All Time High for Game Industry in Sweden – creativity and diversity beat the tide of the economic crisis
The annual industry report 'Swedish Games Industry 2024: Game Developer Index’ is presented today November 13, 2024. In a difficult economic situation, the Swedish game industry stands strong. Despite declining access to capital, the number of new companies and employees is increasing. The industry is profitable, and a majority of the companies with revenue make a return on investment.
Swedish game companies increased revenue by 6.4% to SEK 34.6 billion (EUR B3 / USD B3.3) in 2023*. That is more than the export of iron ore or fashion from Sweden, which amounted to almost SEK 34.5 billion respectively 32 billion in the same year**. Compared to 2022, the revenue shows an increase of almost SEK 2 billion and nearly a doubling in the last five years. In total, including subsidiaries abroad, the Swedish industry had a revenue of SEK 90.4 billion, an increase of 4.5% compared to the previous year.
In total, the game companies paid SEK 1.8 billion in corporate tax on their profits and another SEK 1.9 billion in payroll taxes during the year. The players contributed 1.7 billion in VAT when purchasing games. In total, this gives SEK 5.4 billion (EUR M 471) to the treasury from video games in Sweden.
“2023 was a year when many companies restructured and the media reported on setbacks in the industry. That's why getting figures on how the industry is still growing feels particularly good. Despite fewer investments and poorer access to capital, the Swedish game development companies are stable”, says Johanna Nylander, Head of Analytics at the Swedish Games Industry Association.
Increase on almost all fronts despite the difficult economic situation
The number of new companies is increasing in Sweden. In 2023, 108 companies were founded, resulting in a total of 1,010 active game companies during the year. Of these, 196 game studios had five or more employees.
In the Swedish game industry, 644 people were newly employed in 2023. This is an increase of almost 8% of the total number of employees in the industry. Swedish-owned game companies employed 9,089 people in 2023 in Sweden and 15,792 people abroad. More women work in the industry. In 2023, 2,150 women worked at a game company in Sweden, which corresponds to a share of 23.7%.
Together, the revenue of the 23 game companies listed on the stock exchange amounted to SEK 64 billion (EUR B 5.6), which is a three-fold increase since 2020 (SEK 20.5 billion) and almost twice as much as in 2021 (SEK 36.8 billion).
Despite global success, challenges exist at a local level
At a local level, the challenges are greater, and for the individuals affected by layoffs during the year, it is a situation they would rather have been without. Fewer investments and acquisitions have been carried out and there are more industry players on the seller side than as buyers. Access to capital is one of the most important challenges for the industry going forward.
“Diversity is the strongest card for Swedish game companies. We make a huge variety of games by different companies for a mixed crowd of players. From simple puzzles to almost infinitely detailed strategy games. Children’s games and age-rated games. Big and small. Technically ground-breaking or ingenious in their simplicity. The Swedish game companies have all kinds”, says Per Strömbäck, CEO at the Swedish Game Industry Association
What else is going on in the industry?
In addition to numbers and statistics, the report also covers important topics, trends, and global monitoring from the game industry. Here are some examples of chapters in the report that deal with topics other than numbers:
Important events in the industry – read about the biggest game releases, IPOs, and cultural moments.
Alarmism then and now – read about differences and similarities between the moral panic of the past and today's screen time debate.
Children and games – read about the tools making games safer and what to consider when making games for children.
No games on a dead planet – read about the industry's emissions and tools to measure its climate footprint.
Threats and challenges – read about which challenges the industry needs to meet for growth to continue.
*Swedish companies report in Swedish Krona, SEK. Currency conversions are made with the aggregated annual exchange rate defined by the Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank. In 2023, EUR 1 was SEK 11,47652, an increase of 7,36% compared to 2022 and USD 1 was SEK 10,61284, an increase of 4,6% compared to 2022.
**In comparison with other industries, Statistics Sweden states that the export of fashion in 2023 was SEK 32 billion, and iron ore was SEK 34.5 billion.
About ‘Swedish Games Industry 2024: Game Developer Index'
The ‘Swedish Games Industry 2024: Game Developer Index’ is an annual industry report that maps, reports, and analyzes Swedish game developers’ activities and international trends by compiling the companies' annual reports. The report compiles the Swedish companies' most recently reported operating year (2023).
About the Swedish Games Industry Association
The Swedish Game Industry Association is the trade organization for video game companies in Sweden. We represent the industry as a whole from game developers, publishers, distributors, education, academia, and supporting functions.
Contact
Johanna Nylander, Head of Analytics, Swedish Games Industry Association
johanna.nylander@dataspelsbranschen.se
+46709482988
Per Strömbäck, Head of Secretariat, Swedish Games Industry Association
per.stromback@dataspelsbranschen.se
+46708436214
Download the report here or click on the image below.
