Despite its small population size, this Nordic country’s games output makes an enormous impact across the world. Will Freeman speaks to those making one of the world’s most productive development hubs count
THINK OF THEworld’s most significant games development hubs, and you might not immediately consider Sweden. And yet this is a country that has created a
wealth of global hits in recent years. Trophies from award shows across the planet today reside in Swedish studios’ display cabinets, and a wave of talent is making a new home in cities like Stockholm and Malmö. This is the nation where EA Dice makes Battlefield, where LittleBigPlanet Vita is being partially-developed, and where Angry Birds outfit Rovio has set up a new studio. It is also the home to indie mega-hit Minecraft. Seemingly from nowhere, Swedish
developers have together thrust and their country in to the development sector big
league, attracting a wealth talent from all over the world. Alongside studios such as Tarsier, Starbreeze,
Massive and Avalanche, tools and services providers including SimplyGon, Hansoft and LocalizeDirect attract a global client list. In 2011 alone, Sweden’s games business’ annual turnover increased by a remarkable 50 per cent. And in Stoockholm 1,000 devs are today employed in producing games, making the city one of the top five industry employers in Europe. Quite simply, the country can no longer be ignored.
PERFECTLY FORMED “Considering how small our population is, I feel we are very prominent on the global
stage,” says EA Dice senior producer Patrick Liu. “Although the games development scene is fairly small in number of people, it certainly has left a permanent mark on the global scene when it comes to successful studios and games. I think this is thanks to a relatively established technical progress in the country, and a very healthy entrepreneurial vibe, especially in Stockholm, with lots of start-ups in tech businesses.” Numerous Swedish developers are keen
to back Liu’s perspective, and as with its neighbour and friendly rival Finland, it’s clear there’s a pride in the output of a country famed as a pleasant place to make a home. “Sweden has long been one of the most active games development countries in the
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Studios in Sweden have developed a number of globally successful franchises, such as Tarsier’s work on LittleBigPlanet for Vita (above)