Swedish game developer turnover reached nearly €1bn in 2014

Turnover of Swedish game developers totalled €955m during 2014, a new report claims.

The new Game Developer Index report by Dataspelsbranschen, as seen by Develop, reveals the majority of companies in Sweden are now profitable, and the figures represent positive earnings and growth for the sixth consecutive year.

King is the country’s biggest earner in terms of turnover, making €363m. The other top earners were Mojang, DICE, Avalanche and Starbreeze

Including acquisitions, The Swedish game industry is thought to be worth €2.8bn.

The number of staff employed by the game industry has also risen by 583 full-time positions (23 per cent) to a total headcount of 3,117. This figure does not include freelancers.

Employment rates have grown significantly and consistently since 2010, when the industry employed over 1,000 staff.

Sweden’s biggest employers are DICE, which houses 560 staff, and King with 273 employees. Massive, Avalanche and G5 Entertainment also house hundreds of staff.

The ratio of men to women in the sector is also improving. The number of women grew by 39 per cent, while the number of men grew by 18 per cent.

In total, there are now 213 games companies across Sweden, with 43 new studios starting up in the last year. More than half of all companies were registered later than 2010.

Sweden’s main development hub is Stockholm, where 40 per cent of game companies are based. 13 per cent of firms are based in Gothenburg, 11 per cent in Malmo and seven per cent in Skovde.

Following a successful year Dataspelsbranschen expects the Swedish game industry to continue to grow in 2015.