Record high number of companies and revenue, a healthy profit margin, and a decrease in employees. South Sweden’s game development industry weathered the global games industry storm in 2024 new data shows.
The Swedish Games Industry’s yearly report on the state of the Swedish games industry was released today. The report, The Game Developer Index 2025, contains data collected from publicly available annual reports of all of Sweden’s game development companies. Similar to how the data depict the Swedish game development industry in general, South Sweden’s games industry also fared well under difficult circumstances for the industry globally.
The figures
The data in the new report reflects the companies' most recently reported fiscal year, 2024. Here are the figures for South Sweden’s game development industry as recorded in The Game Developer Index report, and figures from previous years to compare:
The figures reveal that the regional industry in 2024 continued to grow in terms of revenue and number of companies, while the number of employees decreased. It’s the first time since Game Habitat began collecting data in 2011 that the number of employees has decreased year-over-year. The number of companies is growing for the eighth consecutive year.
The data reveals record-high revenue and another year of profit. Last year marked the fifth consecutive year with significant profits, and the revenue has never been higher. The revenue has more than doubled in five years.
"... this is what the region needs going forward"
– Our regional games industry felt the effects of the global turmoil in 2024. We’re saddened that employees have lost their jobs, but we’re excited about the increase in companies and revenue. The entrepreneurial will in the region is strong. And this is what the region needs going forward - we believe that more, smaller companies is how the regional game development industry will look in a few years, says Peter Lübeck, CEO at Game Habitat.
Building for the new regional landscape and to support the founding of and the early stages of new game development companies, Game Habitat in recent months launched Business Guidance, Haven, and an Internship Startup Program. Game Habitat, together with other actors, is also developing additional support structures, for instance through the SCORE project. Other forms of support will however be needed for the industry to successfully make the necessary transformation, Game Habitat is working with various partners to get other such support in place.
The games
The pinnacle of the game development industry is, of course, always the games. And 2024 saw some great regionally developed games being released, here’s a selection:
Star Wars Outlaws by Massive Entertainment - A Ubisoft Studio
SteamWorld Build by Thunderful
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes by Simogo
Fabledom by Grenaa Game
Touchgrind X by Illusion Labs
Miniatures by Other Tales Interactive
Eldrum: Black Dust by Act None
Voidwrought by Powersnake
The now
Since the end of the fiscal year 2024, which is the latest development that the data reflect, the turmoil in the global games industry has continued. After a few years of record-high growth and sales figures, there’s been a shift in global game development in line with the worsened global economy overall. As a result, the games industry has experienced declining revenues, disrupted business models, and lowered investment interests. Last year, the global effects started to take hold also in South Sweden’s games industry, but the effects on the regional industry as a whole were relatively small, the new data confirms.
The regional industry grew extremely fast in a ten-year period between 2013-2023. On average, per year, during this time, revenue increased by 29%, the number of companies increased by 21%, and the number of employees increased by 18%. The games industry in some other parts of Sweden and around the world experienced similar growth. The growth plateaued in 2023, and the 2024 data reveal the regional industry remained at that plateau during last year.
"Remains one of the world’s foremost hubs for game development"
As the global games industry’s struggles continued in 2025, new lay-offs, studio closures, and halted game projects have been announced. In South Sweden specifically, Massive Entertainment introduced a voluntary career transition program in October, and in September, Avalanche Studios Group announced layoffs. However, Activision Elsewhere is scaling up its Malmö office, Tarsier recently reached one million wishlist for their upcoming horror adventure game REANIMAL, and IO Interactive’s upcoming James Bond game 007 First Light has been very well received.
Although the industry globally is searching for its footing in the new landscape, South Sweden’s game development industry remains strong.
– South Sweden, with Malmö at the forefront, remains one of the world’s foremost hubs for game development. The 2024 data confirms as much. We’re definitely in the midst of a bumpy period, regionally and globally, but as with any industry or any one company, it’s seldom a straight journey to the top. We’re excited about the region’s future, it looks as bright as ever, and with the right support, we expect new game jobs to be created and new game companies to pop up, and we expect games made in our region to continue to have a global impact on players and on the industry as a whole, says Peter Lübeck, CEO at Game Habitat.
Notes on the data
A few important notes on the data:
- The companies figures include companies founded in the period from January to October in the following respective years. For instance, the 2024 figure includes seven companies founded between January and October 2025, and the 2023 figure includes eight companies founded in the same time span in 2024.
- The revenue and profit figures only include companies registered in South Sweden, in Skåne or Blekinge. This means companies such as Avalanche Studios Group, King, and Coffee Stain that have offices in South Sweden, but are registered elsewhere in Sweden, are not included in the regional revenue and profit figures.
- The figures only relate to limited companies (aktiebolag) working in game development, not game development companies of other types (sole trader (egen firma), trading partnership (handelsbolag), or economic association (ekonomisk förening)).
- The figures reflect the state of the industry in 2024, as all data is sourced from the companies' most recent annual reports covering their most recently reported fiscal year, 2024.
- The figures only include offices and staff in South Sweden, specifically in the regions Skåne and Blekinge, not subsidiaries or offices elsewhere in Sweden or in other countries.
- Additional figures, including national figures for Sweden, can be found in the Swedish Games Industry’s new report Game Developer Index 2025.