J. Clement
Research lead covering internet and gaming
Video game industry in Sweden - Statistics & Facts
While only ranked eighth in terms of annual video gaming revenue among leading gaming markets in Europe, Sweden’s video game industry is a powerhouse featuring gaming companies of all sizes. In 2021, Swedish gaming companies generated an annual net turnover of 26.9 billion Swedish kronor, up from 21.2 billion Swedish kronor in the previous year. That year, the annual production value of video game companies in Sweden amounted to 28.4 billion Swedish kronor.
No stranger to rebranding and reorganization, Embracer Group announced in April 2024 that until 2026, the company would split into three standalone publicly listed companies: an AA/indie video games segment under the name Coffee Stain & Friends, a board game segment under the Asmodee Group, and a segment to manage its library of licensed intellectual properties including those of Tolkien's Middle Earth, Tomb Raider, and other AAA-level franchises.
The size and scale of the Embracer Group mean that all these changes are likely to impact the Swedish video game industry as a whole. It remains to be seen how much this impact will be felt locally, especially in regard to layoffs or scrapped projects.
Gaming company landscape in Sweden
In 2022, the highest-grossing video game company in Sweden was Candy Crush creator King, generating about 598 million euros in revenue during the measured period. Sweden had 939 video game development companies in 2022, compared to only 667 Swedish game dev companies two years prior. During the past decade, the number of employees in the video game development market in Sweden increased steadily. As of the most recent date, 8,445 people were working for gaming companies in the Scandinavian country, and an additional 16,494 workers were employees in Swedish companies abroad.Global hits made in Sweden
Swedish gaming companies are not the only ones reaching out to broaden their portfolio abroad – the same applies the other way around, with international gaming companies snapping up gaming hits made in Sweden. The leading examples of notable gaming companies founded in Sweden that have since been snapped up by others are Minecraft maker Mojang (purchased by Microsoft) and Candy Crush creator King (acquired by Activision Blizzard). Another example is Electronic Arts’ subsidiary EA Digital Illusions CE AB (trade name: DICE). The company has developed several major series, including Battlefield, Mirror’s Edge, and Star Wars: Battlefront. DICE is also the developer of the Frostbyte game engine.Spotlight: Embracer Group – the former kraken releasing its grip
Previously known for its breakneck speed in the acquisition of game development studios and creative IP worldwide, Embracer Group is one of the most prominent gaming companies from Sweden and one of the biggest gaming companies worldwide. However, this growth stalled in 2023 after a two billion U.S. dollar investment from the Savy Games Group fell through, which caused the Embracer Group to be more than two billion U.S. dollars in debt. This led to a large-scale restructuring program focused on cost reduction, comprising studio closures, layoffs, and divestments, as well as numerous project cancellations through early 2024.No stranger to rebranding and reorganization, Embracer Group announced in April 2024 that until 2026, the company would split into three standalone publicly listed companies: an AA/indie video games segment under the name Coffee Stain & Friends, a board game segment under the Asmodee Group, and a segment to manage its library of licensed intellectual properties including those of Tolkien's Middle Earth, Tomb Raider, and other AAA-level franchises.
The size and scale of the Embracer Group mean that all these changes are likely to impact the Swedish video game industry as a whole. It remains to be seen how much this impact will be felt locally, especially in regard to layoffs or scrapped projects.
