 43 companies had a revenue
of more than SEK 10 million.
Mana Brigade –
Blackforge:
A Smithing
Adventure
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

22
In 2023, the Swedish games industry grew in terms of the
number of employees, including the number of women.
In total, 2,150 women were employed in Swedish game
companies in 2023, representing 23.7% of all employees.
This is an increase of 173 women, 9%, compared to 2022.
INCLUSION AND GENDER DISTRIBUTION
Inclusion and
Gender Distribution
2,150
1,977
1,755
1,410
1,226
1,036
849
643
573
516
2021 20222023
2020
2019
2018
2016 2017
2014 2015
Women Employed in the
Swedish Game Industry
In 2023, there were more women working with games
than men in the industry ten years prior. Of the 644
people who joined the industry during the year, 27%
were women, a year-on-year growth of 9% from 2022.
Despite the increase in numbers, continued active re-
cruitment efforts are needed to achieve a more gender-
equal industry in an otherwise male- dominated sector.
Most of the women work at the larger companies in
the industry. This year’s data shows a minor increase in the pro-
portion of women compared to previous years. In the
margins, there is a decrease in the share of men and
an increase in the share of people in a third category. Analysing gender diversity in Swedish companies in-
volves several challenges. Listed companies, which have a higher obligation to provide transparent statis-
tics, represent only a minority proportion of employees
in Sweden. For smaller companies, there is no require-
ment to report gender distribution in the annual report.
In these cases, data relies on the companies’ commu-
nication or data from previous years. This means that
the proportion of men in the sector is probably slightly
over-reported. To the extent that data has been availa-
ble, gender distribution is based on identity according
to how each company reports their data. Some companies report a third category in their gen-
der breakdown in their annual reports, sometimes as
explicitly non-binary, and sometimes under another de-
signation. Among the Swedish companies that re por ted
this figure, the share that did not indicate gender as

23
• All In was a project that ran from May 2023 to
June 2024 led by Science Park Skövde and funded
by Vinnova’s investment in development projects
in incubators. Together with other game incuba-
tors in the country, the project mapped obstacles
and challenges faced by non-binary and female
game entrepreneurs. The project resulted in a
toolkit with concrete methods that are expected
to contribute to an increased influx of female and
non-binary entrepreneurs as well as increased
well-being and perseverance of those who have
already begun their startup journey.
• DONNA is an interest group based at the University
of Skövde that has been working on gender equality
issues in game development and game education
since 2011. In conjunction with the Sweden Game
Conference 2024, the DONNA DAY mini-conference
was held for the eighth consecutive year, and app-
oximately a hundred women and transgender peo-
ple from game education programmes were able
to meet peers and mentors from the industry.
• Equal Play is a network with roots in East Sweden
Game that promotes diversity and inclusion in the
regional games industry. This is done by spread-
ing knowledge and organising separatist and open
events for everyone interested in game develop –
ment. In 2024, co-founder Magdalena Annell won
a prize for her initiative and was awarded ESG’s
annual scholarship for inclusion in the games
industry.
• In the autumn of 2023, the first edition of
Arctic
Game Dev was held in Umeå where Female
Meetup was on the agenda. The meetup in Umeå
was the sixth in the series and focused on creating
a safe and inclusive platform for underrepresented
groups in the games industry. Participants were
given the opportunity to share their experiences,
make their voices heard and discuss successes
and challenges in the games industry.
• Game Dev Force was founded in early 2019 to unite
different initiatives within Sweden that aim to create
a more inclusive and diverse game industry. In
July 2024, the fifth edition of Valkyrie Game Jam, a
gender- separatist game developer event, was organ-
ised in northern Sweden.
• The Game Empowerment Movement (GEM) is a
local initiative that aims to support a gender-equal
and inclusive game industry in Skåne and Blekinge.
The initiative organises an annual GEM Week in con-
junction with the International Women’s Day, focus-
ing on DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) topics
in the games industry. For the second consecutive
year, GEM also organised a mentoring programme
for women and transgender people.
• In the summer of 2024, PlaygroundSquad organ-
ised its Game Developer Camp for the second
year in a row for girls, transgender and non-binary
people aged 13–17 with an interest in game devel-
opment. At the camp, young people get a basic over-
view of what artists, designers and programmers
do. In addition, participants had the opportunity to
develop their own game ideas with lecturers and
tutors from the games industry.
• Women in Games is an international non-profit
organisation with the goal of combating discrimina-
tion in the game industry and gaming community.
The organisation has grassroots around the world
and consists of companies, members and ambassa-
dors, several of which in Sweden. The global virtual
one-day conference Women in Games celebrated
its 20th anniversary during the autumn of 2024.
• Founded in 2018, WINGS invests in indie games
developed by companies where women and people
of marginalised gender identities hold key posi-
tions. In 2024, WINGS partnered with a number
of game developer awards to recognise and cele-
brate games created by women and transgender
people. At the end of May 2024 in Malmö, WINGS
organised a mentors’ fika where several inspiring
guests from the game industry were invited, creat –
ing a meeting spot for underrepresented groups.
Initiatives in the Industry
Speldosa
Interactive –
Project
Shoreline
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

24 INKLUDERING OCH KÖNSFÖRDELNING
male or female was 2% in 2023, a slight increase compa-
red to previous years. However, this is a comparative
figure that is probably still underreported. In the survey
The South Swedish Game Development Industry 2024
(Game Habitat) 3% of respondents indicated that they
are non-binary when asked about gender, and 2.8% did
not want to answer the question. While the figures can never be interpreted as exact,
they paint a clearer picture of the evolving industry. The
work of administering underrepresented groups and
providing space in education and at work continues.
This is largely thanks to non-profit initiatives and move-
ments working to promote inclusion, gender equality,
diversity and tolerance in educational institutions, game
culture and workplaces. Information on such initiatives
can be found on the previous page.
Some Key Figures
• 52 companies have equal gender distribution or
consist of more women than men, compared to 51
the previous year. Most are micro-companies, but
Raw Fury and Frame Break stand out in this group.
• 135 companies have a higher percentage of women
than average, with at least 23% women employed.
Together they have a revenue of almost SEK 25
billion.
• 112 companies with more than one employee consist
only of men; the largest of these companies has 17
employees.
King & Swedish Games
Industry Scholarship
In 2024, King and The Swedish Games Industry
ran a nine-month mentorship programme with
activities for women and non-binary people inte-
rested in a career in game development. The
group consists of 27 people aged between 18 and
29, half of whom have previous experience in
game development and half of whom have no
experience. The participants were given an oppor-
tunity to deepen their knowledge and broaden
their network within the Swedish games industry
through mentoring, masterclasses and events.
The programme started with an introductory
course in game development in collaboration
with FCV Sweden for the mentees with no previ-
ous experience, and offered trips to the Nordic
Game Conference in Malmö, Gamescom in
Cologne and For Devs in Stockholm. The focus has
been on networking with the aim of participants
starting or continuing their journeys in the games
industry after the end of the programme.
Wishfully Studios – Planet of Lana King – Candy Crush Saga

25
INDUSTRY VOICE PAULA INGVAR
General Manager of Candy Crush Saga at King
‘As a mentor, you areyour mentee’s biggest
supporter, but at the
same time you need to be realistic and prepare them for the working life.’
Hi Paula, tell us about your role at King and your
path into the games industry?
As General Manager of Candy Crush Saga, I oversee the
game team for Candy Crush Saga across King. I’ve been
at King for almost ten years, in a variety of roles. I first
joined King in a central business performance role and
then had the opportunity to move to finance and then
into product. Before joining King, I was working as a
traffic engineer and had been a big fan of Candy Crush,
playing Candy Crush Soda Saga on my way to work. What
I didn’t realise was that there was so much opportu-
nity within the games industry and that a hobby could
evolve into a professional pathway. A big reason behind
my happiness at work is that I feel connected to King
through the people I work with and our shared values.
What does good mentorship look like? How can one
be a good mentor to someone who is new to the
games industry?
When becoming a mentor, you are building a relation-
ship with your mentee. Your focus as a mentor should
be on fulfilling your mentee’s goals. As a mentor, your
primary role is to provide guidance, offering your expe-
rience, insights, and sometimes your specific skills to
support their development. To be able to manage that
you should be curious and be a good listener. Some-
times that also means to read between the lines and see beyond what the mentee is telling you. It is impor-
tant to set the right expectations. As a mentor, you are
your mentee’s biggest supporter, but at the same time
you need to be realistic and prepare them for the work-
ing life. Several King mentors have said that mentoring
is as much of a learning experience for them as they of-
ten start reflecting on how they can develop their own
role in the industry.
You run the ‘King & Swedish Games Industry Schol-
arship’ where 27 mentees spend a year learning
more about the games industry. Tell us about the
background of this project.
Yes, while our players are on a mission to top the lea-
derboard, King is on its own mission to improve the
representation of historically underrepresented groups
in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and
mathematics) careers, within the tech and games indus –
tries in particular. We’re doing this through supporting
charitable organisations and helping them engage with
local communities. Together with the Swedish Games
Industry, we are offering scholarships for women and
non-binary people who want to start a career in game
development. The scholars will complete a bespoke
nine-month program which includes mentoring from
King experts, access to events, and masterclasses from
employees at King.
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

26 COMPANY GROUPS AND THE STOCK EXCHANGE
Despite challenges in the global economy and on the
stock market, Sweden remains a strong country for
listed game companies, many of which report a high
level of expertise in game development.
Company Groups and
the Stock Exchange
Among the Swedish listed companies in game develop-
ment, a large part of the assets are in foreign compa-
nies controlled through a Swedish group parent. This
is the case with Embracer Group, Stillfront Group and
Enad Global 7, which together consisted of over 200
companies through their groups, the majority of which
were based outside Sweden. Examples of game studios
owned by a Swedish listed group parent include War-
horse Studios (Embracer through Plaion), Ninja Kiwi
(Modern Times Group) and Singularity 6 (Enad Global 7
through Daybreak Games). More on this in the chapter
Swedish Game Companies Around the World.
Restructuring and
the Hunt for Profitability
In November 2024, 23 Swedish game companies were
listed on the Swedish stock market. The latest addition,
Kinda Brave Entertainment, was listed on 3 June 2024.
Wicket Gaming changed its name to edyoutec in Novem –
ber 2023. Within the listed companies and groups, a number of
restructurings have taken place over the past year in
line with the strategies communicated in 2022 and early
2023. Paradox Interactive has reorganised to focus on
developing its core business. In 2024, Thunderful Group
divested parts of its games, toys and distribution busi –
nesses to Bergsala NDP and sold the German publisher
Headup Games, which was acquired in early 2021. Goodbye Kansas, which produces visual effects for
film and digital games, among other things, restructured
large parts of its operations during the year. Adventure
Box announced in 2024 that it had agreed to a reverse
takeover of the gambling company Lion Gaming Group,
and has thus been removed from the list of game com-
panies. In order to stabilise the group’s finances and
to phase out operations in Russia, Embracer Group
divested a number of companies, including selling parts
Frame Break –
Lightyear Frontier

27
Swedish Listed Companies
CompanyYear of (first)
listing Listed onRevenue 2023,
MEUR
Beyond Frames Entertainment AB 2018Spotlight Stock Market 12
Edyoutec AB 2021Spotlight Stock Market 2
Embracer Group AB 2016OMX Stockholm Large Cap 3,678
Enad Global 7 AB 2017Nasdaq Stockholm Small Cap 178
Fragbite Group AB 2021Nasdaq First North Growth Market 21
G5 Entertainment AB 2006OMX Stockholm Mid Cap 115
Game Chest Group AB 2021Nordic SME 1
Gold Town Games AB 2016Nordic SME 1
Goodbye Kansas Group AB 2017Nasdaq First North Growth Market 4
Jumpgate AB 2016Nordic SME 5
Kinda Brave Entertainment 2024Nasdaq First North Growth Market 0
MAG Interactive AB 2017Nasdaq First North Growth Market 32
Maximum Entertainment AB 2018Nasdaq First North Growth Market 100
MindArk PE AB 2023Spotlight Stock Market 11
Modern Times Group MTG AB 1999Nasdaq Stockholm Large Cap 508
Paradox Interactive AB 2016Nasdaq First North Growth Market 230
Qiiwi Games AB 2017Nasdaq First North Growth Market 2
Safe Lane Gaming AB 2010Nordic SME 3
Sozap AB 2021Nasdaq First North Growth Market 1
Star Vault AB 2007Nordic SME 1
Starbreeze AB 2000Nasdaq Stockholm Small Cap 55
Stillfront Group AB 2015OMX Stockholm Mid Cap 608
Thunderful Group AB 2020Nasdaq First North Growth Market 35
Glowfish Games – Foxo
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

28 COMPANY GROUPS AND THE STOCK EXCHANGE
of Saber Interactive back to one of the founders. Gear-
box Entertainment was sold to Take-Two Interactive
and Shiver Entertainment was sold to Nintendo. In 2023, the total revenue of the listed companies
amounted to SEK 64.3 billion (EUR 5.6B), an increase
of SEK 3.5 billion from the previous year. Since 2019,
revenue has increased six-fold. Seven of the 23 compa-
nies had a revenue of over SEK 1 billion, with Embracer
Group single-handedly accounting for two-thirds of the
total revenue of listed companies with SEK 42.2 billion. The total market capitalisation in December 2023
was SEK 79.3 billion (EUR 6,9B), significantly lower than
the previous year (just under SEK 123.7 billion). With
the exception of Beyond Frames, which made a strong
recovery to its previous year, all listed game companies
saw only a marginal increase or a decrease in market
capitalisation during 2023.
Prioritising Sustainability
The publicly traded Swedish companies conduct active
sustainability work under the ESG framework (Environ-
mental, Social & Governance) and report their work on
sustainability issues annually. The sustainability reports
published in 2024 show a commitment to diversity, gender equality, consumer protection and climate.
More and more companies are measuring the climate
impact of their entire value chain, including the user
stage, with science-based emission reduction targets.
Both Embra
cer Group and Stillfront Group have also
had their targets approved by the Science Based Targets
initiative (SBTi). In addition to the largest companies, several medium-
sized companies report on their sustainability efforts,
and many are working in different ways to reduce their
carbon footprint internally while participating in various
broader industry-wide sustainability initiatives.
Adjacent Industry
In addition to the companies with activities in game
development, the Swedish stock exchange also lists
M.O.B.A. Network, a service provider to the gaming
and e-sports industry, Verve Group (formerly Media
and Games Invest), which has been headquartered
in Sweden since 2023 and has a background in the
games industry, and Fractal Gaming, which manufac-
tures hardware with a focus on gaming computers.
Finnish game developer Nitro Games is also listed on
the Swedish stock exchange.
Aurora Punks – Hooja (from trailer by Brikk)

29
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024
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30
Game studios can be found in all Swedish regions, from
Skåne to Norrbotten.
GAME DEVELOPER MAP – SWEDEN
Game Developer Map – Sweden
Stockholm is still by far the largest region in terms of
the number of companies and employees, but most
companies are evenly distributed across the rest of the
country in proportion to the population, with a clear
bias towards cities with some form of incubator or clus-
ter offering support or business development. The majority of companies located in clusters are
generally relatively small and newly started, resulting
in lower turnover and fewer employees. Five regions
with larger and established clusters are listed in the
table. All of the hubs have seen an increase in the num-
ber of companies. In some newly started companies
there are more employees than listed, as their key fig-
ures have yet to be reported and registered. The game developer map primarily lists the Swedish
limited companies that are active in the game industry
and where in the country they are located, but some
active companies in other corporate forms are also
included in the list. Most of the companies in the list
are small (87,5%) with less than 10 employees. Note that the statistics are based on the number of
full-time positions reported in the companies' annual
reports. The total number of people working with game
development in each location should be considered
to be significantly higher. In addition, the figures for
employees in locations other than the head office have
been adjusted as far as possible.
Thunderful –
SteamWorld Build

31
 1
2
3 4
5
6
7 8
9
10
11
13 14
16
21 20
15
17
18
19
12
The purpose of the map is to illustrate, as accurately
as possible, where in the country game development
takes place and which companies are behind it. Thus
we have used studio names rather than company
names when such information was available. For the
same reason, administrative company divisions are
generally not included in the map.
Is your company missing from the map? Please contact us
with a description.
Regional hubs No.

Companies No.

Employees
Stockholm 4395,816
Västerbotten and Norrbotten 85270
Skåne and Blekinge 1681,767
Västra Götaland 155779
Östergötland 59111
Arctic Game is active in Västerbotten
and Norrbotten. Game Habitat and
Gameport work together with compa-
nies in Skåne and Blekinge. Sweden
Game Arena works with Västra Göta-
land and East Sweden Game is active
in Östergötland.
Thunderful –
SteamWorld Build
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

32 GAME DEVELOPER MAP – SWEDEN
NORRBOTTEN  1
Boden
5 Fortress AB
921 Studios AB
CF Digital AB
FCV Sverige AB
House of How Games Sweden AB
Less is More
Miracle Bread AB
Northify AB
October8 AB
Previous AB
Raincoat Republic
Shima Solutions AB
Sparrowland Aktiebolag
Synical Studios AB
The Notlanders AB
TNTX in Boden AB
Tyrant Films AB
ViktorArt AB
Wanderword i Sverige AB
Kalix
eelDev AB
Kiruna
SetShape Studio AB
Luleå
Blamorama Games AB
Saltlight studio
Volatile Frameworks AB
Piteå
Baldheads Creative AB
Digital Awakening AB
Frozen North Studios AB
Lazer Wolf Studios AB
VÄSTERBOTTEN  2
Skellefteå
Albin Björklund
Ballistic Pork AB
Cold Sector AB
Creative Crowd AB
DANIEL LEHTO AB
Giantsbane AB
Gold Town Games
Gold Town Games AB
Grand Pike AB
Gumlin Games AB
Izanami Workshop
Jordi Creations AB
Metropolis AB
Mind Detonator AB
Nordsken Handlingskraft AB
NORTH KINGDOM DESIGN &
COMMUNICATION AB
Polysoup
Pregame AB
RNI Games AB
Silent Factory AB
Some Giants North AB
Spinoff Games AB
Streiff Studio AB
Tarvalley
Throw away company AB
Tricky Wispers AB Triolith Games AB
Vavel Games AB
Yalts AB
Umeå
Acino AB
Allscope AB
Arctic Game Developers Alliance AB
Blast Bit Enterprises AB
Bmetrix Sweden AB
Cassius Creative AB
Contentasoft AB
Crypto Rouge Games
David Marquardt Studios AB
Friendly Mountain AB
Frostspektrum Interactive AB
Game Boost Sweden AB
Greyling Invest AB
JPR Ventures AB
Kibix AB
Mattias Wiking Development AB
Morningdew Media AB
Moxville AB
nostop horses AB
Oddgames Umeå
ORYX SIMULATIONS VERKLIGHETS-
MODELLERI SVERIGE A
OTC studio AB
Parrexion Games AB
RankOne Global AB
Rusty Pug Entertainment AB
Sam & Frida AB
Shaggy Dog Studios AB
The Fine Arc Nordic AB
Turborilla AB
TWO 58 PRODUCTIONS AB
Wayfinder Games AB
Windup Games AB
Vindeln
Twoorb Studios AB VÄSTERNORRLAND 3
Kramfors
Duck Tape AB
Grey Tower AB
White Warlock AB
Örnsköldsvik
Northern Ice Handelsbolag
WHYMAC AB
Sundsvall
A bit ago AB
AtomicElbow AB
Caeiro AB
Corncrow Games AB
Datacraft Holding AB
Good Decision AB
Gr IT AB
KONUNGER GAMES AB
Mixxus Studio
Molntuss Spel AB
Moolecaps AB
Neozoo Creative
Romeo Invest AB
Saber Interactive Sweden
SideQuest Sweden AB
Simtarget Timrå
Edym Pixels
JÄMTLAND  4
Åre
Hindelid Development AB
Östersund
GleeMill AB
JN Programutveckling AB
GÄVLEBORG  5
Bollnäs
FulKult
Gagnef
Virtual Beasts AB
Gävle
Early Morning Studio AB
Scuttled Tech AB
Ljusdal
Moon Flame Games
DALARNA  6
Borlänge
Good Old Pixel AB
Quiz Anytime AB
Zoikum Games Aktiebolag
Falun
Aktiebolaget Adit Studios
Campground Interactive AB
Giron Software AB
Kolesterol Cät Interactive AB
North Concept ArtStudio AB
TENSION technology AB
The New Branch AB
Wogglawooh Entertainment AB
Hedemora
Clifftop Games AB
Killmonday Games AB
Malung-Sälen
North Modding Company AB
REGION UPPSALA 7
Enköping
Rennert Games AB
Yoger Games AB
Håbo
aMASE AB
Tiny Nomads AB
Knivsta
Outlean AB
Studio Knick-Knack AB
Sala
Everlight Studio AB Uppsala
Aegik AB
BigMood AB
Bitfix AB
Chizu AB
Dinomite Games
Doctor Entertainment AB
edyoutec AB
Ember Trail
Epic Games
Frojo Apps AB
GraphN AB
Javxa
Kinda Brave Entertainment Group AB
Knifes AB
Lialum AB
Lost Sock Studio AB
MachineGames Sweden AB
Matematikspel i Uppsala Aktiebolag
Nena Innovation AB
Neon Giant AB
Nexile AB
Odens Mind Games AB
Playtank
Red Cabin Games AB
Semiwork Studios AB
Shanyar Studio AB
Think First AB
Tretton Adam AB
Vendel Studios AB
VisualDreams AB
Vorto Gaming AB
YemSoft AB
VÄSTMANLAND  8
Köping
LS Entertainment AB
Skinnskatteberg
Bumble Byte AB
Surahammar
Walrus Game Studios AB
Västerås
Brotir AB
BulletHell Studios AB
VÄRMLAND 9
Forshaga
Insanto Studios AB
Hammarö
Mystik AB
Karlstad
Agera Games AB
Clear River Games AB
Embracer Group AB
Firma Noah Molteberg Lundén
Forgebyte Studio AB
Frostglade AB
Mirage Game Studios AB
NetherMoon Game Studio AB
NFG Nordic Forest Games AB
Nimble Giant Sweden
Nine Lives Game Studio
Nuttery Entertainment AB

33
Continues on the next page
Omniscapes Interactive AB
Rainbow Road AB
Somatoform AB
Studio Malosi AB
Team Velocita AB
Kil
Philosophic Games
Sunne
Shaping Games AB
REGION ÖREBRO  10
Degerfors
ORBMIT Productions AB
Hallsberg
vibynary Aktiebolag
Lindesberg
AC GAMES AB
Nora
Toasty Leaf AB
Örebro
DANJO CREATIVE AB
Elder Grounds AB
LOYD Studios AB
NBrigade Music AB
Senior Studios AB
Shemshem Design AB
SÖDERMANLAND  11
Eskilstuna
AL Spelutveckling AB
anananas studio AB
AppsAlliance AB
DVapps AB
MythoLogic Interactive AB
Todys Games AB
Nyköping
SOZAP
Sysiac games AB
Strängnäs
Hati Hati Games AB
Motvind Studios AB
Unordinal AB
Vanilla Sky Productions AB
REGION STOCKHOLM  12
Botkyrka
Beadhead Games AB
Crackshell AB
ngine technologies AB
Orion Eunix AB
Stringent Ljud AB
Danderyd
bNosy AB
Planeshift Interactive AB
Solvarg AB
Tinto Consulting AB
Ekerö
chillbro studios AB
Hypr10 AB
Infinite Entertainment Stock –
holm AB
Playstack AB
Haninge
Counterspell AB
Gamatron AB
Odensity Games AB
Pretty Fly Games AB
Rain of Reflections AB
Huddinge
Bright Gambit AB
Holmgång AB
Inzanity AB
Johra AB
Moon Mode AB
Razzleberries AB
Strawberry Hill AB
Typosaurus AB
Järfälla
Ashkan Namousi AB
Cresthelm studios AB
Merrybrain AB
Smojo AB
Unleash the Giraffe AB
Lidingö
Bjuret AB
Mount West Music AB
My Left Head Entertainment AB
PIXEL TALES AB
The Froghouse AB
Wildlife Studios Sweden AB
Nacka
2Play Studios AB
Colin Lane Games AB
Dejan Dimic AB
Domoore AB
Game Advisor Sweden AB
Insert Coin AB
Kroonatus AB
LeadTurn Gaming AB
Liquid Swords AB
LootLocker AB
Paperplay Games AB
Polygongruvan AB
Puzzlebox Studios AB
Re-koup AB
Shellander Games AB
Valiant Game Studio AB
Norrtälje
Argent Realms AB
Dovora Interactive AB
Space Plunge AB
Sigtuna
25Hours Games
Svantech Studios AB
Usurpator AB
Södertälje
Diffident Games AB
JN Interactive AB Sollentuna
Almost Fantastic AB
Bluell AB
Short Infinity AB
Ullbors Illustrations AB
Vishindo AB
Solna
BBS Games AB
BitBear AB
Black Voyage Games AB
Christian Nordgren AB
Fargo Games AB
FunGI AB
Ilbiz Studio AB
Jona Marklund AB
LERP AB
Lilla Fezen AB
Manaii World
Ringtail Interactive
Sharcoal Studios AB
Sleipner Games AB
Solutions Skövde AB
ToeDev AB
TRB Studio AB
Stockholm
10 Chambers AB
A Small Game AB
Abrahamsson Flamm AB
Acegikmo AB
ActFirst Games AB
Advenimus AB
Aktiebolaget Fula Fisken
Amplifier Game Invest
Antler Interactive AB
anton.games AB
Aonic AB
Archipelago Games AB
Arcmill AB
Arrowhead Games
art by rens AB
Ashes & Diamonds Entertainment AB
Atlantic Games AB
Atlantika Interactive AB
Aurora Punks
Aurora Punks AB
Avalanche Studios Group
Axolot Games AB
Barnacles Studio AB
Battlecamp AB
Bewildermill AB
Beyond Frames Enter-
tainment AB (publ)
Björkman Consulting Group AB
Blackfox Studios AB
Blastronaut AB
BloodMoon Studios
Bodbacka:Boom AB
Book of travel AB
Brikk Animation AB
Brillianton AB
Burning Planet Digital AB
Caketown Interactive AB
Challenge GG AB
Chessiverse AB
Chief Rebel AB
Code Club AB
Coffee Stain North AB
Cold Pixel AB
Collecting Smiles AB
Conifer Games Sweden filial Cortopia AB
Cosmico AB
Coulianos Studio AB
Creation Zero Point Holding AB
Cult of the North AB
Dagg AI AB
Daltitten AB
Dark Riviera AB
Dashy Studios AB
Decaying Games AB
Define Reality AB
Delit AB
Denove Service AB
Devm Games AB
Diax Game AB
Digiai AB
Digital Exception Sthlm AB
DIVR Sweden AB
DorDor AB
DualNorth AB
EA Dice
Effsee AB
Ekvall Games Sweden AB
Elda Entertainment AB
Eldring Games AB
Elemental Games AB
Embark Studios AB
Enad Global 7 AB
Enember Studios AB
Envar Games AB
Epic Games
Evergreen IT AB
Exertis Ztorm AB
ExoCorp AB
Expansive Worlds AB
Experiment 101 AB
Expertise Games Group Stockholm AB
Fablebit AB
Fast Travel Games AB
Fatshark
FeWes AB
Filimundus AB
Filmic Studios AB
FJRD Interactive
Flarie AB
Flashe Gaming Group AB
Fragbite Group AB
Fredtob Games AB
Frever AB
Friendly Foe Games AB
FunRock Development AB
Fury Studios AB
Fuyu Games AB
G5 Entertainment AB
Gambit Technologies AB
Game Chest group AB
GAME-HOSTING GH AB
Gamersgate AB
Gamescan Stockholm Studios AB
GeoGuessr AB
Ghetto Blaster AB
Glorious Games Group AB
Go Maddox Interactive AB
Goals AB
Goodbye Kansas
Grindstone Interactive AB
Gro Play Digital AB
GURATRON Industries AB
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

34 GAME DEVELOPER MAP – SWEDEN
Hamlab AB
Hängagubbe studio AB
Haraflax AB
Hatrabbit AB
Hazelight
Hitbox Games AB
HVNT Entertainment AB
Hyperspeed Entertainment AB
Ichigoichie AB
IdaP Studios AB
Idun Interactive AB
IG Consulting AB
Ilo Games AB
Infima Games
IORAMA AB
Jämmerdal Games AB
Jhony Ljungstedt AB
JO Johansson Film & L Lindbom AB
Jonas Levin AB
Jopter Interactive AB
Karl Johannisson AB
Kavalri Games AB
Keepsake Games AB
Kickflip Digital AB
King
Landfall Games AB
Legendo Entertainment AB
Lejongrejer AB Lekis AB
Level Stars AB
Lionbite AB
LIQUID MEDIA AB
Maadwalk Games AB
MAG Interactive
Maximum Entertainment AB
Med Svärd AB
Megadib AB
Mentalytics AB
Mibi Games AB
Midjiwan AB
Might and Delight AB
Millionth Line AB
Minoan Studios AB
Miso Games AB
Modoyo AB
Mojang AB
Moon Rover AB
Moreish Games AB
MTG
MuddyPixel AB
Mudpike AB
Nampa Design AB
Neat Corporation
Neon Artery AB
Neuston AB
New Galaxy Games Sweden AB
Nibiru Software AB
NL Productions AB
NMBRS Production AB
Noid Games AB Nørdlight Games AB
Northerner Games AB
Nr89 Studios AB
Odd Raven Studios AB
Off-Leash Interactive AB
Omino Games AB
Osivvi AB
Oxeye Game Studio AB
P Studios AB
Palabit AB
Paradox Interactive
Perfect Random AB
Petter Bergmar AB
PLAYCOM GAME DESIGN AB
Pley AB
Plotagon Production AB
Polarbit AB
Polarcade AB
POLE POSITION PRODUCTION
AKTIEBOLAG
Portningsbolaget Sverige Aktie-
bolag
POTEMKIN AB
Pounce Light AB
Pusselbit Games AB
Puzzle Mill AB
QDE Studio AB
Quel Solaar AB
Rabbits Foot Studios
RAKETSPEL INTERAKTIVA PRO-
DUKTIONER AB
Rapix Games AB Raw Fury AB
Really Interactive AB
Red Cup Games AB
Refold AB
Regius Group AB
Remedy Entertainment Sweden AB
Reset Media AB
Resolution Games
Rift Consulting AB
Rightsized Games AB
RimeLime AB
Rock A Role Games AB
Roro AB
Rovio Sweden AB
Rowil AB
Rymdfall AB
Safe Lane Gaming AB
Sagoverse AB
Schmugan AB
Scion Studios AB
Search And Grow
Sequel Games AB
Shelter Games AB
Short Circuit Studios AB
Sidres AB
Simway AB
Sleeper Cell AB
Snowprint Studios AB
Solid Studios Creative Lab AB
Source Empire AB
Spelcell AB
Spelkraft Sthlm AB
Continued from previous page
Massive Entertainment – Avatar; Frontiers of Pandora

35
Spellscaper AB
Square Dreams AB
STAR STABLE ENTERTAINMENT AB
Starbreeze AB
Sticky Games STHLM AB
Stillfront Group AB
Stockholm VR Center AB
Stroboskop AB
Sutur AB
Svartskägg AB
Systemic Reaction AB
Tale Maker Productions STHLM AB
Tappily AB
Ternios AB
The Gang Sweden AB
The Outsiders
Thriving Ventures AB
Tiger & Kiwi AB
Toca Boca AB
Tomorroworld AB
Toppluva AB
TROISDIM AKTIEBOLAG
Trollheim Tveir AB
True Ending AB
TTK Games AB
Ubisoft
Unity Technologies Sweden AB
Varia Entertainment AB
Vidunder Games AB
Villa Gorilla AB
Vinternatt Studio AB
Vobling AB
Warm Kitten AB
Wayfare Studio AB
Westre Games AB
Wild Games AB Wilnyl Games AB
Wings
Woodhill Interactive AB
wrlds technologies AB
Wrong Organ AB
Xpert Eleven AB
YanDesign AB
Ztar Games AB
Sundbyberg
Cognisim AB
Grannkampen AB
Green Leap Games AB
Novamitech AB
Pointless Games AB
Simple Magic Studios AB
White Imp Games AB
Täby
Aktiebolaget Seatribe
Frojo Investment AB
Kalla frestelser AB
NIALBE AB
Polyregular Studios AB
QA Design AB
Qanyou AB
Roden Games AB
Soundkids AB
Synthetic Mind AB
Tealbit AB
Warpzone Studios AB
Yangmei Studios AB
Tyresö
Lilla Bas AB
Oort Cloud AB 6LVWD3RWDWLV$%
6SHODJRQ$%
:\QQH7HFKQRORJ\$%
Upplands Väsby
Fredaikis AB
RobTop Games AB
Upplands-Bro
Bambino Games AB
Vallentuna
Delayed Again AB
Pixeldiet Entertainment AB
Värmdö
Blue Scarab Entertainment AB
Elias Software
Good Night Brave Warrior AB
IMGNRY International AB
Knowledgegrind Sweden AB
Massive Shapes AB
Spelkultur i Sverige AB
Österåker
Frozen Dev AB
SLS Global AB
ÖSTERGÖTLAND  13
Boxholm
IONEO AB
Linköping
Adly AB Aftnareld AB
Another Game Sweden AB
Avokodo Studios AB
Beartwigs AB
BridgeCo AB
Catalope Games AB
Doublecap AB
Graewolv AB
Hihat Studios Aktiebolag
Holmcom AB
Incredible Concepts of Sweden AB
Irrbloss AB
Laxbeam AB
Liopep AB
Lurkit AB
Lutra Interactive AB
Magneticlake AB
Majewski Holding AB
Martin Magni AB
Mighty Magpie AB
Miltonic Games AB
My Virtual Classroom AB
Pixleon AB
Power Challenge AB
Pugstorm AB
Red Nerv AB
Resolution Games
Screenput AB
Simplygon studios
SocAli Socialpeda-
gogiska Verktyg AB
Continues on the next page
Kavalri Games – Equestrian the Game
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

36 GAME DEVELOPER MAP – SWEDEN
Strategy Mill AB
Therese Kristoffer Publishing AB
VISIARC Inclusive Design AB
Mjölby
Jidindi AB
Motala
Campcreation AB
Norrköping
AmberWing AB
Ark Island Studio AB
Borrowed Soul Studio AB
Caspian Interactive
Correcture Games AB
Endjui Productions AB
Gamesclub International AB
GOES International AB
Molndust Interactive AB
One Potato Kingdom AB
Perpetuum Media Sverige AB
Silkworm
Skyfox Interactive AB
SONDIM
Stonetech Games
TOMLIN STUDIO AB
Vadstena
Palebits AB
VÄSTRA GÖTALAND  14
Ale
1337 Game Design AB
Alingsås
Qiiwi Games AB
Stuck Studios AB
Whale Peak Games AB
Bollebygd
Rockheart Studios AB
Borås
Gigantic Duck AB
Manavind AB
Gothenburg
A Creative Endeavor AB
AB Cx3
Ampd AB
An Otter Team AB
Apskeppet AB
Atvis AB
Beardybird AB
Bitwave AB
Box Dragon AB
Bulbsort AB
Choofun Games AB
Coffee Stain Gbg AB
Craft Animations and Enter-
tainment AB
Creative Vault AB
Curiosa AB
Dennaton Games
Devkittens AB
9RYRLG0HGLD7HFKQRORJLHV$%
Mölndal
Ball Lightning AB
E Games Invest Nordic AB
GSP golf AB
Heyman Atelje & Verkstad AB
nornware AB
Oddiko AB
Pathos Interactive AB
Munkedal
Coilworks AB
Partille
Ciscal Holding AB
Moonhood AB
Skara
Alega & Qiiwi Learning AB
VaragtP Studios AB
Skövde
Agnar Thor Oskarsson Berglund
Angry Demon Studio AB
Aurora Arts AB
Coffee Stain Publishing AB
Coffee Stain Studios AB
Designlayout EGU AB
DoubleMoose Games AB
Draw Three Cards AB
Elmseld Interactive AB
Ember Paw Games AB
FRAME BREAK AB
Frostcore AB
GIBBET GAMES AB
Green Tile Digital AB
Iron Gate AB
JETEBRA Games
Knackelibang Productions AB
Let it roll AB
Ludosity AB
Nattland Interactive AB
Nuggets Entertainment AB
Palindrome Interactive AB
Pieces Interactive AB
Piktiv AB
Sandspire Interactive AB
Sonigon AB
Speldosa Interactive AB
Studio Downstairs
Stunlock Studios AB
Subfrost Interactive AB
Three Friends AB
Thunderful Group AB
Whirlybird Games AB
Windmill Game Invest
Stenungsund
Ace Maddox AB
Zapray Games AB
Strömstad
Creative AI Nordic AB
Tanum
Tenstar
Tibro
Pretty Broken Code AB
Trollhättan
ActiveQuiz Europe AB
Easy Trigger AB Odenity
Vänersborg
INI AB
Virtuverse AB
REGION JÖNKÖPING  15
Jönköping
Brandywise AB
Cuddle Monster AB
Hatokuma Games AB
Pigs Will Fly Studios AB
PrettyByte AB
Radical Sunset AB
Tranås
Head Coach Games AB
HALLAND  16
Falkenberg
Gellyberry Studios AB
Halmstad
Deadghost Interactive AB
Eagle games Sweden AB
Erik Svedäng AB
Striped Panda AB
Kungsbacka
Breaker Interactive AB
Nifly Apps AB
Oganon interactive AB
Snojken AB
KRONOBERG  17
Alvesta
Wadonk AB
Ljungby
Bläckfisk Förlag AB
Markaryd
Reality Park AB
Tingsryd
Spelkollektivet Sweden AB
Växjö
Arcade Mixtape AB
Mabozo AB
Triple Hex AB
Wildcore AB
Älmhult
Inntq AB
Visiontrick Media AB
REGION KALMAR  18
Hultsfred
Plink&Plonk Studio AB
Kalmar
Straw hat games AB
Nybro
Continued from previous page EA Gothenburg
El Huervo AB
Elden Pixels AB
FanLad AB
Feeble Minds AB
Friendbase AB
Fully Multiplayer AB
Game in Game AB
Glowfish Games AB
Greenblade Studios AB
Hello There
Hiber AB
Humla Games AB
inDirection Games AB
Insert Coin AB
int3 software AB
Itatake AB
ius innovation AB
just some games AB
Lavapotion AB
Lician Games AB
Lingon Studios AB
Lxip Games AB
MindArk
Mindforce Game Lab AB
Mistwave Interactive AB
Neckbolt AB
Oscar Makes Games AB
Outbreak Studios AB
Pax6 Games AB
Playcentric Studios AB
Radgivery AB
Räven Aktiebolag
Redbeet Interactive AB
River End Games AB
SkyGoblin AB
Soupmasters AB
South North Games AB
SteelRaven7 AB
Studio Far Out Games AB
Studio Northshade AB
The Fully Arcade AB
Thunderful Group AB
TinyHill AB
To the Sky AB
Uncloudy Labs AB
Warcry Interactive AB
Wereviz AB
Winteractive AB
Wishful Whale AB
Wishfully Studios AB
YCJY Games AB
Zcooly AB
Götene
Pronoia AB
Härryda
Electric Succubi AB
Mambo Jambo Studios AB
Kungälv
Brimstone Games AB
Dreamon Studios AB
Skill2Win Studios AB
Swarm Creations AB
Lidköping
Pixel Pointer Studios AB
Mellerud

37
Deadly Serious Media Sweden AB
GOTLAND  19
Eat Create Sleep AB
Glass Rock Gathering AB
Iterative Studios AB
Jumpgate AB
Photon Forge AB
Pixel Ferrets AB
Studio F15 AB
Tableflip Entertainment AB
Wognum Studios
BLEKINGE  20
Karlshamn
Black Tundra Productions AB
Dreamwalker Studios AB
Mana Brigade AB
Noumenon Games AB
Pretty Ugly AB
Slugware AB
Something We Made AB
Thunderful Group AB
Virtual Tree Design AB
Karlskrona
Blackdrop Interactive AB
Shatterplay Studio AB
Svavelstickan AB
Whacky Mole Studio AB
Ronneby
Activout AB
Kernel Iron AB
Nodbrim Interactive AB
Powersnake AB
SKÅNE  21
Burlöv
Happi Papi AB
Llama Lane AB
Pfanne AB
Spiddekauga Games AB
Eslöv
Digital kittens AB
MistByte AB
Pastille AB
Helsingborg
Aldgard Studio AB
BTR Goose AB
Decemberborn AB
Duckpond Interactive AB HARBOURS MOON AB
Localize Direct AB
Monsuta AB
Pixelbite AB
Shapefarm AB
Sjöberg Game Consulting AB
Hässleholm
Grenaa Games AB
KoniWorx Animation AB
Höganäs
KEP Games AB
Hörby
CroolBright AB
Höör
On Pixel Graphics AB
Kristianstad
JE Software Aktiebolag
Nordic Software for Entertainment
Landskrona
KFH Graphics AB
Urban Binary AB
Lund
Aroko Game Studio AB
Blackdoor AB
Bridgestars Technologies Sweden
AB
DAVID DARABIAN
Desperate Measures AB
Exiom's Corner
Illwinter Game Design AB
Imagine Games
Jitesoft AB
Junno Labs AB
Kakigori
Pengu Studios AB
Venturous
Wing It Games
Malmö
A Million Flies AB
Apog Labs
Art in Heart AB
Avalanche Studios Group
Behold Ventures
Bloom & Gloom Games AB
Broadside Games AB
Carry Castle AB
Chamo Games AB
Chimera Garden Games AB
Chromatic ink AB
Codeborn AB
Coffee Stain Coherence Sweden AB
Cross Reality International AB
Cult of the North Malmö
Dead Astronauts AB
DeadToast Entertainment AB
Dengu AB
Diatomic AB
Divine Robot AB
Dunderbit AB
EB Studio
Echo Entertainment AB
EXTRALIVES AB
Folded Fox
Frictional Games AB
Frogsong Studios AB
Gameflame
Gotterdammerung AB
Grapefrukt
Haderajan AB
Haenir Studio AB
Hazel Interval AB
Icehelm AB
Illusion Labs
Illusion Labs AB
Imaginative Ones AB
Infinite Mana Games AB
IO Interactive AB
Jacklin Game Consultancy AB
King
Learning Loop Sweden AB
LERIPA AB
Linbasta AB
Longhand Electric AB
Magnetic Games AB
Massive Entertainment –
a Ubisoft Studio
Mediocre AB
Ming Media AB
Monsoon Bit AB
MU Studios AB
Multiscription AB
Neon Noroshi AB
Neuron Burner AB
nevsram AB
Ninmark Soundworks AB
Nordic Game Resources AB
Nordic Game Ventures i Malmö AB
Nordic Stone Studio AB
Not My Jeans AB
On the Outskirts AB
Oskar Stålberg AB
Pixel Shade
ProCloud Media Invest AB
Psychic Sidekick AB
Rashidi Interactive AB
Rau Studios AB
Rennsport Sweden AB
Rubycone AB
Section 9 Interactive AB Sharkmob AB
She Was Such a Good Horse AB
Simogo AB
Snapbreak Games AB
Southend Interactive AB
Star Vault AB
Studio Hamlin AB
SWEDISH GAME DEVELOPMENT AB
Sydow Production AB
Tales & Dice AB
Tarsier Studios AB
The Sleeping Machine AB
Thunderful Group AB
Transmuted Games AB
Tuxedo Labs AB
Two Foot Productions AB
Undone Games AB
Velodrom AB
Vova Games AB
Vreski AB
WhatAreBirds AB
Work with Kuba AB
Simrishamn
Videocult Sweden AB
Sjöbo
AENY AB
Skurup
Spelmakare Jens Nilsson AB
Staffanstorp
VoDoo Studios
WhyKev AB
Svedala
Binary Peak AB
Tomelilla
Pixilated Production AB
Redgrim AB
Trancenders Media AB
Vellinge
Astelsie AB
Impact Unified AB
Primary Hive AB
Ystad
VisionPunk AB
Ängelholm
PMAbit AB
Sparrowland – The Tragedy at Deer Creek
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

38 SWEDISH GAME COMPANIES AROUND THE GLOBE
Since 2018, the number of Swedish-owned companies abroad has
increased exponentially as Swedish companies have invested in and
acquired studios, publishers and service providers around the world.
Swedish Game Companies
Around the Globe
In autumn 2024, there were a total of 218 Swedish- owned
game companies around the world, compared with 197
in October 2022. In 2023, total ownership was higher,
but over the past year, several large companies, especi –
ally the listed game companies, have restructured their
groups and concentrated operations, including by dives –
ting parts of their portfolios. At mid-year 2024, Embracer Group had divested just
over 100 companies from the group. A large number of
these were administrative entities, and a smaller num-
ber were studios in and outside Sweden. This type of restructuring is not a limited phenomenon, but a pat-
tern that can be seen in several companies over the
past year that have closed down or sold off various
international enterprises. The largest of the groups with foreign operations
is still Embracer Group with more than 60 game com-
panies, excluding the subsidiary groups in Asmodee,
which develops and distributes physical games, and
Dark Horse, which publishes comics. Game companies that are wholly or majority owned
by a Swedish parent company are present in at least
Company Group

Revenue
MEUR Employees
outside Sweden
2023/24
1 Embracer Group 3,67810,966
2 King 665–
3 Stillfront Group 6081,234
4 Modern Times Group MTG 5081,010
5 Mojang 351–
6 Paradox Interactive 230177
7 Enad Global 7 178635
8 Toca Boca 140–
9 EA DICE 138–
10 G5 Entertainment 115913
The largest Swedish registered companies with net sales from
subsidiaries. Employees in companies that are part of foreign-based
groups are not part of the statistics.
Largest Swedish Companies Globally
Agera Games –
TOSS

39
54 countries on five continents, a sign of the Swedish in-
dustry's palpable influence on the global games market. Together, Swedish-owned game companies employed
15,792 people in other countries in 2023. Of these em-
ployees, around 29.5% were women. As is typical of the statistics we present in this report,
the increase in the number of studios and employees
in Sweden is largely driven by organic growth, while the
increase abroad is mainly due to the acquisitions made
by Swedish investors and groups. This year we see a
clear reduction in the number of companies and thus
also the figures for the number of employees. Revenue
in international operations is increasing in SEK but is
stagnant in EUR and USD, a result of several structural
reorganisations over the past year. It is difficult to clearly
represent the growth of international operations, but
among those unaffected by the reorganisations, both
operations and profitability appear to be stable.
Sweden Strong in Europe
The European Game Developers Federation (EGDF)
and Video Games Europe conduct an annual joint
report on game development in Europe. The 2022
European Video Games Industry Insight Report, pub-
lished in the summer of 2024, is a compilation of the
2022 industry reports of the different countries, with
some reports based on surveys and some on data
collected from official registers. In 2022, there were 5,300 game development com-
panies in the EU. Sweden topped the list with 939
companies, ahead of Germany (750 companies) and
France (577 companies). Sweden was ranked fifth
in terms of number of employees, behind much
more populous countries such as France, Poland,
Germany and Spain. In terms of gender distribution,
Sweden was well below the EU average of 24.4%
women in 2022. Swedish game companies also have a great eco-
nomic impact. In 2022, the Swedish games industry
ranked fourth in total revenue with EUR 3.1 billion,
after Germany (EUR 3.8 billion), France (EUR 3.75 bil-
lion) and Finland (EUR 3.2 billion). Including interna –
tional subsidiaries, Swedish-owned companies are
the largest in the EU with a global revenue of just over
EUR 8 billion, close to that of the United Kingdom.
Revenue in Swedish Game
Companies Abroad, M SEK
2022 2023
2021
2020
2019 53,984
31,365
12,546
6,736
55,847
2022
2021
2020
2019 2023
16,494
11,158
7,177
3,253 15,792
Employees in Swedish
Game Companies Abroad
Agera Games –
TOSS
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

40 GAME DEVELOPER MAP – GLOBAL
Game Developer Map – Global
Georgia
G5 Entertainment
Germany
Edyoutec ⌂⌂⌂⌂
Embracer Group ⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂
Enad Global 7
Jumpgate ⌂⌂⌂
Maximum Entertainment AB
MTG ⌂⌂
Stillfront Group ⌂⌂⌂⌂
Thunderful Group AB ⌂⌂
Gibraltar
Fragbite Group
Hungary
Embracer Group
Maximum Entertainment AB
Ireland
Maximum Entertainment AB
Stillfront Group
Italy
Embracer Group ⌂⌂⌂
Luxembourg
Starbreeze AB
Macedonia
Embracer Group Malta
Embracer Group
Stillfront Group ⌂⌂
Montenegro
G5 Entertainment
Netherlands
Embracer Group ⌂⌂
Fragbite Group
Paradox
Norway
Embracer Group
Thunderful Group AB
Poland
Embracer Group ⌂⌂⌂⌂
Romania
Maximum Entertainment AB
Stillfront Group
Swedish game companies grow stronger
through extensive acquisitions and
investments abroad.
Below is a list of game studios around the world
that are subsidiaries of Swedish game companies.
The list is consolidated at group level and each ⌂
represents a corporate entity in the country.
NORTH AMERICA 1
Canada
Embracer Group ⌂⌂⌂
Enad Global 7 ⌂⌂
Stillfront Group
USA
Embracer Group
⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂
Enad Global 7
G5 Entertainment
Maximum Entertainment AB ⌂⌂
MTG
Paradox ⌂⌂
Resolution Games
Starbreeze ⌂⌂
Stillfront Group
⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂
⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂
SOUTH AMERICA 2
Brazil
Maximum Entertainment AB
BVI
Stillfront Group
EUROPE 3
Austria
Embracer Group
Belarus
Embracer Group Belgium
Embracer Group
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Embracer Group
Bulgaria
Embracer Group ⌂⌂
G5 Entertainment
Stillfront Group
Croatia
Raw Fury
Stillfront Group
Cyprus
G5 Entertainment
Qiiwi Games
Czech Republic
Embracer Group ⌂⌂
Denmark
Embracer Group ⌂⌂⌂
Thunderful Group AB ⌂⌂
Finland
Embracer Group
Paradox
Thunderful Group AB
France
Embracer Group ⌂⌂⌂
Fragbite Group
Maximum Entertainment AB
Paradox
Starbreeze AB
Enad Global 7
1
2

41
Russia
G5 Entertainment
Serbia
Enad Global 7
Goodbye Kansas Group
Sozap
Slovakia
Embracer Group
Spain
Embracer Group
Paradox
Starbreeze AB
Stillfront Group
Thunderful Group AB
Ukraine
Embracer Group
G5 Entertainment
Stillfront Group United Kingdom
Avalanche Studios Group
Embracer Group ⌂⌂
Enad Global 7 ⌂⌂
Goodbye Kansas Group
MAG Interactive
Maximum Entertainment AB
MTG ⌂⌂
Sharkmob
Starbreeze ⌂⌂
Stillfront Group ⌂⌂
Thunderful Group AB ⌂⌂⌂⌂
ASIA 4
Armenia
G5 Entertainment
Bangladesh
Stillfront Group China
Embracer Group ⌂⌂
Stillfront Group
Georgien
G5 Entertainment
Hong Kong
Stillfront Group ⌂⌂
Thunderful Group AB
India
Embracer Group
MTG
Stillfront Group
Israel
Embracer Group
Japan
Embracer Group
Stillfront Group ⌂⌂
Jordan
Stillfront Group ⌂⌂ Kazakhstan
G5 Entertainment
Singapore
Stillfront Group ⌂⌂
Taiwan
Stillfront Group
UAE
Stillfront Group ⌂⌂
Vietnam
Stillfront Group
OCEANIA 5
Australia
Stillfront Group ⌂⌂
New Zealand
MTG
4
3
5
Sudden Snail –
Esoteric Ebb
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

42 THE WORLD MARKET
Our estimate based on download data is that at
least one in four people in the world has played
a game created in Sweden.
The World Market
In total, Swedish-developed games have been down –
loaded almost seven billion times, and major Swedish
games regularly top the download and sales charts.
Globally, it is estimated that more than three billion
people play some form of digital game. The European market is described in Video Games
Europe’s Key Facts Report 2023. The European consumer
market is doing well, with a turnover of EUR 25.7 billion
in 2023. The market is mostly digital, but 15% of sales
still comes from the sale of physical games. A majority
of the population, 53%, between 6–64 years old play
video games and the average gamer is 31 years old.
43.5% of all gamers are women and women play mostly
on mobile devices (45%) closely followed by consoles
(39%) and PC (38%). The Swedish Players
According to data provider Newzoo, the Swedish con-
sumer market is estimated to be worth USD 786.2 million
in 2024. This equals approximately SEK 8.3 billion which
would generate SEK 1.7 billion in value-added tax from
Swedish players alone. From an international perspective, the Swedish con-
sumer market is small in size but strong in purchasing
power. The average revenue per user (ARPU) in Sweden
is USD 185.9 compared to the global average of USD 118.3. In Sweden, an estimated 6.9 million people play video
games on various platforms, of which 4.2 million are
paying users.
Millions of Players per
Platform in Sweden*
Platform
PC
Console
Mobile 3,1 3,5
1,41,72,3
5,4
Number of players
Of which are paying
*Source: Newzoo Global Games Market Report

43 Arrowhead Game Studios – Helldivers 2
Games Released in 2024
1Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios)
2 V Rising (Stunlock Studios)
3 Core Keeper (Pugstorm)
4 Content Warning (Landfall Games)
5 Alone in the Dark (Pieces Interactive)
6 Tiny Glade (Pounce Light)
7 Goat Simulator 3 (Coffee Stain Studio)
8 Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ)
9 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (Ubisoft Massive)
10 Lightyear Frontier (Frame Break)
Top sales 2024
1Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios)
2 The Finals (Embark Studios)
3 Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studio)
4 Battlefield V (EA DICE)
5 V Rising (Stunlock Studios)
6 Battlefield 2042 (EA DICE)
7 It Takes Two (Hazelight)
8 Core Keeper (Pugstorm)
9 Hearts of Iron IV (Paradox Interactive)
10 Crusader Kings III (Paradox Interactive)
The lists show the performance of Swedish
games released in 2024 as well as the best-
selling Swedish-developed games over the
past 12 months. The data comes from Video
Game Insights and was retrieved on Novem-
ber 12th, 2024.
Swedish Games
on Steam
Includes both Early Access and full releases during 2024.
Data from Vic Bassey, Video Game Insights.
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

44 THE WORLD MARKET
Swedish Games on Twitch
The US-based streaming service Twitch is important
for many game developers as it allows players to
livestream their playing. In total, the 15 most popular
Swedish-developed games were streamed upwards
of 700 million hours in 2023. Between January and
October 2024, the corresponding top list had almost
500 million streamed hours. The top lists of watched
hours are based on insight data from the Swedish
platform Lurkit.
Data from: Lurkit Market Data October 2024
Top Views 2023 Top Views 2024
1Minecraft
(Mojang Studios) 1
Minecraft
(Mojang Studios)
2 The Finals
(Embark Studios) 2
Helldivers 2
(Arrowhead Game Studios)
3 Valheim
(Iron Gate) 3
Satisfactory
(Coffee Stain Studio)
4 Payday 3
(Starbreeze) 4
The Finals
(Embark Studios)
5 Raft
(Redbeet Interactive) 5
Content Warning
(Landfall Games)
6 GeoGuessr
(GeoGuessr) 6
GeoGuessr
(Geo Guessr)
7 Tom Clancy's The Division
(Ubisoft Massive) 7
V Rising
(Stunlock Studios)
8 Satisfactory
(Coffee Stain Studio) 8
Valheim
(Iron Gate)
9 It Takes Two
(Hazelight) 9
Star Wars: Outlaws
(Ubisoft Massive)
10 Hearts of Iron IV
(Paradox Interactive) 10
Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies
(Striped Panda Studios)
11 V Rising
(Stunlock Studios) 11
Core Keeper
(Pugstorm)
12 Europa Universalis IV
(Paradox Interactive) 12
Hearts of Iron IV
(Paradox Interactive)
13 Amnesia: The Bunker
(Frictional Games) 13
Raft
(Redbeet Interactive)
14 Geometry Dash
(Robtop Games) 14
Tom Clancy's The Division 2
(Ubisoft Massive)
15 Crusader Kings III
(Paradox Interactive) 15
Geometry Dash
(Robtop Games)
16 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
(Ubisoft Massive) 16
It Takes Two
(Hazelight)
21
billion hours
streamed on Twitch 2023
Arrowhead
Game Studios –
Helldivers 2

45
In December 2023, the government announced the
creation of a Swedish cultural canon. The Swedish Games
Industry wants to ensure that Sweden's great video games
are recognised in art and culture, and in 2024 took the
initiative to create its own list of digital games that have
made a powerful impact on Swedish culture.
A Treasure Trove of Games
The process mirrored the directives of the government
inquiry, and in the spring of 2024, several hundred
games had been nominated by the public. An expert
jury has since selected the 15 games included in the
final list, which should be seen as a living document
of Sweden's treasure of Video Games. The jury was
chaired by video game historian Martin Lindell.
The Jury's Motivation
The list contains games from various genres, platforms
and time periods that collectively represent the world
of Swedish games. It has been a difficult job to make
the selection. Many more games would fit on an expan-
ded list. The Gary Gadget games have held a special
place in the hearts of many players and game creators.
The SteamWorld games by west coast studio Image &
Form to Unravel by Coldwood in the north are proof that game development has been successful across

the country. Rymdkapsel by Grapefrukt shows that even
solo developers can be successful. The jury liked Valheim
by Iron Gate, but the game has not yet been released
in full version. Helldivers 2 is another newly made game
that needs to be considered for an updated list in the
future. All these games hereby re ceive an honourable
mention. The games are presented below in chronological rele-
ase order. The list spans over six decades and contains
games for various platforms in a wide range of genres.
The games have had an impact over time, were created
by both men and women for adult and children audien-
ces alike. The goal of this list is to raise the public’s
gene ral knowledge about games and to be a relevant
and accessible asset. All the listed titles were released
as games before any other format, and have made
their breakthrough as such.
martin lindell
Video game historian and Senior Advisor at Embracer Group
tommy palm
Founder and CEO at Resolution Games
jenny brusk
Ph.D. Innovation Manager and Business Coach at Sweden Game Arena
åsa roos
Senior UX Designer at IO Interactive and
Honorary Ph.D. at the University of Skövde
oskar burman
Founder and CEO of Fast Travel Games
bobbi sand
Game Developer and Board member
at Dataspelscentrum
The Expert Jury
johanna nylander
Head of Analytics and Deputy CEO at Swedish Games Industry
Kavalri – Equestrian the Game
Top Views 2023 Top Views 2024
1Minecraft
(Mojang Studios) 1
Minecraft
(Mojang Studios)
2 The Finals
(Embark Studios) 2
Helldivers 2
(Arrowhead Game Studios)
3 Valheim
(Iron Gate) 3
Satisfactory
(Coffee Stain Studio)
4 Payday 3
(Starbreeze) 4
The Finals
(Embark Studios)
5 Raft
(Redbeet Interactive) 5
Content Warning
(Landfall Games)
6 GeoGuessr
(GeoGuessr) 6
GeoGuessr
(Geo Guessr)
7 Tom Clancy's The Division
(Ubisoft Massive) 7
V Rising
(Stunlock Studios)
8 Satisfactory
(Coffee Stain Studio) 8
Valheim
(Iron Gate)
9 It Takes Two
(Hazelight) 9
Star Wars: Outlaws
(Ubisoft Massive)
10 Hearts of Iron IV
(Paradox Interactive) 10
Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies
(Striped Panda Studios)
11 V Rising
(Stunlock Studios) 11
Core Keeper
(Pugstorm)
12 Europa Universalis IV
(Paradox Interactive) 12
Hearts of Iron IV
(Paradox Interactive)
13 Amnesia: The Bunker
(Frictional Games) 13
Raft
(Redbeet Interactive)
14 Geometry Dash
(Robtop Games) 14
Tom Clancy's The Division 2
(Ubisoft Massive)
15 Crusader Kings III
(Paradox Interactive) 15
Geometry Dash
(Robtop Games)
16 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
(Ubisoft Massive) 16
It Takes Two
(Hazelight)
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

The List of Sweden’s Game
STUGAN
Kimmo Eriksson, Viggo Kann,
Olle E Johansson, 1978 (terminal)
1986 (PC)
One of Sweden's early PC games
where the player, in text form,
explores a mysterious and peculiar
cottage in Småland. The game
was developed by three teenagers
on a mainframe computer. It has
inspired many and remains a source
of joy with its humorous story.
BACKPACKER
Tati Mixedia, 1995
BackPacker embodies the pheno-
mena that made computer games
a popular activity in Sweden in the
90s. Everyone could understand
and appreciate the concept of trav-
elling around the globe with quizzes
along the destinations. BackPacker
became the start of something big
with newfound audiences and a
growing domestic industry.

EUROPA UNIVERSALIS
Paradox Interactive, 2000
Paradox Interactive's historical strat-
egy game, spanning from the Renais-
sance to the Enlightenment, offers
great depth and demands a lot from
the player. By daring to make such an
advanced game, they effectively de-
fined the Grand Strategy sub-genre.
The positive reception led to several
sequels and other successful series
from Paradox, such as Hearts of Iron
and Victoria.
GROUND CONTROL
Massive Entertainment, 2000
Massive Entertainment was a pio-
neer studio thanks to this ambitious
3D real-time strategy game which
focused more on tactical combat
than resource management, in a
bleak future where mega-corpora-
tions struggle for control over colo-
nised planets. Ground Control paved
the way for Massive, which went
on to create games such as World
in Conflict and The Division.
BATTLEFIELD 1942
DICE (Digital Illusions CE), 2002
Back in 1992, DICE’s first game Pinball
Dreams showed how vivid pinball
machines could be enjoyed on a com-
puter. The game laid the foundation
for what would become one of Swe-
den’s most successful game studios.
Battlefield 1942 made the world open
its eyes to Sweden as a game nation,
and the game series has been praised
ever since.
AMNESIA – THE DARK DESCENT
Frictional Games, 2010
A well-made horror game with clever
game mechanics and a remarkable
narrative. The game maintains a high
level of visual fidelity and sound-
scape and skillfully uses the entire
game medium, embracing terror and
emotions in a way that stuck with all
who dared to play.
MINECRAFT
Mojang, 2011
Initially developed by solo program-
mer Markus Persson, Minecraft revolu-
tionised the world of games with its
open-world sandbox concept, fostering
creativity and community building on
a massive scale. It's a testament to
Sweden's impact on the games indus-
try, showcasing the country's ability
to produce innovative and globally in-
fluential titles.
TOCA TEA PARTY
Toca Boca, 2011
With its playful design for tablets
and mobile, Toca Boca showed new
possibilities for creating games for
the very youngest as they broke
new ground for what a children's
game could look like. Subsequently,
the developer has released a long
series of innovative games and apps
that have been loved by new gen-
erations of children, now brought
together in Toca Boca World.

47
The List of Sweden’s Game Culture Treasures 2024
IT TAKES TWO
Hazelight, 2021
The story about a divorcing couple
has brought the love of playing
games to even the most game- scep-
tical families. With an amazing level
of detail and flair in everything from
mini-games to storytelling, it's a
modern classic that tells a story
through the interplay between the
players.
CANDY CRUSH SAGA
King, 2012
Candy Crush Saga got the entire
world to match candies and level
up. The game took on new target
groups that otherwise did not see
themselves as gamers, and with its
enormous impact inspired count –
less sequels and strengthened puz-
zle games as a genre to be reckoned
with. It has veritably been an essen-
tial building block for establishing
Swedish mobile games.

STAR STABLE ONLINE
Star Stable Entertainment, 2012
Star Stable Online gave enthusiastic
horse girls their very own MMORPG
built around community and well-
designed adventures. By listening
to their audience and releasing new
content every week, they have
created a beloved game that has
maintained a high level of quality
over time.
GOAT SIMULATOR
Coffee Stain Studios, 2014
A humorous game that became
a success story for the games
industry in Skövde and made an
impression on the world. Goat
Simulator challenges game design,
entertains the player, and makes
a statement that it can also be
fun to watch people play wacky
games.
BUDGET CUTS
Neat Corporation, 2018
For its unique locomotion mechan-
ics as well as fully utilising VR mo-
tion controllers for maximum ‘fun
factor’ as the player interacts with
objects around them. Budget Cuts
broke new ground in VR when it was
released, spurring a generation of
game makers to venture into this
new game medium.
SAYONARA WILD HEARTS
Simogo, 2019
A condensed game experience that
lives up to the description of being
a pop album in game form. With
subtle Malmö inspirations such as
falafel shacks, it has won cultural
recognition at home, while the
rhythmic and energetic gameplay
has captured audiences globally.
THE BATTLE OF POLYTOPIA
Midjiwan, 2016
The Battle of Polytopia's strategic
depth and accessibility have earned
it a dedicated following worldwide.
Its innovative inclusion as a pre-
installed game in certain car enter-
tainment systems showcases its
broad appeal, offering engaging
entertainment for both solo players
and groups.
Stunlock Studios – V Rising
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

48 PLAY SAFE
Play Safe
PEGI is the industry's labelling system for age and
content recommendations. The system has been in
place since 2003 and is both a tool for children and
parents, but also a Code of Conduct for games
companies, which was updated in 2023.
The PEGI labels with age recommendations and content
declarations are well known among parents of children
playing digital games. PEGI's 2023 data showed that
the vast majority think they work well, are familiar with
them and use them as a tool. 2% think the labels are
unclear and 21% of all parents of children playing games
are not familiar with the labelling system. In summer
2024, Video Games Europe presented the fifth edition
of the Children's in-game spending survey conducted by
the research company Ipsos on parental control and
children's spending on game content. It showed, among
other things, that children's in-game spending has de-
creased while parental involvement in children's play is
increasing. In April 2024, the PEGI Code of Conduct was
updated regarding in-game purchases and the handling
of illegal activities by players.
#SeizeTheControls
The Seize The Controls digital resource walks you through
parental settings, how to use the games and platforms'
reporting tools, and creating a safe game environment
for the whole family. Find out more at seizethecontrols.eu
Games in School
European Schoolnet, on behalf of Video Games Europe,
ran a project in 2023 to train teachers and educators
across Europe on how to use computer games as peda-
gogical support in the classroom. The Games in Schools
project started with a six-week Massive Online Open
Course (MOOC) for teachers, of which more than 90%
indicated afterwards that they would use the suggested
approaches in their classroom work. European School-
net has also released a handbook on the topic, Using
Video Games In School.
Did you Know That Games are the
Safest Place for Children Online?
When the UK regulator Ofcom and the ICO surveyed
around 4,000 adults and children aged 12 to 15 in 2020,
many had experienced harmful content and unwan-
ted contact in the past year. But games stood out, with
only a couple of per cent of adults and three per cent
of children experiencing this in games. This was con-
firmed in the 2021 CyberTipline report, which found
that grooming and exploitation of children was most
uncommon in games and most common on platforms
whose main purpose is communication and where pho-
tos and videos can be shared. Work to further develop
protection for players is ongoing.
Game Development
can Lead to a Nobel Prize
One of the 2024 Nobel Prize winners in Chemistry,
AI researcher Demis Hassabis, started his career as a
game developer in the UK. Hassabis co-created the
game Theme Park and later founded the studio Elixir
Studios.

49
SPELUTVECKLARINDEX 2024
INDUSTRY VOICE KRISTIAN LUNDQUIST
Co-founder and CEO, Gro Play
‘There are many great
examples of children's
games from Sweden that encourage free play,
exploration and creation’
Hi Kristian, tell us about your games and what
inspired you to start developing children's games?
I have a background in communication and as a teacher
and realised early on how interactive experiences can
engage students. Combining this led to the vision of
offering games that can impact both the individual and
the world in a positive way. At Gro Play, we aim to do
this by creating entertaining games that also encourage
learning and collaboration. We develop our own IPs
and have also been entrusted with creating games for
Swedish children's classics such as Bamse , Alfie Atkins
and The JerryMaya Detective Agency. Our titles are speci-
fically designed for children and their families, with a
clear aim to combine play with supporting children to
develop important skills such as creativity, problem
solving and social interaction.
What is most important when making games for
children and what characterises a good children's
game?
Children have always discovered the world by trying
things out. We believe in children's abilities and we en-
courage discovery and experimentation according to
the Nordic model. One thing games are great at is giving
the player the opportunity to play around and try things
out in a safe and encouraging environment. We avoid
dictating how to play and often give the opportunity to
influence the experience as much as possible. Creativ-
ity, role-playing, social interaction are key elements.
Role-playing is a feature in many of our apps, and there is a lot of research showing the positive effects of this
in children's early development. Exploring roles and
identity in the digital world often offers a flexibility that
is not always possible in the physical world. There are
many great examples of children's games from Sweden
that encourage free play, exploration and creation.
A fine tradition that we should cherish.
How does the development and business modelling
of children's games differ compared to an adult
audience? What are the main challenges?
Our games are often perceived as entertainment, but
they are designed to foster curiosity and exploration
through play. Finding the right balance between fun
and education, without losing children's interest,
requires careful game testing and adjustment of diffi-
culty and content. For children's games with high stand-
ards, profitability can be a challenge. You don't want
to incentivise purchases in the same way as in an adult
experience. The fact that the player (the child) and the
buyer (the parent) are different people and audiences
makes things even more complex. We have different
revenue models for different types of games and apps.
For example, subscription models that provide access
to a safe and controlled game environment for the
whole family, with the possibility to share game experi-
ences on multiple devices and across generations. One
thing they all have in common is that we have to create
an experience that the buyer is prepared to pay for.

50 ALARMISM THEN AND NOW
Alarmism Then and Now
INDUSTRY VOICE MARTIN SIRC
Head of Brand Partnerships, DreamHack
Hi Martin, when and how did you start working with
games?
I ended up in the industry by chance by selling compu-
ter discs at Maxell in 1987 with the whole of Sweden
as a region, so I spent many miles in the car. Since then
I've had time to work as a sales manager at Commo-
dore with C64 and Amiga. Started up Infograme’s (today
Bandai Namco) office in the Nordic region where I was
also CEO for four years. Spent a few years at Paradox,
started up Koch Media's (now Plaion) office in the Nor-
dic region. Worked with PR and Influencer marketing
for games at Mi5 Communications for a number of
years and now I work with partnerships at DreamHack.
What has the evolution looked like?
So much has happened. Games went from being some-
thing for children, to something weird and nerdy for
teenage boys to being fully socially accepted today. The
first social acceptance came with PlayStation, which got
a spot in the living room. Football and music games,
among others, became a hit with older kids, and playing together became very popular. Either during a pure
game night or when meeting up before going out on
a Saturday evening. The final boom came with mobile
games, when more adult women also started playing.
Since then, it has only continued to grow with playing
online versus others, free-to-play and everything else.
Business models have evolved in line with other indus –
tries and products, but the biggest development has of
course been technology. It has constantly created the
conditions for new ideas, new creativity and new expe-
riences. So it's no coincidence that our industry today
generates more revenue than both film and music com-
bined. Quite simply, we offer great entertainment!
You have launched and brought several games and
consumer hardware to Sweden, how has it been
received?
The Amiga was a fantastic product, technology that was
far ahead of everything else. I think the demoscene of
the 90s partly contributed to Sweden's success in the
games industry. Many people became interested in pro-
gramming, graphics and music on the Amiga. Over the
years, I've had the privilege of helping to launch over
200 AAA titles from various publishers. Some of the
more memorable ones are Warcraft II, Unreal, Civiliza-
tion, Diablo, Elder Scrolls, Fallout and of course Barbie.
Barbie was not a AAA title but a fun and educational
project since it was translated into Swedish in the mid-
90s. With the help of an in-game tool that constantly
crashed, I struggled with the translation. I sat more or
less around the clock for a number of weeks and in
the end I even dreamt about Barbie. Another funny
memory was the launch of Diablo 1. After the success
of Warcraft II, which constantly sold out, we ordered a
lot of Diablo 1. At that time, the games were packed
in a ‘Sierra Box’ 28 x 18 x 5 cm with printed manual
and everything. Of course, we didn't think about how
much space all the games would take up. As a result,
we had Diablo 1 everywhere before the launch. In the
Photo: Helena Kristiansson

warehouse, in the offices, in the conference room, in
the kitchen, in the lunch room, even in one of the bath-
rooms. Did we sell them all? Of course, after four weeks
we ordered more.
What differences/similarities do you see between
the moral panic of the past and the current screen
time debate?
In the past, a debate about violent games or addiction
popped up from time to time. Often staged by someone
who wanted to get into the limelight or score political
points for their own gain. There was no research to
show that the games had a bad effect on those who
played them. Those who pushed for it didn't know much
about digital games and didn't realise, for example, that
games created social networks where people could
hang out with each other, as the pushers usually didn't
play themselves. They simply thought it was strange that
someone could sit in front of a computer for so long. But
the media tagged along anyway because it generated
exciting headlines. I particularly remember a front page
in Expressen that showed passport photos of the CEOs
of six of the companies with the headline ‘These are the
men behind the violent computer games’, lined up like
a gang of criminals. Today's debate on screen time feels
much more nuanced because screen time consists of
so much more than just games. It is also far less heated
than the moral panic of those days.
Five Historical Moments in the
Swedish Debate on Violent Video
Games
Fact checker; Martin Lindell, game historian
July 1988
Expressen publishes an article with the headline ‘New
Video Game: 6-year-olds Playing Serial Killers’. Although
the game was made up by a thirteen-year-old inter-
viewed by the newspaper, it was elevated to a truth that
was quoted by other newspapers as well as radio and
TV debates. As a result, the then National Child Environ-
ment Council proposed censorship of digital games.
The chairman of the Council called age limits irrelevant
because ‘Society simply cannot tolerate games that
glorify violence’.

April 1990
One of the country's largest importers of games at
the time, HK Electronics, refuses to sign the ‘voluntary’
agreement to stop the import of violent games to Swe-
den, a proposal from the National Child Environment
Council. The then CEO, Heikki Karbing, argued that it
would stop the majority of games, something he could
not accept.

January 1992
The then Screen Violence Council publishes a report
stating that ‘there are not many extreme violence
games of this nature circulating on the market, as has
often been claimed in the debate’. The Council conclu-
ded that ‘the debate around digital games has been
based on unsubstantiated rumours and myths’. Instead,
it emphasised that there are indeed playful and excit-
ing games, which makes the tone of the debate more
factual.

January 2005
The Chancellor of Justice prosecuted a Swedish impor-
ter of the game Postal 2 for unauthorised depiction of
violence. In December 2006, the charges were dismissed
as the jury acquitted and the judgement cannot be
appealed. Postal 2 was recommended for ages 18 and
over by PEGI, the industry's labelling system, which was
introduced in 2003.
October 2012
The Swedish Agency for the Media publishes the
research review Violent computer games and aggression
and concludes that the games do not cause aggression.
The studies that claimed otherwise were poorly substan-
tiated and simply did not have reliable results.

52
The global economy impacted the games industry the most
in 2023 with few completed acquisitions and investments
in the industry. In 2024, investors have found their way
back to video games with more and larger deals completed.
Acquisitions and Investments
Norway-based remote studio Red Rover Interactive
raised a total of SEK 53 million in mid-2023 to fund the
development of new games in the survival genre. The
investment was led by Swedish Behold Ventures and
international The Games Fund. In April 2024, the same
investors participated in another round of SEK 159
million led by South Korean Krafton, which acquired
Uppsala studio Neon Giant in 2022. In October 2023, Modern Times Group acquired the
Swedish game studio Snowprint Studios, developer of
the mobile game Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus , among
others. Through its wholly owned New Zealand subsid –
iary Ninja Kiwi, Modern Times Group also acquired the
American studio AutoAttack Games, best known for its
game Legion TD 2, in April 2024.
Embracer Group was responsible for several deals in
2024 with the sale of Borderlands developer Gearbox
Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive Software for a
purchase price of SEK 4.9 billion, and the sale of parts
of Saber Interactive to Beacon Interactive, owned by
one of Saber's co-founders, for just over SEK 2.5 billion.
4A Games and Zen Studios remained part of Embracer
Group. In early 2024, Thunderful Group sold the German
publishing business Headup Gmbh to Headup's found-
ers through the company Microcuts Holding. Later that
year, Thunderful Group also sold parts of its games,
toys and distribution business to Bergsala NDP for a
purchase price of SEK 634 million. In January 2024, RoRo, a studio founded by veterans
of Mojang Studios and Toca Boca, raised SEK 17 million
from Node Ventures and others to develop a digital
dollhouse. The Irish game group Keywords Studios was acquired
in June 2024 in a deal worth SEK 28.7 billion, with Swedish
venture capital firm EQT taking a 51% stake with Cana-
dian CPP and Singaporean Temasek as equal minority
shareholders. Enad Global 7-owned Daybreak Game Company
acquired US studio Singularity 6 in July 2024, whose
multiplayer life-sim Palia saw great success when it
was released in March that year. In Skövde, a number of smaller investments took
place from local players, including Redbeet Interactive
co-founder Ellen Mellåker's SEK 5 million investment
in incubator company Aurora Arts and appointment as
CSO at the studio. Oddiko with co-op game Meadgard
secured funding of SEK 6 million from Behold Ventures
and locally based investor Windmill Game Invest.
Speldosa Interactive –
Project Shoreline

53
SellerCountryBuyer/Investor Country
2023
Fall DamageSwedenFragbite Group Sweden
FUN Labs RomaniaMaximum Entertainment Sweden
Nukklear Gmbh GermanyJumpgate AB Sweden
Paradox Interactive SwedenKeywords Studios plc Ireland
Red Rover NorwayBehold Ventures Sweden
Seidr / Cult of the North SwedenAndresseen Horowitz USA
Snowprint Studios SwedenMTG Sweden
2024
Aurora ArtsSwedenEllaria Invest Sweden
AutoAttack Games USANinja Kiwi (MTG AB) Sweden
Blue Scarab Entertainment SwedenBehold Ventures Sweden
Embracer Group SwedenNintendo Japan
Embracer Group SwedenTake-Two Interactive Software, Inc. USA
Gibbet Games SwedenWindmill Game Invest Sweden
Goodbye Kansas Group SwedenErisbeg Ireland
Keywords Studios United KingdomEQT Sweden
Oddiko SwedenWindmill Game Invest & Behold Ventures Sweden
Roro Swedennode.vc mfl Sweden et al.
Saber Interactive (Embracer Group) SwedenBeacon Interactive USA
Sideline Labs SwedenGold Town Games AB Sweden
Singularity 6 USADaybreak Game Company (EG7) Sweden
Thunderful Group SwedenMicrocuts Holding GmbH Germany
Thunderful Group SwedenBergsala NDP Sweden
Acquisitions and Investments 2023–2024
Windup Games – Hela
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

54 GAME DEVELOPER EDUCATIONS
Training to become a game developer can be done in
different ways. Some are completely self-taught while
some start developing games as early as in secondary
school. The vast majority, however, have studied art,
programming or game design at one of the country's
academic or vocational universities.
Game Developer Educations
Many universities around the country have made a
name for themselves by investing heavily in games edu-
cation, where students from different programmes of-
ten work together across disciplines to develop games
together as part of the curriculum.
The University of Skövde offers a wide range of game
educations. Several hundred students are divided into
eight bachelor's and four advanced-level programmes,
offering courses in programming, design, game writing,
sound and music. The new programme starting in au –
tumn 2024, Game Development – Graphics, replaces the
previous three art programmes: Animation, 3D and
2D Art. At the advanced level, there are three one-year
and one two-year master's programmes, all taught in
English and open to international students. The pro-
grammes cover Games User Experience, Serious Games,
Digital Narration: Game and Cultural Heritage , and Game
Development with optional specialisations.The Univer-
sity of Skövde also offers a Master's programme in Busi-
ness Development and Marketing where students can opt
to focus on games, providing the tools needed to start
their own game studio. Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) has had game
programmes in Karlshamn for 20 years and in Karls-
krona there are game technology programmes. In 2023,
a Bachelor of Engineering in Technical Game Graphics was
started. Karlskrona offers a Master of Science in Game
Technology programme, which received an updated
curriculum for the 2024 autumn semester, meaning the
five-year programme is divided according to BTH's new
3+2 structure for engineering programmes. In 2025, the
Computer Science for Game Development programme at
undergraduate level will split into two different formats,
a three-year programme in Karlskrona and a two-year
remote education. The game programmes at BTH colla –
borate closely with Blekinge Business Incubator and its
game division Gameport, which has operated since 2003.
Stockholm University offers a bachelor programme
in computer and systems science with a focus on game
development. The programme is aimed at both experi-
enced game developers and students with no prior
knowledge of game development. During their educa-
tion, students have the opportunity to add optional ad –
vanced courses in programming, design, art and audio.

55
Students also get to develop games and test them in
both major and minor student projects. The program-
me concludes with the opportunity to do an internship
and a degree project related to the research conduc ted
at the department, often in collaboration with compa-
nies and organisations. There are around 1,000 appli-
cants to the programme each year, which accepts
around 100 students.
For about 20 years, Chalmers University of Technol –
ogy in Gothenburg has offered game-oriented educa-
tions in various forms. In the international master's
programme Interaction Design and Technologies, stu-
dents can choose to profile themselves in areas such
as games. They offer several game-related courses
that include game theory, game design and technical
game development as part of their longer Engineering
and Computer Science programmes.
Luleå University of Technology runs several pro-
grammes related to game development. Since 2024,
the university offers a Master of Science in Engineering
in Computer Technology, with a focus on interactive systems. In Skellefteå, the bachelor programmes
Computer Game Development and Programming, which
replaced the previous Bachelor Programme in Computer
Game Programming, and Computer Graphics for Games
and Film are offered.
At the University of Gothenburg, the master's pro-
gramme Game Design & Technology has been running
for around seven years. The university works with com-
panies in and outside Gothenburg to ensure that the
students receive the education that is in demand by the
labour market. The programme is broad and includes
a range of courses such as Introduction to Game Research ,
Gameplay Design, Game Engine Architecture and Game
Development Project. Students are also given the oppor-
tunity to choose optional courses to tailor their educa-
tion based on their areas of interest.
Uppsala University runs four undergraduate and two
graduate game design programmes at its Campus Got-
land in Visby, running since 2001. All undergraduate pro –
grammes focus on game design with different speciali-
sations and lead to a bachelor's degree in game design.
Mirage Game Studios – Space for Sale
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

56 GAME DEVELOPER EDUCATIONS
At the advanced level, two master's programmes in
game design are offered, one of which is conducted fully
remote. The Department of Game Design welcomed
over 500 game design students to Campus Gotland in
Visby, where almost half are students with international
backgrounds. In autumn 2024, the international Master's
Programme in Transformative Game Design started.
Futuregames is an international vocational school
that has run game programmes for over 20 years. They
have campuses in Malmö, Stockholm, Karlstad, Umeå,
Skellefteå and Boden, as well as in Warsaw, Poland. They
offer the Game Programmer education with elective sub-
jects in Boden, Skellefteå, Umeå, Stockholm and Malmö.
The Game Designer programme is offered in Boden,
Umeå, Stockholm and in Skellefteå – where Game & UX
Designer is also offered. The art programme Game Artist
is available in Karlstad and the Game Artist Specialisation
programme in Malmö. In addition, the Immersive Experi-
ence Creator programme is offered in Stockholm and
the QA/Game Tester programme in Boden, as well as the
Animator and VFX Artist programme in both Boden and
Stockholm.
The Game Assembly (TGA) has existed in Malmö since
2008 and in Stockholm since 2019. They offer three
main programmes in game development: Game Pro-
grammer, Level Designer and Game Artist who together
create game projects during the training. In addition, the Malmö school also offers the programmes
Game
Animator, Technical Artist and Procedural Artist . All pro-
grammes are taught in Swedish and in close collabo-
ration with the local industry. In 2024, TGA broke its
record when receiving over a thousand applications
for its programmes, with 200 being accepted.
PlaygroundSquad (PSQ) has been running game edu-
cation programmes since 2000 and currently offers
three different courses in Falun – Game Programmer,
Game Artist and Game Designer. PSQ is also part of a
collaboration with Sony, PlayStation First, which gives
students unique access to develop games for both
Sony hardware and PC during their education. Since
2024 all programmes have been extended to three
years and students will also learn how to start a com-
pany and form indie studios via an incubator. Former
students from PSQ have started the company Camp-
ground Interactive with support from an incubator,
and are working on their first game Steel Effigy. The
incubator operations are currently being built up in
collaboration with the Spelkultur Foundation to pro-
vide space for more creative student initiatives.
Yrgo is a vocational university in Gothenburg offering
game programmes since 2017. The school provides an
education for programmers, Game Creator Programmer,
and artists, Game Creator Artist. The programmes had a
large number of applicants in 2024, almost 350 people
Mojang Studios – Minecraft

57
competing for a total of 50 places. Several former Yrgo
students have moved on to found their own game stu-
dios, such as Far Out Games and Oddiko.
Since 2023, Nackademin in Solna offers a course in
art, Technical 3D Artist in Games, and in the autumn of
2024 the new course Game Animator was started. A
programme in VR development is also offered. All pro-
grammes are run as vocational educations and are
either 2 or 2.5 years long.
Since autumn 2024, the Audio Production Academy
in Stockholm has been running a two-year vocational
education programme training the next generation of
sound designers in the games industry, Game Audio
Producent & Sound Designer .
Several folk high schools offer courses in games at both
upper secondary and post-secondary level. Ädelfors
Folkhögskola has offered courses in game development
since 2009. They offer two game development courses
where Computer Game Development, which is divided
into Art, Design and Programming, is intended for both
beginners and those who want to further deepen their
knowledge. The post-secondary programme Indie Game
Studio has over the years shaped into a personalised
course for people with previous experience and knowl-
edge in game development, many of which are working
in parallel to develop a business plan to start their own studios. Since the start, the courses have been adapted
to meet the needs of people with neuro psychiatric dis-
abilities.
Hola Folkhögskola in Kramfors offers a two-year post-

secondary programme in Indie Game Development,
as well as a one-year programme Game Music – Game
Audio Design , which works closely with the Computer
Game Development course at Ädelfors Folkhögskola.
For the third year in a row, the school, in collaboration
with FCV Sweden, organised the basic summer course,
Summer camp Spelutveckling. In 2024, the course was
held in Kramfors and all 13 participants who completed
the programme went on to study or work. Almost all
participants were motivated to continue their studies
or employment immediately after the programme and
all previous participants remained in studies or em-
ploy ment after one year.
Sunderby Folkhögskola in close cooperation with
game companies from across the region has developed
a post-secondary vocational education, Indie Game
Devel oper in Luleå. They also offer a general course at
upper secondary level with a focus on game develop –
ment, Unity distans .
Bona Folkhögskola in Motala, in collaboration with
the Female Legends association, has been offering the
one-year remote course Digital Games and Community
Mojang Studios – Minecraft
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

58 GAME DEVELOPER EDUCATIONS
2
3
4
7
11
10
6
Management since 2021. The course covers informa-
tion about the Swedish games industry, community
management, social media management and project
management. The course can be combined with a
general course for those who need to supplement their
qualifications for possible studies at university. Valla
Folkhögskola in Linköping, in collaboration with the
game hub East Sweden Game, offers a two-year game
development programme at post-secondary level –
Valla Game Education. Participants can choose whether
to specialise in programming or art.
Östra Grevie Folkhögskola outside Skurup offers
the post- secondary course Virtual Composer and Sound
De signer with a focus on games, film and television.
Kristinehamn Folkhögskola in Värmland, together
with the game hub The Great Journey, offers the course
Indie Game Developer at post-secondary level in Kristine-
hamn. Framnäs Folkhögskola in Öjebyn and Solviks
Folkhögskola in Kåge are linked to the Arctic Game
cluster and offer courses in game music and game dev-
elopment respectively.
There are also a number of upper secondary school
programmes that profile themselves in game develop-
ment. Among them are LBS Kreativa Gymnasiet,
which offers courses in games at 17 different schools
in the country. There are two different upper second-
ary programmes with a game focus – one focusing on
game art and a technology programme with a special
focus on game development. Students from both pro-
grammes create games together in their second and
third years. The school works closely with industry lead-
ers such as TGA and Futuregames, and ensures that
the games programmes are in line with industry needs.
Björknäsgymnasiet in Boden offers the GameDev
programme, which is an arts programme specialising
in game development. The programme is run in close
cooperation with Boden Game Camp and accepts ap-
plicants from across the country.
A longer review of game programmes in folk high
schools and upper secondary schools can be found
in the report Talent, Education and the Art of Making
Games (2023) and at spelutbildningar.se
Mana Brigade –
Blackforge:
A Smithing
Adventure
5
8
12
9

59
 1
Higher Game Educations 2024
Longer CSN-eligible game education at post-secondary
level commencing in autumn 2024.
NORRBOTTEN  1
Boden
Futuregames
Animator and VFX Artist
Game Designer
Game Programmer
QA / Game Tester
Sunderby folkhögskola
Indiespelutvecklare
Luleå
Luleå University of Technolo-
gy
Civilingenjör Datateknik,
inriktning interaktiva system
VÄSTERBOTTEN  2
Skellefteå
Luleå University of Technology
Bachelor’s Programme in Compu-
ter Graphics for Games and Film
Futuregames
Game Programmer
Game Designer
Game & UX Designer
Visual Magic
VFX-artist: 3D-visualisering och
digital compositing
Umeå
Futuregames
Game Programmer
Game Designer
VÄSTERNORRLAND 3
Kramfors
Hola folkhögskola
Indiespelutveckling
DALARNA 4
Falun
Tension Education AB
PlaygroundSquad Game Designer
PlaygroundSquad Game Artist
PlaygroundSquad Game Pro-
grammer
VÄRMLAND 5
Karlstad
Futuregames
Game Artist
Kristinehamns folkhögskola
Indiespelutvecklare
REGION STOCKHOLM 6
Huddinge
Södertörns högskola
Spelprogrammet – inriktning
speldesign och scripting
Spelprogrammet – inriktning grafik
Stockholm
Stockholm University
Kandidatprogram i datorspels-
utveckling
Futuregames
Immersive Experience Creator
Animator and VFX Artist
Game Designer
Game Programmer
The Game Assembly
Spelprogrammerare
Leveldesigner
Spelgrafiker
Procedural Artist
Audio Production Academy
Game Audio Producent & Sound
Designer
Botkyrka
Xenter Yrkeshögskola
Vfx-Artist
Solna
Nackademin
Teknisk 3D-artist inom spel
VR-utvecklare
Spelanimatör
ÖSTERGÖTLAND 7
Linköping
Linköping University
Bachelor of Science in Computer
Engineering
Master of Science in Computer
Science and Engineering
Master of Science in Computer
Science and Software Engineering
Master of Science in Information
Technology
Bachelor's Programme in Pro-
gramming
Valla folkhögskola
Valla Game Education
VÄSTRA GÖTALAND 8
Gothenburg
Chalmers University of Technology
Interaction Design and Techno-
logies – Master’s Programme
Informationsteknik – civilingenjör
Datateknik – civilingenjör
Datateknik – högskoleingenjör
University of Gothenburg
Game Design & Technology – Mas-
ter’s Programme
Yrgo
Game Creator Programmer
Game Creator Artist
Skövde
University of Skövde
Dataspelsutveckling – Grafik
Dataspelsutveckling – Game
Writing
Dataspelsutveckling – Ljud
Dataspelsutveckling – Musik
Dataspelsutveckling – Design
Dataspelsutveckling – Program-
mering
Digital Narration: Game and Cultu –
ral Heritage – Master’s Programme
Games User Experience – Master’s
Programme
Serious Games – Master’s Pro-
gramme
Game Development – Master’s
Programme
Business Development and Marke-
ting – Master’s Programme
REGION JÖNKÖPING 9
Jönköping
Ädelfors folkhögskola
Indie Game Studio
GOTLAND 10
Visby
Uppsala University
Bachelor’s Programme in Game
Design and Programming
Bachelor’s Programme in Game
Design and Project Management
Bachelor’s Programme in Game
Design and Graphics
Bachelor’s Programme in Game
Design
Master’s Programme in Game
Design (1 year)
Master’s Programme in Game
Design (2 years)
BLEKINGE 11
Karlskrona
Blekinge Institute of Technology
Civilingenjör i Spelteknik
Högskoleingenjör i teknisk
spelgrafik
SKÅNE 12
Vellinge
Östra Grevie Folkhögskola
Virtuell kompositör och
ljud designer
Malmö
Malmö University
Spelutveckling
The Game Assembly
Spelanimatör
Spelprogrammerare
Technical Artist
Leveldesigner
Spelgrafiker
Futuregames
Game Programmer
Game Artist Specialization
DISTANS
The Game Assembly
Linear Algebra for Artist
Sudden Snail –
Esoteric Ebb

60 ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND NATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
There are several initiatives around the country that support
new and established game developers. Local initiatives such
as incubators, networks and accelerators are important
to provide game developers with valuable guidance and
support, while contributing to regional growth.
Entrepreneurship
and National Collaborations
Arctic Game is a game cluster working for a thriving
industry in northern Sweden. In collaboration with
several municipalities, Arctic Game supports new and
existing game companies with business development
and networking, promotes collaboration between
industry and academia, and organises events that put
northern Sweden's game companies on the map. In
2017, the region's first game incubator, Boden Game
Camp, opened its doors, which in 2024 supports about
fifteen local studios. Arctic Game is one of three project
partners in the Creative Europe project together with
Spielfabrique in Germany and Polo Digital in Spain.
The project runs the European Videogame Accelerator
(EVA), which supports European indie studios with
mentorship and networks.
In May 2024, Blekinge Business Incubator (BBI) to-
gether with Blekinge Institute of Technology organised
the annual Creative Coast Festival. The festival is open
to anyone interested in game development, media and
technology. Among other things, students from various
programmes and schools in Blekinge and the surround-
ing area participate. The festival features speakers,
exhibitions, workshops and the annual Game Concept
Challenge competition. East Sweden Game is a community and incubator

for game developers in Östergötland, with headquar-
ters in Linköping and a satellite office in Norrköping.
Their premises in Linköping cover over 400 square
metres and they offer, among other things, offices,
a coworking space and advisory. In September 2024,
the fifth round of the ESG Accelerator start-up pro-
gramme was launched. The game studio Pugstorm
in Linköping, founded in the East Sweden Game com-
munity, has enjoyed great success with their game
Core Keeper, which has sold more than three million
copies and become an important driver of growth
in the region.
Game Habitat is a community organisation that since
2013 has worked for the growth and sustainability of
the games industry in southern Sweden through a
wide range of projects, collaborations, conferences and
events. Game Habitat is based in Malmö and operates
within the regions of Skåne and Blekinge. In the autumn
of 2023, Game Habitat decided to put even more focus
on its work for increased equality, diversity and inclu –
sion. This resulted, among other things, in the Haven
programme, launched in 2024 in collaboration with the
incubator Minc. It is a tailor-made programme where

61
selected early stage game studios receive meaningful
tools from experts and established industry figures to
create a sustainable future for their studio. At its Dev –
Hub office space, Game Habitat organises an annual
GEM Week event with several activities spread over a
week around March 8th.
Notable changes took place in the Mid Sweden Games
cluster during 2024, which previously worked to gather
and strengthen the ecosystem for game developers,
companies, game education programmes and the
public sector in Västernorrland. The local game compa-
nies have joined together to take over the Mid Sweden
Games brand and drive the industry's development.
non-profit organisation was formed, open to all people
and companies interested in games. The BizMaker orga-
n isation, owned and funded by Region Västernorrland
and all seven municipalities in the county, has been
tasked with supporting the development of the regional
industry. Between 2023 and 2026, Mid Sweden Games
is collaborating with Film Västernorrland as part of the
Mid Nordic Visual Lab project. Since the start of the pro-
ject, two events have been organised around film and
games, attracting around a hundred people. The cluster
has also organised Show & Tell events where game
com panies showcased their games to locals, politicians
and the business community. Spelkollektivet is a project involving collective living,
education, game development, publishing and events.
It was started without external funding and is located in
Väckelsång in the middle of the Småland countryside.
In 2024, the collective expanded with more houses and
released the documentary film To Build a Castle, pre-
miering on August 23rd 2024. The film gave viewers an
insight into the formation and daily activities of Spelkoll-
ektivet.
Sweden Game Arena is a platform offering a unique
game development ecosystem in Sweden, the Västra
Götaland region and Skövde. The platform and brand
brings together game education, research, entrepre-
neurship and community with the goal of creating a
growing and prosperous Swedish game industry. The
majority of the participants have made similar journeys
– from game students at the University of Skövde to
starting a business through the Sweden Game Startup
programme run by Science Park Skövde. Science
Park Skövde has successfully led incubator activities
for game companies in Skövde since 2004 and has also
been active in Gothenburg since 2016. Coffee Stain Stu –
dios, Stunlock Studios, Iron Gate, Wishfully, Redbeet
Interactive and Ludosity are just some of the successful
game companies in the Sweden Game Arena commu-
nity. Sweden Game Arena runs the projects Level Up,
Frame Break– Lightyear Frontier
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

62 ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND NATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
All In and Game Tech Academy, and organises the an-
nual Sweden Game Conference. In October 2024, Swe-
den's first ‘Walk of Game’ was inaugurated with bronze
plaques commemorating successful games along Råd-
husgatan in central Skövde.
The Great Journey has been the heart of the games in-
dustry in Värmland since 2016. The hub is based in Karl-
stad, where a number of game companies have both
started and gathered to take part in activities, meetups,
game jams, counselling and business development
with a focus on sustainability, inclusion and leadership.
Between 2023 and 2026, The Great Journey is running
the EU project Gamechanger with the aim of building
a strong ecosystem for game developers. Participants
are offered, among other things, an accelerator pro-
gramme with business development support to help
them start sustainable game companies. Between au-
tumn 2023 and autumn 2024, 17 new teams and three
new companies joined the accelerator programme. In
May 2024, the annual Great Summer Pitch event, where
local teams compete for the chance to win SEK 100,000
to fund their future game development, had a record
number of participants with 150 people joining from
all over Sweden. In 2024, The Great Journey launched
a 12-month acceleration programme for indie studios,
offering resources to get their games to market, rang-
ing from free workspaces and equipment loans, to
counselling with experienced consultants and lawyers
in the games industry.
BSG-Go! is an EU-funded project run through the Inter-
reg Baltic Sea Region with the aim of developing models
and methods to create strong networks and increased
conditions for young game developers and entrepre-
neurs in the Baltic Sea region for the long-term benefit
of the participants' game industries. The project, which
has so far been granted EUR 3.33 million, is run by vari –
ous innovation actors in Sweden, Denmark, Finland,
Germany, Poland, Estonia and Lithuania. In Sweden,
Invest Stockholm, Arctic Game, East Sweden Game and
Game Habitat are participating, with each actor respon-
sible for different project packages that, after comple-
tion, will be made available to the industry to solve vari-
ous needs or challenges in the industry.
In early 2024, the doors opened to Game Town, a new
coworking office for game developers in Stockholm,
which shortly thereafter hosted the 28th edition of
the Indie Game Dungeon. At the event, indie game developers, publishers and game enthusiasts meet to
try out each other's games in a relaxed environment
and provide valuable feedback. The event is popular
and plays an important role in the community of game
developers in Stockholm.
In November 2024, For Devs was organised for the
second year in a row at Södra Teatern in Stockholm.
The one-day event is aimed at game developers and
employees at the member companies of the Swedish
Games Industry. The conference gathers a wide range
of attendees from junior to experienced game devel-
opers to share knowledge, ideas and experiences with
each other.
In 2024, the popular event for game developers Link
in Bar reached its tenth running year. To celebrate,
a special edition of the event was organised; Link in
Bar: The Decade Party, which included a trip through
the Stock -holm archipelago on MS Teaterskeppet and
ended with a party in Slaktkyrkan together with Indie
Game Dungeon. The Link in Bar events are organised
voluntarily by Anna Jenelius, Liam O'neill and Tobias
Rudin.
In October 2024, the four-hour streaming event The
Spill premiered, with the purpose of gathering players
to celebrate their favourite indie games together with
the developers. The event is a collaboration between
several successful game developers behind some of
the world's most popular indie games. These include
Iron Gate Studio, Coffee Stain Studios, Coffee Stain
North, Lavapotion, Box Dragon, Invisible Walls, Ghost
Ship Publishing, Guidelight Games, Bitfire Games,
Northplay and DESTINYbit. During the event, viewers
and players could ask questions, partake in exclusive
updates on new games and in-depth information on
released titles.
One of Sweden's oldest game conferences, Gotland
Game Conference, is organised by Uppsala University
– Campus Gotland in Visby. The conference features
more than forty student projects and a jury consisting
of some thirty industry experts who play, provide feed –
back and judge the games. On the last day of the con-
ference, a grandiose award ceremony is held where
the jury's choices for the best game in each category
is announced. In 2024, the conference was expanded
with a career and recruitment fair.

63
INDUSTRY VOICE JENNY ÖSTERLUND
CEO and Founder, Game Boost
Hi Jenny, you run a staffing agency in the games
industry, does it really still need people?
Yes, it really does. Studios always need seniors and
specialists. We have many studios that are in the ramp-

up phase and the requests have increased significantly
after the summer.
What changes in the market have you seen since
you started Game Boost?
When I started Game Boost in 2021, it wasn’t very com-
mon to bring in consultants. It was mainly as reinforce-
ment during extra time-pressured periods. Now, most
studios have started to incorporate more consultants
into their staffing and recruitment strategy. Many of the
new studios founded by veterans of our largest studios
aim to keep the core team at the studio small and back
up with external help when needed.
What role do staffing agencies play in the games
industry during periods of economic instability?
When there is economic instability, two camps often
form: those who cut back on consultants to reduce the direct cost and those who bring in consultants to min-
imise long-term risks and costs. I view the fact that we
have staffing companies specialising in game develop-
ment as an extremely important part of the ecosystem
in unstable times as it gives studios a tool to be able to
access the specialists they need for shorter periods so
they can publish their game.
What roles are most in demand and what kind of
experience do you need?
It varies. A couple of years ago it was almost all Unreal
programmers. Now it's a lot of animators, producers
and UI/UX designers. If you want to work as a consult-
ant, it's important to get experience in your field first,
since most people who hire consultants want someone
who can hit the ground running and help them solve
a tricky problem or meet a deadline. You need to be
self-motivated, a good team player and not be afraid to
ask questions to understand the task or if you get stuck
along the way. You also need to be good at English.
A good consultant is both productive and shares their
knowledge so that the team is stronger when they leave.
‘I view the fact that we have
staffing companies specialising
in game development as an
extremely important part of the
ecosystem in unstable times […]’
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

64 NO GAMES ON A DEAD PLANETT
Securing a liveable and sustainable future requires
rapid and substantial emission reductions across all
sectors. In game development, creativity is the primary
ingredient, the value is intangible and the product is
digital, which means the industry has a comparatively
low carbon footprint. There is also great potential for
positive impacts and innovations in games.
No Games on a Dead Planet
Emission Data
In a similar calculation of the Swedish industry’s emis-
sions, based on the Swedish listed companies’ latest
reports and their respective business activities, the
corresponding comparative figures are between 0.1 and
1 tCO2e per MEUR turnover for Scope 1 and 2 depending
on the activity and accuracy of measurement points,
with an average of 0.74 tCO2e which would mean 2,275
tCO2e from the Swedish games industry in 2022¹. This
corresponds to 0.015% of the emissions from Swedish in-
dustry. This can be compared with the fact that games
account for almost 0.3% of jobs in the private sector
and 1% of Swedish exports. 90–99% of emissions occur in the so-called Scope 3
category, i.e. emissions upstream and downstream in
the value chain. The emissions caused by playing the
games are particularly challenging to obtain concrete
data on, not least because the games have a global
audience with different hardware and energy supply
conditions. A few Swedish companies have begun to estimate
and report Scope 3, some only upstream while others have also produced data for emissions at the user
stage. In these cases, the latter account for 40–99% of
the companies’ total reported emissions. The large vari-
ation can be explained by different calculation models,
the scope of the calculation and the fact that energy
consumption in the user phase varies greatly depend –
ing on the type of game, the country in which the player
is located and the device on which the game is played.
The sample is small, the calculations are made differ-
ently and the companies have varying products and
activities, making it difficult to draw any general conclu-
sions from a calculation of the average. A guess based
on the available figures2 is that Swedish companies on
average end up with around 99 tCO2e per MEUR turno-
ver, or 302,250 tCO2e in total, including Scope 1, 2 and 3. The most essential actions to reduce emissions from
game development are choosing fossil-free energy
and reviewing purchases of electronics, server services
and travel. Efficiency improvements and eco-modes in
games can also reduce the player’s resource needs and
hugely impact total emissions.
1Based on 2022 data from: Embracer Group AB, Stillfront Group, Paradox Interactive and MAG Interactive2Based on 2023 sustainability reports from MAG Interactive, Embracer Group and Stillfront Group
Morbid Games – Traum
Morbid Games – Traum

65
Code, Climate and Creativity
In October, the first climate report of the games indus-
try was released: Code, Climate, Creativity – Game Devel-
opment and the Green Transition. The report outlines
existing initiatives and highlights the climate impact of
the games industry from three perspectives:
Footprint: Negative impacts such as carbon emissions
Handprint: Positive impacts such as community and
innovation
Voice: The opportunity to contribute to the public
debate by evoking emotion, creating dialogue or captur-
ing engagement
The report concludes that with the right conditions,
the games industry can be a leader in the transition
towards global sustainable development.
Learn more and download the report at
dataspelsbranschen.se/hllbarhetsrapporter
A New Toolbox for
Calculating Emissions
Play, Create, Calculate is a toolbox for calculating green-
house gas emissions from game development. It was
developed by the Swedish Games Industry together
with sustainability experts from U&We within the frame –
work of the SUSINDI project. The toolbox consists of an Excel-based climate calcu-
lator and a guide with recommendations on how to
assess GHG emissions from game development. The
target group is small and medium-sized game compa-
nies operating in Sweden or internationally. The tool box
is based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate
Standard and the Scope 3 Value Chain Standard to en-
sure a systematic approach that is in line with establish-
ed methodologies.
More information on the guide and calculator:
dataspelsbranschen.se/playcreatecalculate

Campground Interactive – Steel Effigy
1
CODE, CLIMATE, CREATIVITY
DATASPELSBRANSCHENSwedish Games Industry
Code
Climate
Creativity
GAME DEVELOPMEN\b AND \bHE GREEN \bRANSI\bION
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

66
Windup Games – Hela
KAPITELNAMN

67
EXPERT VOICE ANNA LARSSON CORCORAN
Sustainability consultant and partner at U&We
’By getting a figure on your climate impact and
insights about what is big and small, you have
a good basis for taking the next step towards
reducing emissions’
Hi Anna, what is Play, Create, Calculate and how does
it work?
Play, Create, Calculate consists of a climate calculator
and a guide to make it easier for small and medium-
sized enterprises to calculate their climate impact. The
climate calculator is customised for game development
studios and focuses on the emissions most relevant
to the industry. The guide provides tips on what data
to collect, how to carry out your climate calculation and
what actions to take to reduce your emissions based
on three different levels of ambition – from ‘Beginner’ to
‘Expert’.
How will the toolbox help game studios improve
their climate impact?
Firstly, it will make it easy to start evaluating without
having to be a climate expert or have a lot of resources.
We believe that what you evaluate you can influence.
By getting a figure on your climate impact and insights
about what is big and small, you have a good basis for
taking the next step towards reducing emissions. The
guide also includes a number of suggestions for actions
you can take to reduce emissions both upstream and
downstream in the value chain.
So what can game studios do to reduce their carbon
footprint?
For our sustainability report Code, Climate, Creativity
(2024), we have developed a long list of actions, both for our own operations, the purchases we make and how
we develop our games. The five most important are:
• Ensure your office has renewable electricity
• Take care of your hardware so that it lasts a long time
and if possible buy reconditioned products
• Choose suppliers with an active climate and sustain-
ability policy and set requirements, for example that
data centre suppliers should have 100% renewable
electricity
• Optimise games, for the best possible experience for
the players while minimising energy consumption
• Ensure that games have a long lifespan and can be
played on older consoles and computers
How does the games industry differ from other
industries in terms of climate impact?
The emissions that occur in our own operations and
from the purchases we make do not differ much from
other service companies. The big difference is the
emissions that occur when games are played. In many
cases, playing games accounts for 90 per cent or more
of the total climate impact of game companies. These
emissions are also more difficult for a game company
to influence and require more effort, such as optimising
games to reduce energy consumption and collaborat-
ing across the industry on these issues.
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

68 THREATS AND CHALLENGES
Swedish game companies have continued to grow
during the year, increasing both revenue and the
number of employees, and as an industry proved
resilient to several external threats. However, there
are several challenges that the industry needs to
address in order for growth to continue.
Threats and Challenges
Financing Capital
Access to capital has been greatly affected by the mac-
roeconomic situation. The number of investments has
decreased and, as in previous years, a clear majority of
the investments made in the Swedish market are from
companies that are already established in the industry.
The inflow of new capital needs improvement, as it is
still remarkably difficult to find financing, especially in
the early stages. This particularly affects companies
that do not have an existing strong network of contacts,
and risks becoming a long-term obstacle to innovation
and diversity in the industry. One consequence of
this in 2023 is an increase in the number of companies
that have closed down instead of finding a home with

another owner, and a more difficult situation for laid-off
staff to to become entrepreneurs and start new studios
start as an alternative to changing jobs. In competing countries such as the US, Canada, the
UK and Finland, there are long since established financ-
ing structures, tax breaks and other forms of support
to give start-ups an edge on international competition.
For Swedish companies, the lack of a national equivalent
creates a trade barrier to the rest of the world. There
is also a need for improved business expertise in the
sector, not least in small and new companies.
Long Term Skills Supply
In 2023, there were 644 new hires in Sweden. This is a
higher number than the year before and there is still a
significant skills shortage, especially in the long term.
Few game developers have reached retirement age, but that number will increase over the next decade. Com-
paratively few game developers graduate from the
country's game education programmes and employers
recruit heavily from other countries. It is estimated that at least a third of the employees
in the industry have migrated to Sweden to work here,
and in several of the larger companies it is up to half
of the staff. At the same time, it is difficult for newcom-
ers to find accommodation and obtain work permits,
and the rules concerning short authorisation periods
for probationary employment affect many employees.
Despite the government's insistence on the importance
of a highly skilled labour force, the number of refusals
when applying for permits has increased drastically. Efforts in the sector to promote diversity and gender
equality have, among other things, resulted in more
women being employed and a broadening of the over-
all recruitment base. This work, as well as skills develop-
ment for existing staff, needs further improvement for
the industry to continue to grow.
Screen Time and Safe Play
The WHO and Public Health Agency of Sweden’s recom-
mendations on screen time for children do not take
into account what children actually do in front of the
screen. It is a starting point that assumes that all screen
time should be limited in the same way, be cause all
screen time is equally bad. This makes it difficult for
game developers to address these issues constructively,
as the recommendations don’t differentiate between
Morbid Games – Traum

69
Radicalisation differs from online hate and bad be-
haviour in the intention to influence players' opinions
and actions. The actors who engage in radicalisation
can have different motives and ideologies, such as Isla-
mism, misogyny, disinformation or right-wing extrem-
ism. The method is usually to contact players in-game
and then move to a closed forum where the radical-
isation itself takes place. These forums generally also
include more opportunities to share material, such as
links, images and videos than in-game communications. Counteracting radicalisation requires cooperation,
not least internationally as games reach a global audi –
ence. The secretariat of the Swedish Games Industry
works actively on the issue of radicalisation together
with authorities, researchers, organisations, member
companies, international industry associations and
others.
Work Environment
One long-term challenge is the work environment.
The industry as a whole is constantly working to im-
prove working conditions, but it does not always get
all the way there. The game industry is not exempt
from occasional poor leadership, corporate culture and
problems in the workplace. At the same time, there are
challenges with many young new employees, culture
clashes with employees from different backgrounds
in an international environment, and creative projects
where many strong wills need to come together. Dis-
couraging problematic behaviour, actively managing
the workplace and detecting potential problems early
are some of the measures to create attractive work-
places. After the pandemic, the industry has largely
moved back to offices, but hybrid solutions and re-
mote work are more common, bringing their own set
of challenges.
content or promote improved digital experiences. At the
same time, the recommendations have been widely
criticised and research clearly shows that the types
of screen time can vastly differ and that the main risk
is dis placement of other important activities, not the
screen itself. There are also several studies that high-
light the positive effects of games, some of which are
sum marised in the report Power of Play from Video
Games Europe , 2023.
Without the perspective of screen content instead of
screen time, games risk being blamed for problems they
do not cause, which in turn can weaken the conditions
for, among other things, long-term skills provision and
games as a cultural expression.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad concept, and some
types of implementations have existed in games since
the beginning of the industry – from self-playing chess
to reactive behaviours in game characters. The latest
wave of generative AI, with the ability to create text,
images, video, music and other content based on the
interpretation of data, presents both a challenge and
an opportunity for the industry. One such challenge
is how the legal rights and obligations surrounding
AI-generated material and the technology behind it are
handled by regulators. It is important for game devel-
opers to be able to control how generated material is
used. There is also a need to clarify how copyright and
trade mark protection can be ensured in the future
and how training data in the form of reference material
can be used. At the same time, AI as a technology can
contribute to new game experiences and increased
productivity, for example by being able to expand and
extrapolate new variations of existing digital material.
Radicalisation and Online Hate
Managing problematic player behaviour is an ongoing
challenge. Methods used in the industry include warn-
ing or blocking misbehaving players, limiting commu-
nication between players and using AI to identify which
players may pose a risk. Other measures include the
cultivation of a good culture in the player community
and the presence of moderators and editors. Apart
from in-game communication and self-run forums, there
are third-party channels where companies do not have
a mandate and where the games industry faces the
same challenges as any other actor in society.
Wrong Organ –
Mouthwashing

70
This report is a compilation of annual reports from the Swedish
Companies Registration Office’s Trade and Industry Register
and data from Statistics Sweden's Statistical Business Register.
It includes limited companies that have game development,
publishing or specialised subcontracting functions as a
significant part of their business.
METHODOLOGY
Methodology
Examples of subcontractors include companies offering
game-specific services in translation, motion capture,
programming or music production. Companies specialis –
ing in gambling activities such as poker or casino games
are not included in the sample. Company Groups are reported at the highest appro-
priate level, with Swedish parent companies and rele vant
Swedish subsidiaries. The total group revenue including
foreign subsidiaries is reported separately in the global
revenue. Part of the data collection is done using Statistics
Sweden's data, mainly for limited companies with reg-
istered activities under NACE 58.210 – Publishing of com-
puter games. In October 2024, there were 1,184 active
companies registered under this code, but after manual
review, 387 companies have been removed from the
list as they had their main activities in other industries,
mostly casino games or other software development.
Some game companies choose instead to use NACE
code 62.010 – Computer programming, for example EA
DICE. In total, 273 manually included companies from
this year's report have been registered under other SNI
codes. The main part of the report concerns limited compa-
nies, since that’s where the vast majority of the industry's
activities are found. A few companies in other forms are
found on the Game Developer Map. Several companies have split financial years. For
these, the latest available annual report has been used,
and for companies with previously reported revenue
above SEK 100 million, we have requested submitted
documents from the Swedish Companies Registration
Office. Data from Statistics Sweden's business register was
obtained on 8th of August 2024 and includes key figures
from 2023. Additional information regarding annual
reports was obtained from UC on October 28th 2024. The chapter Number of companies presents a sum-
mary of the number of companies categorised by size.
This type of summary is typical in the EU context and
is therefore based to some extent on the EU's definition
of company size, which traditionally takes into account
the number of employees and the company's revenue.
As in previous years, we have chosen to drop the
revenue criterion from the definition and instead rely
solely on the number of employees, as game studios
can differ enormously in terms of revenue –
especially
small studios. This is believed to marginally affect distri –
bution among small and micro enterprises. In addition,
we have separated the number of companies with more
than five employees to better illustrate the proportion
of the industry that is run as smaller studios. To be
counted as an employee of a company, a person must
receive a salary or other employment benefit. The

71
number of employees is calculated as an average of the
number of months an employee has received a salary.
Many companies have no employees at all. This may be
because the person or persons running the company
are not yet receiving a salary or are only receiving remu-
neration in the form of share dividends. Some companies are run primarily as holding com-
panies or as an entrepreneurial endeavour alongside
employment. Companies that are no longer active but
used to release games or other services are often left
behind so that the games can continue to be played
and generate passive revenue. The approach as a whole has several shortcomings.
There may be more companies that should be included
in the report but are not because we are not aware of
them. The manual selection opens up for mistakes, and
there is a grey area with companies that are difficult to
categorise. The strength of the method is that the data
is audited and public through the agency's publication.
The manual selection allows us to ensure that all major
companies are included and the industry gets a more
representative data set regardless of SNI code. In some cases, the annual report was submitted late
in the year, a recurring pattern which, combined with
the authorities' processing times, means that we do not
receive all reports on time. In these cases, the annual
report is presented for the most recent year. The total
revenue for these companies in 2022 corresponds to 0.8% of this year's revenue, which means a minor mar-
gin of error. The largest company this applies to this
year is Niburu Software AB. The market capitalisation of public game companies
in 2022 was stated in the 2023 edition to total SEK 144
billion. New calculations of market capitalisation in 2022
adjust this to SEK 124 billion. This difference may be due
to new calculations as a result of company reorganisa-
tions or to averages being calculated over different time
periods. In this report, both accounted and compared
statistics are based on the estimated market capitalisa-
tion during the last quarter of the year in question. When collecting information from incubators, net-
works, accelerators and game training programmes,
forms with questions were sent out to the relevant par-
ties. The responses were then used as the basis for the
texts under the chapters ‘Entrepreneurship and National
Collaborations’ and ‘Game Developer Educations ’.
Swedish companies report in Swedish Krona, SEK.
In some cases euro or dollar are used for comparison.
When currencies have been converted, we have used
the aggregated annual exchange rate defined by the
Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank. In 2023, EUR 1 was SEK
11,47652, an increase of 7,36% compared to 2022 and
USD 1 was SEK 10,61284, an increase of 4,6% compared
to 2022. More details on the selection and methodology of the
KPIs can be found in the respective chapters.
Silent Factory – Red Metal
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

72 BECOME A MEMBER OF THE SWEDISH GAMES INDUSTRY
Become a Member of
the Swedish Games Industry
The Swedish Games Industry is the trade organisation
for video game companies in Sweden. The organisation
represents the industry as a whole through the industry
associations Spelplan-ASGD (game developers, producers,
education, academia and support members) and ANGI
(publishers and distributors).
We represent our members to policy makers, authori-
ties, media, academia, civil society, other organisations,
related industries, the public and other stakeholders.
Our work is guided by our members' interests
through
• Boards of Directors
• Annual General Meeting and member meetings
• Specialised working groups on specific issues
• Ongoing dialogue with member companies and
their staff
The Swedish Games Industry monitors, collates and
communicates the industry's key issues through
• Our reports
• Representing the industry in the media and partici-
pating in seminars and conferences in Sweden and
worldwide
• Following and communicating the most important
industry issues in our own channels
• Contributing knowledge to authorities, public institu –
tions, researchers, etc.
• Disseminating knowledge about how laws and regu-
lations affect our members
• Consultation responses and participation in public
inquiries The Swedish Games Industry brings together the people
in the industry in different ways, both for business and
pleasure. We organise conferences such as For Devs,
Invest in Games, the Swedish Game Awards, Indie Game
Dungeon, labour market days, seminars and social
meeting places.
We carry out projects based on the concrete needs
of member companies, often with external funding.
Examples of projects are
• Nordic collection booths at trade fairs (Gamescom,
GDC)
• Incubator collaborations
• Collaborations with colleges, universities and
research institutes
• Joint events with indies, students and hobbyists
• Activities and projects that increase diversity and
gender equality
• Business development resources for start-ups
• Staff supply by offering secondary and higher educa-
tion institutions support membership, which means
support in quality improvements and guest lecturers,
among other things
Games is a global industry and many of our member
companies have international interests, which is why
we are also active in the rest of the world. The Swedish

73
Games Industry is involved in international events,
EU projects, international networks and co-operation,
contacts with Swedish authorities abroad and other
activities. In addition, we are members of or cooperate
with international organisations such as:
Video Games Europe (VGE)
European Games Developer Federation (EGDF)
Nordic Game Institute (NGI)
Global Video Game Coalition (GVGC)
In addition to this, our members also get access to
• Discounts on various services such as business coun-
selling, legal and patent issues
• Invitations to conferences and trade fairs in Sweden
and internationally
• Member services
• Events, discounts, knowledge, meeting places, statis-
tics, contacts with advisors
The Various Memberships
As a member of the Swedish Games Industry, you are
involved in developing and improving conditions for
game developers in Sweden. You are involved in both
influencing and supporting our work to promote the
conditions for the industry. Everything so that you as
an entrepreneur can succeed in your business. In addition, you receive various membership benefits
such as services, discounts, access to networks and
invitations to activities. Ordinary Membership
Our regular members are game developers, producers,
publishers and distributors and represent everything
from solo to multinational companies as well as devel-
opers and publishers working with all types of digital
games for console, mobile, PC, online and e-sports.
Educational Membership
Our educational members are the game training cen-
tres, incubators, academies or similar. Educational mem-
bers have the same rights as full members, except for
voting rights at annual meetings.
Supporting Memberships
Our supporting members are organisations or com-
panies that do not operate purely in the field of game
development, but are still involved in some way. For
example, selling services to game companies or sharing
a target audience. Supporting members have the same
rights as ordinary members, with the exception of
voting rights at annual meetings.
Fee of full membership 2024
SEK 13,750 per year for companies with up to ten
employees. If you have more than ten employees, an
additional SEK 1,375 per employee is charged up to 110
employees. VAT will be added.
Fee of education and support membership 2024
Fixed price of SEK 35,750 per year regardless of the
size of the organisation. VAT will be added.
Read more and find application forms at dataspelsbranschen.se/medlemskap
or by scanning the QR code.
Landfall – Content Warning
GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2024

74 GLOSSARY
Glossary
AAA: Reads "Triple A". Popular term
for bigger games with large budgets
and staff. Typically published by the
industry's largest publishers.
AI: Artificial Intelligence. A tradi-
tional term for autonomous agents
in games that make their own deci-
sions or navigate the game world.
Machine learning is used to develop
new tools in game design. Genera-
tive AI refers to algorithms that use
instructions and computer learning
to create new versions of material.
Alpha: The phase in software
development where key systems
and features are implemented and
ready for software testing.
AR/Augmented Reality: Direct
or indirect viewing of a physical
environment whose elements are
enhanced (or supplemented) by
computer-generated sensory input
(audio, video, graphics or GPS data).
Beta: Takes place after alpha.
At this point the product is largely
complete, but may contain bugs
or require polishing. In some cases
the game is made available for
closed or public software testing
by so-called beta testers.
Casual games: Simpler games,
typically with minimal storylines,
shorter learning curves and
designed to be played for short
periods of time. Cloud gaming: Also known as
gaming on demand, is a type of on-
line game that allows the streaming
of a game to a computer stored on
the operator's or game company's
server without the need for a con-
sole or advanced computer perfor-
mance.
Co-development/Co-dev:
Subcontracting production work
from other game development
studios, often for limited parts
of a
project as a complete team.
See outsourcing.
Core: Term used to describe games
made for a dedicated, self-identified
gamer audience.
CPM: Cost Per Mille; cost of a

thousand ad impressions.
Crossplay: Making it possible to
play the same game together on
different platforms.
Crowdfunding: Financing a project
through crowdsourcing. In recent
years, this has been popularly
expressed in various web platforms
that collect funding support for
various projects from interested
individuals or companies.
DAU: Daily Active Users; The

number of unique users per day.
Digital distribution: Sales of digital
software through digital channels. DLC:
Downloadable Content; down –
loadable additions to video games,
oftentimes with less content than
classic "expansions".
Early Access: games released for
sale in an early development phase
before official release.
Freemium: Collective name for
business models where a product
or service is offered for free but
where the player can unlock

additional content through micro-
transactions such as buying virtual
items or skip waiting times.
Free-to-play/free2play: Games
that offer users to play the game
for free in their basic version

monetisation occurs through
other means, such as ads or
additional paid content.
Game Jam: Shorter events where
game developers meet and create
games together for a limited time,
often with a specific purpose or
theme.
Gold master: A traditional term
for the final and finished version
of a software, ready for wide
distribution.
Hyper casual: Games under
the casual category with an even
greater focus on stripped-down
interfaces to allow spontaneous
game for very short moments,
such as in public transport.

75
IAP: In-App Purchases, directly
accessible in the app/game, rather
than through external payment

systems. The goods purchased
can consist of additional levels,

equipment, experience points or

subscription services.
Indie: From "independent".
A prefix that characterises games
by independent developers, usually
smaller games with small develop-
ment teams.
IP: Intellectual Property, a type
of intangible asset, often referring
to game concepts, brands, trade-
marks and other assets.
MARPPU: Monthly Average

Revenue Per Paying User.
MARPU: Monthly Average
Revenue Per User.
MAU: Monthly Active Users;
the number of unique users over
a 30 day period.
Middleware: Software used to
develop games. Middleware acts
as a "glue" between two already
existing software components.
Micro Transactions: A small online
transaction. The term is used to
describe transactions that pay,
among other things, DLCs and
in-app purchases.
MMORPG: Massively Multiplayer
Online Role-Playing Game, a type of
role-playing game where thousands
of players exist in the same digital
world, such as World of Warcraft.
MR/Mixed Reality: A type of
game that combines the real-
world environ ment with digital
elements, for example (but not necessarily) using a headset
with a built-in camera.
Multiplayer: Games that can be
played by multiple people at the
same time, online or on the same
device.
Outsourcing: General term for

hiring external human resources
and specific skills from other com-
panies and delegating production
assignments to other companies.
See co-development.
Premium: Revenue model where
a digital product is purchased for
a fixed price, unlike, for example,
free-to-play where the game is
free to acquire.
Retail: Games sold in physical
stores.
Roguelike/Roguelite: Collective
term for a genre of games charac-
terised by procedurally generated
levels, turn-based decisions, grid
movements, and/or permanent
endings if the game character dies,
meaning that the game is played
over from the start.
Serious games: Games with
a primary purpose other than
entertainment. It can be simulators,
exercise games, games for learning,
games for rehabilitation, or adver-
tising games.
Singleplayer: Games played by
only one person at a time.
Social games: Collective name for
games on social networks, such as
Mobage and Facebook.
Soft Launch: Releasing a game
in limited markets to evaluate
engagement. Streaming:
Direct playback of
digital content while transmitting
it over the internet.
Studio: Game development

company or division of a game
development company, for
example, in a specific location.

UGC: User Generated Content.
Used as a concept in games and
social media where users them-
selves create or contribute to the
content of the experience, such
as customised courses in a game.
VFX: Visual Effects in digital
media, including particle effects,

animations, motion capture and
physics simulations.
Virtual goods/items: Term

referring to digital objects that
exist in games in the form of,
for example, puzzle pieces,
weapons, or other items.
VR/Virtual Reality: A way to
visually immerse yourself in a
game experience using some
kind of headset (or "Head-
mounted Display").
XR/Extended Reality:
Collective term for all technologies
that extend/change the user's
perception of their surroundings,
such as AR and VR.
Perfect Random –
Sulfur

www.swedishgamesindustry.com