MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Revenue from Swedish game developers increased to €1.4bn in 2016, showing a growth of 1,000 per cent since 2010, according to the 2017 edition of the Swedish Game Developer Index.
Of that figure, €35m (or 25 per cent) was generated by micro, small or medium sized companies, and the staff at these companies make up nearly half of the total number of employees in the Swedish games industry. There’s still a clear gender imbalance, however, with 82 per cent of employees identifying as male and just 18 per cent as female. That represents no change compared to 2015.
The report also states the annual compound growth rate in the period between 2006 – 2016 is 34 per cent, and that the industry has reported a total profit for eight years running.The number of start-ups in Sweden has also grown to 287, representing a 22 per cent increase year-on-year.
What’s more, nine per cent of all Swedish games companies are currently working on VR experiences, putting it just behind those working on console titles, which stands at 12 per cent. PC and mobile, however, are the most dominant categories, with 47 per cent apiece.
The global appetite for Swedish-made games is high, too, with one in ten gamers around the world having played a game that’s been developed in Sweden. These include Battlefield 1, Minecraft, Goat Simulator, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Candy Crush Saga and Star Wars Battlefront to name just a few.
Sweden is blessed with great game developers, but we would hire more if we could. Now we’re looking to attract new talent from overseas. Some companies have also opened offices in places like New York, Los Angeles, London and Berlin to tap into that talent pool,” said Per Stromback, spokesperson for Dataspelsbranschen, the Swedish Games Industry.
"Sweden is constantly rated one of the best places to do business and live from top publications and developers are working even harder to make Sweden a particularly appealing place to work as they attract new games creators from across the globe.”
