Despite economic turmoil in the industry globally, the game development industry in south Sweden added new companies and staff in 2023, a new report finds.
The report, The South Swedish Game Development Industry 2024, looks at the state of the digital game development industry in Sweden's two southernmost regions, Skåne and Blekinge. The report consists of key figures retrieved from the regional game development companies’ publicly available annual reports for 2023, and a region-wide employee survey.
It’s the second time Game Habitat has conducted the region-wide game developer employee survey, the first was conducted in 2022. The survey is unique, nowhere else in Sweden has anything similar been done. This year's results differ from the previous in several significant ways.
– The recent economic turmoil in the global game development industry is felt throughout the survey. Game developers increasingly look for job stability, appreciate the industry to a lesser extent, and fewer consider a long-term career in games. However, developers still have a higher appreciation for our region overall, which I believe is partly because of our great community and partly because the regional industry is still healthy and growing, says Peter Lübeck, CEO of Game Habitat.
Key company data
🏢 168 game companies (149)
🧑 1 767 employees (1 706), of which 22% are women (21,7%)
📈 2 353 MSEK in revenue (2 441 MSEK), 319 MSEK in profits (659 MSEK)
Figures for 2022 in parentheses.
Compared to the year before, the number of companies and employees in south Sweden in 2023 increased by 13% and 4% respectively. Compared to the annual average growth in 2011-2022, which was 22% and 19% respectively, the growth slowed down in 2023. However, the regional industry still grew, a significant feat in an industry that globally in this period saw record-high layoffs and game studio closures. Additionally, looking back just five years, the number of regional game companies and their revenue have more than doubled, and the number of employees is up 60%.
Small city, huge games industry
Malmö stands out as the main city in the region’s game development industry, being home to 93 game companies and 94% of all the region’s game developers. Six of Sweden’s ten largest game development companies have offices in Malmö. Measured by employees, Malmö’s games industry is bigger than all of Denmark’s. If Malmö were a country, it would be the EU's 11th largest game development country, measured by employees, and 10th, measured by the number of game companies. Malmö is Sweden’s third biggest city with a population of 360 000, meaning the city has one of the highest concentrations of game developers and game companies in the world.
Key employee survey results
🧑💼 62,3% are 35 years or younger
🎓 92,3% have a higher education
🕹 53,4% have worked six years or more in the games industry
🌍 40% are citizens of a country other than Sweden, 77 nationalities represented in total
🪄 23,4% wish to start their own game studio, and 40,8% may be interested
✅ 77,3% say south Sweden’s games industry is great, 62,2% for the industry in general
3️⃣ Top 3 things about south Sweden’s games industry according to respondents: 1) Growth and career opportunities, 2), Community, 3) Quality of life in the region
– The survey shows an industry of individuals who are well-educated, experienced, relatively young, strikingly international, and fond of the regional game industry and the quality of life here, says Peter Lübeck, CEO of Game Habitat.