Game industry in Finland

The Finnish game industry is the fastest growing sector of the creative economy. Over the coming years, the business volume of the industry will increase as much as 50 percent each year, says the game organisation Neogames. The support given by the Finnish public sector for the game industry at the start of the 2000s and the R&D activities carried out in companies are starting to pay off.

The strong development of the Finnish game industry can be attributed to three factors: the technical and content-related competence of companies as well as the excellent price/quality ratio and delivery performance in game production, added to the international rise of the mobile entertainment sector.

Finnish games, more than mobile
The Finnish game industry is often considered to be too dependent on mobility, but this is not the case. Success stories such as Max Payne, FlatOut, Water War and Habbo Hotel (picture) prove that there is an ample number of alternatives in PC and console games as well. Success in the traditional game market combined with mobile know-how guarantees that the Finnish game industry is also well-positioned to answer the challenge posed by multiplatform games in the future.

International research shows that the creative economy is going to challenge the traditional industrial economy in the Western world, and the game industry is the most rapidly growing sector of the creative economy. In the case of Finland, this structural change has clearly been recognised, and measures have been launched to adapt to the new situation. The rise of the game industry in Finland is not a coincidence – it is the result of continuous investment in the sector.

The future
The future seems bright. Nevertheless, investments are still important, considering the future of the game industry. Both the industry and the public sector have the will, know-how and resources to implement these investments.

The full report can be downloaded as pdf for free: www.neogames.fi/fingames/Finnish%20Game%20Companies%2006.pdf

Tags: games

Blog Posting Number 408