2 Index

43 36 34 30 28 16 6 | 4 |

| | | | | |

Platforms | 20 | 17 Industry Game StateThe Finnish ofThe History Introduction Trends and Future / Industry Framework Trends Future and /Industry Trends Genres and Future and /Platforms Outlook Financial Diversity & Developers | 24 | 22

Industry inaNutshell Industry Studio Founding Years Location of Companies and Clusters and of Companies Location Developers’ Challenges

Index 3 Clash Royale ● Picture: Supercell Supercell Picture: Serious Gaming Cluster Gaming Serious Education Finnish Game Jam Game Finnish IGDA Finland ryIGDA Tekes Neogames Finland Neogames Finland Regional SupportRegional FIVR Suomen Pelinkehittäjät ry Pelinkehittäjät Suomen Invest in Finland

Studio Profiles (separate Profiles file) Studio 56 | 57 | 58 | 62 | The IndustrySupport andNetworks 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 54| 55 |

| | 72

48 ABOUT THIS REPORT Cities: Skylines have conquered the world, and well over a billion people FOR almost a decade, our game all over the globe have been playing industry has been the biggest cultural games made in Finland. When export branch in Finland. Finnish Finland celebrates its 100 years of games from Angry Birds to Clash of independence in 2017, the game Clans, from Quantum Break to industry has become a vital part of Finnish cultural landscape and its significance, both culturally and

Introduction economically, is well recognized. This publication provides a holistic overview of the Finnish game industry in 2016. The data presented in the following pages is based on a total of 140 company interviews carried out from October 2016 to January 2017, augmented by data from other sources. This study is a continuation of similar studies conducted in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2014. Altogether 60 game companies, members of the Finnish Game

Picture: KoplaGames 4 ● Nonstop Knight Introduction

Developers Association or Serious Gaming Cluster, are listed and introduced on the company profile pages. We wish to thank everyone who has participated in this process. Special thanks to Suomen Pelinkehittäjät ry (Finnish Game Developers Association), Invest in Finland and Tekes (the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation) for their support.

Team Neogames: KooPee Hiltunen Suvi Latva J-P Kaleva

Picture: Seriously ● Best Fiends 5 6 History ● Rovio Picture: Angry Birds Movie Movie Birds Angry History 7 Farm Away ● Picture: FuturePlay onnew forms atthe turn of the decade, when thequick progress of technology culturally and technologically enabled more ambitious games. This in turn forced hobbyists tospecialize in certain areas of game development hobbyist culture of the Finnish game that began in the started 1980’s to take THE ENTHUSIASTIC THE 1990’s: Demo scene and the the and scene Demo 1990’s: the Finnish firstof steps game industry 1980’s: The beginning1980’s: THE ROOTS industry were plantedin the beginning of the during 1980’s the era of the first computers. Despite personal the scope and financial significance of game development being quite small at the time, it managed to create a base for the Finnish demo culture. development game and scene technical, in experimentation Early cultural possibilities and commercial offered vital experience in the area of game development and the realities of market. game the print_hcr2.pdf 1 07/02/17 23:52 History

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Y The beginning Dot.com of 80s: home & mobile CM First computers & game hype development interna- MY as a hobby tional game: Sanxion First CY First First still existing First game companies world class CMY commercial Assembly are founded mobile products events studios K

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

Supreme Snow- boarding Picture: Fingersoft 8 ● Hill Climb Racing 2 print_hcr2.pdf 1 07/02/17 23:52 History Zynga & Wargaming entering Helsinki

First big Mobile mobile game 2nd E-Sports studio acqui- round studio C sitions boom 2012- Changes 2014 Angry Digital mobile Birds M on business Licenced IP & distribution Movie Digital expands models Cross media Y productions distribution (Appstore) 51% of VR in PC platform Supercell was CM 2011–2012 (Steam) acquired with Tencent Big internatio- $ 1,5 billion by MY nal investments aqcuires 80% Gung Ho & Softbank of Supercell CY to Finnish Game (15.10.2013) Investment Facebook Companies recession & games and CMY the growth social F2P Apple- K of Nokia gaming mobile Watch

2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 HayDay Clash Best Royale & Clash Fiends Habbo Max Angry of Clans Cities: hotel Payne Birds Skylines Quantum Hill Climb Break Racing 9 10 History that the oldest Finnish game studios studios game Finnish oldest the that professionalism. It is no coincidence and competition objectives, teams, culture: hobbyist the to elements demo scene corporate brought typical strong their 1990’s with The hobbyists. other with expertise their share and ● Picture: Snowhound Apestorm: Full Bananas Full Apestorm: the ICT sector, the years 1995–2000 1995–2000 years the sector, ICT the In forward. steps big took economy technology in general, and the digital Especially, the internet, network of rapid evolution. technological atime been have to considered generally 1990’s is the of half second The people. 200 almost employed industry the and studios a dozen emerged in Finland. There were had industry game professional BY THE END THE BY downfall and 1990’s:Late Hype hobbyist culture. culture. hobbyist Finnish vibrant the in elsewhere or scene demo the in qualified either who teams by founded are studios game Finnish new today, many Even scene. demo the in background astrong have of the 1990’s a the of History 11 deliberation of investors practically investors of deliberation stoppedinvestments completely. affected structures clearly the This companies and industry, game the of conquering from focus their changed the world to securing organic growth and focusing on project based work. On the mobile side this meant more operators mobile with cooperation collected who aggregators the and though Even portfoliosgame them. for investments stopped in 2002–2003, Nokia’s N-Gage (2003) and N-Gage QD (2004) were significant enablers of game development in Finland at the time, despite that in the end both platforms were to be unsuccessful. theAt same time, the global markets for Java-based games kept growing, Finnish the secure helped this and game industry’s strong mobile focus and prepared the overall industry for of the millennium, unsuccessful investments, the high risks of new investments, and the general AT THE STARTAT Early Back the 2000’s: to basics are remembered as the “Internet “Internet the as remembered are bubble” or the hype” “dot.com due to the financial speculation which took place at the time. In Finland this hype had a strong mobile emphasis. The investments by Nokia in the development of WAP-protocol set the industry game Finnish the for direction far into the next decade. was WAP advertised as enabling the easy use of mobile internet. due However, to financial and usability) (poor technical the(e.g. high price of data transfer) reasons, never WAP really became an phenomenon. profitable economically the forthcoming industry-wide digital activities themselves. Thus, an increase distribution market. Although many of in possibilities led to higher risks, but the companies of that era have since also to wider areas of expertise. closed their doors, their talents can still be seen throughout the industry. Early 2010’s: Angry Birds, History start-up boom and second Late 2000’s: The rise of digital round studios distribution IT CAN BE said with certainty that THE RECENT growth and progress of digital distribution was a substantial the Finnish game industry has been reason for both the Angry Birds based on digital distribution and the phenomenon launched in 2009 and the possibilities it created. Shortened value start-up boom which began in 2011 and chains enabled by digital distribution reached its height (55 new studios) in opened new possibilities for game 2012. For the first time, developing and developers. At the same time, working distributing games was easy for smaller without publishers brought new and less well financed game studios. significant risks for games companies. All in all, around 200 new game studios A company working without a were founded during 2011–2015 and publisher has to bear the costs of around 20 % of these new studios production and marketing, and also could be described as “second round undertake all of the marketing and PR studios”. These studios have founders

12 History with strong prior experience in the transition in the industry has been the industry, which puts them in a far introduction of the F2P model. The better position than first timers. best examples of its significance have been Supercell’s Clash of Clans, Hay Early 2010´s: Investments Day, and Clash Royale whose success has lead the turnover of the Finnish DURING 2011–2013, the financial game industry into a whole new success of the Finnish game industry drew the attention of international investors. Mobile games, especially F2P games and studios developing them were seen as a good investment target. These investments had a significant impact on the growth of the industry. The largest of these investments, in 2011–2013, was the Supercell GungHo/ Softbank deal worth € 1.1 billion.

Early 2010’s: F2P (Free to Play) AFTER digital distribution, the biggest and most financially significant

Picture: TicBits ● Crazy Kings 13 14 History ● aDog and Two Men Picture: size. current its to grow to able been have wouldn’t industry game Finnish F2P mobile without that say to fair It’s category.

Zombie Catchers ROVIO’S publishers game Asian with 2010’s:Mid Co-operation Tencent combination one became of & Supercell the 2016. aresult, in As Supercell of shares /Softbank GungHo companies. Chinese TenCent acquired Game Finnish in interested were Especially Chinese game companies 2013). (October acquisition / Softbank GungHo &Japanese Supercell’s after began toindustry accelerate soon game Finnish towards Asia from interest growing The users. daily by measured market biggest Rovios’ 2012 became in China already and China, in office an open to studios developer game Finnish first the of 2011, In one was markets. Rovio Asian in through break to game Finnish Angry Birds was the first first the was Birds Angry

History 15 Bad Piggies Piggies Bad

Picture: Rovio ● alongside mobile e-sports One notable development was featureRovio´s film “The Angry Birds IN 2016 VR IN 2016 Mid 2010’s: The end of the the of The end 2010’s: Mid beginning? the strongest players in both west and Asian market. Wargaming and Zynga, both prominent prominent both Zynga, and Wargaming entering actors industry, game in development. mobile do to Helsinki Movie” based on Angry Birds games turned and 2016 spring in premiered out to be the most successful game based on mobile a game. were hot topics in the Finnish game industry. it However, looks as though the VR market is not quite mature e-sports mobile In yet. enough the progress has been faster. 16 State of the Industry ● Picture: Koukoi

Crashing Season Industry in a Nutshell 17 Dice Hunter

● Picture: Greener Grass inbusiness. There have also been studios some and mergers studio have actuallyswitched trade to more traditional ICT industry. The main reasons for the slowdown were in 2016 the intense competition, especially in mobile platforms, and the global enough experienced find struggle to employees. hasbeen one of the RAPID GROWTH RAPID Industry in aNutshell main characteristics of the Finnish decade. last industry the game during theHowever, latest data reveals that the time of hyper growth is, at least for the time being, This over. is especially clear when looking at the number of studios established In in 2016. the previous the years of 2012–2015 number of new studios per year has been 30–55. it was In 2016 only 16. According to Neogames’ statistics, was also2016 the first year when the number of active Finnishgame studios decreased: from estimated studios 270 at the to 250 end studios of 2015 at the end There of 2016. are some clear reasons for that. Some of the studios start-up boom the established during haven’t been able to stay2011–2015 18 Industry in a Nutshell 2015. The annual growth from 2015 from to growth 2015. annual The year previous the in than more million) €100 (around slightly was industry the of turnover The values. threshold these to close very studios several are (10) there and employees 50 than more as the number of studios employing well as (30) before ever than bigger is turnover annual €1Million over well. doing still is industry game Finnish the growth, of slowdown the Despite growth. future to obstacles biggest the of one still is professionals extent, the availability of experienced 2017. during To positions some open new 280 have to expect studios game 2015 of and end (2700), the at did it (2750) as people of number same the Finnish employs game industry around 2015, end the the in than smaller is The number of studios making an now studios of number the if Even consolidation is likely take place. consolidation smaller developers. Also, some more gain popularity, especially among the to likely are games downloadable PC be the notable next phenomenon, and to likely is e-sports Mobile immature. still is VR for especially market the one of the future but directions, are games AR and VR increase. will relationship –consumer developer of significance the and Acquisition) (User UA of role the and grow to continue will space mobile of saturation the stability. for quest and development mature amore into turned has years previous of 2015).to Hypergrowth 2014 %from 4%(33 2016 around was In the near future, competition and Industry in a Nutshell 19 Raids of Glory of Raids ● Picture: Nitro Games 20 Studio Founding Years KEEPING UP KEEPING Years Founding Studio quite discontinue studios just often and public, going before years for mode stealth in be sometimes can is relatively easy, game developers upstudios, a setting new game studio for class game developer statistical information system. on in operational the status business still remain but business active their quite discontinue studios just often and public, going before years for mode stealth in be sometimes can developers game and easy, relatively is upstudios, a setting new game studio developer game for class statistical definitive no has Finland Statistics forimpossible multiple reasons: virtually is companies game active all Statistics Finland has noStatistics definitive an entirely accurate list of of list accurate entirely an different sources. different many from updated constantly is which list, studio developer game Neogames’ on based is studios game (2016) still active of years 2016. of end the at active 31 still (57 %) were studios, 55 those boom. start-up game Out of industry the of year active 2012,in most the established were 2015, studios new 55 according to a previous from study e.g. studios: of rate “mortality” the 8%. %to 6.5 from increased has older or age of years ten studios the of 2015, in share the published study the to compared low, but quite The next list of the founding founding the of list next The is note to thing interesting An still remain but business active their Studio Founding Years 21 Build Away ●

Picture: Futureplay

total

active active

250 companies companies 2 4 2 2 2 3 1 9 9 6 16 15 31 49 25 29 55 44 2011 2016 2012 2015 2010 2014 2013 1997 1995 2007 2006 2005 2009 2002 2008 2000 2003 2004 Location of Companies and by companies located in the capital Clusters area, and around 75 % of all employees work in capital area companies. THE CHANGES in company locations From a structural point of view, compared to the previous full study other areas in Finland are also (data from year 2014) are not dramatic. becoming more mature. Game The capital area has increased its share industry has developed well especially Locations from 38 % to 42 % and the western in regional growth hubs like Oulu, area has also grown from 8 % at the Tampere, Turku, Kotka, Kajaani end of 2014 to 13 % at the end of 2016. Joensuu, Jyväskylä and Rovaniemi. However, in economic significance All these regional hubs have game and financial value the capital area is industry support schemes which have still well had an impact on ahead the game industry of other development in areas. 98 their respective % of the regions. industry’s turnover is generated

Picture: Fingersoft 22 ● Hill Climb Racing 2 Locations 23 9 % N:250 7 Legends 7 ● 18 % Picture: Dazzle Rocks 42 % 18 % 13 % Location of the companies Location the of 24 Challenges ● Games Rival Picture:

The Detail The Challenges 25 and some developers have decided to start trainingjuniors directly for their needs. company’s 2. COMPETITION AND SATURATION MARKET THE OF Saturation is a global challenge for mobile platforms. somehow To describe the scale of competition, over 21 000 new games were released in the Apple App store alone, in May 2016 and according to some estimates, the saw year a total 2016 of 760 000 new games when all platforms are considered. ECONOMIC CHALLENGES3. Even though Finnish game developers have been able to create several success stories in free to play mobile games, many of developers still find the actual business and design model In theinterviews, many game larger those especially companies, and more established, indicated that the biggest challenge they meet is recruiting senior talent. The lack of senior employees is a global in companies and phenomenon Finland have to find ways to compete. theAt moment, around % of 18 the employees in the Finnish game industry are outside Finland and in the future theshare is likely to increase. hiringHowever, abroad is expensive 1. FINDING (SENIOR)1. EMPLOYEES During the interviews conducted the for During pinpointed studios game survey, this in meet they challenges common some canbe business. challenges Those their different areas: five categorised into Developers’ ChallengesDevelopers’ troublesome. The Free to play business industry, especially on the mobile model is based on small minority of side. Technology, trends, regulatory the players generating the majority of framework and unpredictability of game revenue. This creates challenges customers create an environment very in discoverability and raises the cost hard to operate in. The unpredictability of already expensive User Acquisition. of the industry also affects the Mismatch between paying customers availability of early stage funding. and free riders makes User Acquisition Challenges even more challenging. 5. MANAGING GROWTH On the other hand, good user Success often brings with it the retention, the key to success in the F2P possibility to grow. However, in order model, is profoundly connected with to succeed in growth professional game-design and monetization. This management is required. In Finland, has led to metrics and analytics driven like in many other countries, game design which is sometimes seen as a companies are often managed by threat to truly unique and innovative actual developers. In the interviews game design. developers emphasized the importance of professional management, especially 4. UNPREDICTABILITY OF THE when the company is growing. INDUSTRY Unpredictability has always been one of the characteristics of the game

26 Platforms 27 P.O.L.L.E.N

● Picture: Mindfield Games Games Mindfield Picture: 28 Platforms have moved on from mobile to a PC aPC to mobile from on moved have developers some and imminent, are platforms mobile of challenges the the Finnish game industry. However, in platforms popular most the still are MOBILE PLATFORMS Platforms ● Tally Minutes 5 More Picture: iOS and Android Android and iOS games forgames several platforms. develop companies most and common, share. small avery have all Facebook and platforms Nintendo mobile, Windows and smart-TVsmartwatch market. as well as /AR VR the in pioneering well. as platforms console for games developing often companies, -development PC solid and experienced already of anumber also are There monetization. based model F2P mobile than convenient more find developers many which model business premium the is PC to move to reason other The Steam. crowded not-yet-so- the to mainly platform, Multiplatform development Multiplatform is very companies some are There Platforms 29 ● Badlands Picture: Frogmind Picture: 9 % 9 % 7 % 6 % 4 % 2 % 10 % 10 % 76 % 69 % 46 % Other VR AR mobile Windows Nintendo Facebook iOS Android PC / PC online Playstation Xbox Popularity of the platforms among Finnish Game Studios N:140 Studios Game Popularity platforms Finnish the of among 30 Developers & Diversity ● & Bros. Cornfox Picture:

Oceanhorn 2 Developers & Diversity 31 Battle Jack Jack Battle

● Picture: Crand Cru Out of the companies 140 surveyed, the same 700) (2 as Neogames´ estimate at the and end of 2015 250 employees more than the end 500). (2 Unlikeof 2014 the official statistics from Statistics Finland, these and entrepreneurs include figures and Interns abroad. working employees included. not were freelancers estimated54 %) (39 that they are going to hire new employees within the next of people working in the In 2010–2016, growth has been available other from Information THE NUMBER quite steady. The companies 140 involved in our survey 250 (of total) employed 2 265 people in 2016. represent companies these Though 56 % of the number of companies in the whole industry, all of the largest companies are included in the survey, and the companies that didn’t respond are mainly relatively new or small. sources confirms that at the end the Finnishof 2016, game industry employed people. 2 750 This is roughly Finnish game industry has grown quite steadily since the first Neogames study in 2004. The only exception to this was in 2009 when the number of people employed by the industry actually decreased becauseof the global economic slowdown. 32 Developers & Diversity ● RGB express Crane Bad Picture: in the whole industry,staff including female of share the estimate we 2014 of end %). (20 the at When study previous the in than less slightly %, 18 is employees female of share The 2014 from 2016. to 406 to 358 from increased employees female of number growth. for looking still are developers figures confirm that the Finnish game precision. However, these any with estimate to hard is employees new demandthe for actual industry, the of nature 2017. volatile the to Due professionals during new game industry 280 hire to expecting are companies these Altogether, 12 months. According to the survey, the the survey, the to According employees more than in 2014 in (4). than more employees 3 is 2016, 7in is which survey the employed in companies answering ETA area. EU / the outside from came employees all 5%of Roughly employed. people of number total the of 18 %share around an means 2016. of This end the at 397 was employees non-Finnish of number (140), total the answers survey The median number of persons persons of number median The counterparts. counterparts. established more dominated than their male more be to tend companies smaller and start-ups that is this for reason The smaller. bit a be might females of share actual the survey, this in not companies According to the Developers & Diversity 33 ● Antidote Picture: Psyon Games 1147 1120 1079 1264 1800 2750 2700 2500 2200 2011 2016 2012 2015 2010 2014 2013 2009 2008 Number of employees in the the in employees of Number Finnish game industry 2008–2016 2016 was once again a year of growth than € 1 million, which is 10 companies for the Finnish game industry, but more than in 2014. This represents 12 % the growth was significantly slower of the total amount of studios. Globally, than during the previous couple of this is a rather typical situation in the years, 4,2% from €2,4 Billion to €2,5 game industry, where a small number Billion. However, since the turnover of studios tend to generate the majority of Supercell remained the same as of turnover. Due to the large number in 2015, all of the growth came from of start-ups the median turnover of other companies. This is one more a Finnish game studio was € 95 000 piece of evidence of the maturity of the in 2016. From a global perspective, industry. At the moment, there are 30 it’s notable that according to data by studios with an annual turnover of more Newzoo, mobile games generated an around € 35 Billion ($ 37 Billion)

Financial Outlook Financial turnover in 2016 globally. The share of Finnish mobile game developers was roughly 7 % of the revenue generated. From the point of view of the national economy, the game industry has grown to be a significant part of the Finnish industrial landscape, and its incremental value to Finnish GDP was roughly 0.5 % in 2016.

Picture: Traplight 34 ● Big Bang Racing Turnover 35 Trials Fusion

● Picture: Redlynx 87 87 165 105 350 900 1800 2500 2400 Million € Million 2011 2016 2012 2015 2010 2013 2014 2009 2008 Turnover of the Finnish game industrygame core Finnish the of Turnover 2008–2016 development] [game 36 Trends and Future ● 3rdEye Picture: Downward spiral Trends and Future 37 Pako

● Picture: Men Tree Games E-sports has been a audiences not satisfied with satisfied with not audiences games. mainstream the big trend in Asia for a while and now, like many other Asian trends, it has become a major trend also As an outcome of more and more and institutionalised markets with a slim, but still existing chance of survival developers. small for role the conditions, difficultmarket of marketing and strategic business planning is becoming as important as this, of Because design. game good artistic risk taking has decreased and most developers are more and more focused on following the established this Ironically conventions. genre progress opens up possibilities for new innovative products to reach new game industry game is becoming bigger, more saturated and and saturated more bigger, becoming segmented. the At same time the price of User Acquisition continues to grow, getting bigger are productions game and bigger and the competition in markets is getting extremely hard. This is leading to even more consolidated THE MOBILE FUTURE TRENDS - Saturation,Mobile Consoli- Instutionalisation dation and 38 Trends and Future ● Picture: SmallGiant AS COMPETITION AS Platforms Indie New and - PC Console companyentertainment NHN. significantfunding from South-Korean raised Force Critical company e-sports mobile based Finland mobile. at mainstream PvP time real made Supercell Royale, Clash With e-sports. of competition global the in place their found has Supercell Developers, Game Finnish Among markets. Western in design and the Free2Play business business Free2Play the and design stores, introducing data driven games console online to cases, or, some in Steam to mobile from focus main their moving are developers many mobile, Empires & Puzzles &Puzzles Empires In the autumn of 2016, Northern- is getting harder on on harder getting is

Trends and Future 39 and wearables in Compared to VR, AR markets comes, it is likely to be much bigger expected. than are more mature and more easily mobile traditional accessible for Go Pokémon Nintendo’s developers. was a big hit in the summer of 2016. biggest the was Go Pokémon Although global ithit has of 2016, not started a new AR boom. The introduction of AR solutions built for contact lenses will be one of the defining key moments of game industry. Before that AR might be actually bigger a market onthe serious games side, where AR headsets firstintroduced. be will Hololens like Smart Watches, Wearables Smartand TVs -the New Frontiers WATCHES SMART

have been high expectations THERE VR & AR - Still at an Early an at Stage Still model to those platforms. As the example of the success of Colossal Skylines demonstrates, Cities: Order’s small studios can build big success pay- traditional the using PC on stories per-downloadmodel. Steam However, is also starting to get more and more crowded, and some developers are starting now experiment to therefore games. based browser with for VR markets. currently, However, the VR markets themselves are still too small for most developers to build the entering business and profitable markets requires very specific new skills and knowledge. The actual breakthrough seems to be taking longer than expected, but once it 40 Trends and Future Dice Hunter ● Dice Grass Greener Picture: instead of becoming an independent existing mobile gameplay experience an to layer additional an form they where adirection to moving Currently, watches smart are slowly newbetter devices are introduced. until markets niche remain will general, AS THE AS Social Media Influencers Media Social & Cross-Media Productions ting –Brand Oriented Games, IP and Monetisation Marke are looking for new alternative media media alternative new for looking are developers Acquisition, User in prices high sky to led has games published stage. stage. early an at still are platforms those of markets However, the platforms. mobile main the on than easier much is there featured getting as developers, much needed visibility for game mobile developers. They provide for platforms interesting secondary them makes which easy, rather is TV Android to Android or AppleTV to iOS from games Porting platform. ever-growing amount of of amount ever-growing - Trends and Future for monetizing their IPs and boost User Acquisition. To reach maximum coverage and engagement between potential users, the meaning of social media and its influencers has grown. Twitch and Youtube presence has become a necessity for any game company today. Seriously has gone deeper into that via their charity campaigns, which have gone viral in social media. Well known IP/Brand reduces successful in creating a game IP based marketing and User Acquisition costs. transmedia and licensing empire. On the cross-media side, common IP productions, where the same IP is used Serious Games – in TV-series or movies and games, are Waiting for the First Hit becoming more popular. One of the biggest success stories of the Finnish SERIOUS games and gamification game industry in 2016 was the Angry are separating themselves into two Birds Movie grossing more than $ 349 different independent fields. There million globally. Rovio has been one is a lot of potential in serious games, of the first game developer studios

Picture: Seriously ● Best Fiends 41 42 Trends and Future ● Picture: Housemarque

Alienation Trends and Future 43

to funding is one of the ACCESS Funding – More Excellent Excellent – More Funding Investment Opportunities Ahead key challengeskey a game developer faces today. As theinvestment boom in game industry is slowing down globally, there is an opportunity for game industry focused investors. For developer studios, this means that they need to expand their business business networks, marketing increase and data analysis skills and learn the most effective ways to optimise their games. Also, the role of publisher will once again start to become more industry. the in relevant

round start-up boom start-upboom round in the first half of this decade, has led to a growing number of small, well- studios established developer game These studios sufficientwith turnover. are potential future superstars and the development their with along stability of the whole industry is increasing. THE SECOND Industry Framework – The Core of the Finnish Game Game The Finnish Core the of Industry Stronger is Getting butthe big serious game success story is still missing. The Finnish company oriented music their with Yousician, becoming to close is edugames, one, and it is likely that especially the the leading be sector will edugame growth of serious games during the upcoming years. 44 Trends and Future difficult to find talented senior level level senior talented find to difficult increasingly is it industry, Finnish of success the of outcome an As years. five last the over rapidly growing been Build Away ● Build FuturePlay Picture: FINNISH THE Finland to Job? Welcome Employees –Looking a for game industry has game industry ries in organising game jams under the the under jams game organising in ries count active most the of one become quickly also has Finland years recent In globally. chapters IGDA active most orientation is IGDA Finland, one of the community strong of example One ways oriented. been community very THE FINNISH THE Finland the Leads Way Talents – Industry Game Nurturing Community increase. to likely is number the and abroad, from were industry game Finnish the in working employees 18 the %of increasing.constantly In 2016 around is industry game the in working in interested people from required expertise of scope and level the time, same At the Finland. from employees game industry has game al industry - - Trends and Future 45

Antidote

● Picture: Psyon GamesPicture: Psyon Member States will be competingfor the best game developer teams not onlywith tax instruments, but also with best public services for companies. tax, whose consumer States, Member will authorities protection data and have sufficient resources to help local European both implement companies and global regulation, will have a clear advantage.competitive - - regulatory framework framework regulatory THE GLOBAL THE Regulation – From Tax Tax – From Regulation Competition to Service Competition umbrella of the Finnish Game Jam As partici of number the and sociation pants in game jams is likely toincrease in the near future. These events, where hobbyist developers and the industry experts meet, are element a key for the future success of the Finnish industry. for games markets isgetting more complex every Meanwhile, year. protectionist policies reaching are digital markets, especially in China. theAt same time the European Union policies introducing successfully is to stop competition on both VAT and corporate tax rates between its member states. In the future, EU Picture: Facepalm 46 ● The Swapper Picture: Supercell ● Clash Royale 47 48 Industry Support & Networks Concept Art ● Concept Studios Reforged Picture: Finnish game developers 49 7 ● 7 Legends Picture: Dazzle Rocks Contact: „ industry networks. It has members 70 in studios major the of all including Finland. Members of the association are representative of about of the 95% turnover and85% of the employees of industry. the „ Hallikainen Mariina Chair of the Board [email protected] Suomen Pelinkehittäjät (Finnish game developer studios association) is an amalgamation of game developer studios. The main mission of the association is to act as a guardian of interests for game studios, and to advance the political and economic interests of the Finnish Pelinkehittäjät Suomen industry. game works in close co-operation with other 50 Tekes ● Redlynx/Ubisoft Picture: continues story success –thebusiness pays off Tekes’ funding gaming for

Trials Fusion Trials www.tekes.fi/en www.tekes.fi/en/skene events. in industry different continues with funding and networking limelight. Tekes’ support game industry global into rose industry game Finnish the time that 2012 2015. and During between run Refueled – Games specific programmeindustry Skene Games and Seriously. Tekes’ game Next Rovio, Frozenbyte, Supercell, companies like Remedy, Housemarque, game of growth the accelerated has funding The 100. MEUR approximately 1995 with since networking and with growth game funding industry Innovation the has Finnish supported the Finnish Funding for Agency TEKES, Invest In Finland 51

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● Picture: DoDreams Picture:

Contact: „ For more information, please visit please information, For more www.investinfinland.fi „ Gaming Advisor Senior 40 803 +358 2526 [email protected] All our services are free of charge. charge. of free are our services All We workWe nationally and in close - Finland's Tra a part of Finpro, are We cooperation with our regional partners. regional our with cooperation Therefore, we offer a consolidated approach as to the value that Finland can bring to your company. Agency. de and Investment Promotion Take the fastTake track to Finland and business opportunities explore for you companywith us. Working with Invest in Finland means you will updated and relevant most the receive industry insights and professional your meet that recommendations needs. Our industry experts provide not only hard and soft facts about Finland, but also insight into industry sectors, Finnish companies, research institutes, universities. and Invest in Finland – We help help – We Finland in Invest yougrow your business 52 Neogames Concept Art ● Concept Studios Reforged Picture: 2003. Our mission is to accelerate, accelerate, to is mission Our 2003. organizationindustry in established game non-profit amember-based is Finland Neogames the Finnish games industry. to related reports and surveys various internationally, and of the production relations and both domestically events,networking promoting media domestic organizing sector, political cooperation with ministries and the development projects, cross-industry to international events, coordination of include organizingservices group trips Our resources. the have not may organization individual an which for but players. industry all of interests shared the serve we and association, Neogames is an impartial umbrella research. and education to business from industry game the of sectors all cluster. game Finnish the of development coordinate the and support We do work that benefits everyone, everyone, benefits that work We do Neogames’ represent members Neogames

As the hub of the industry, we are „„ www.neogames.fi/en the fastest channel to information and contacts within the Finnish game industry. If you need to know anything about the Finnish game industry or to meet anyone – please, let us know. We can help.

„„ Contact: KOOPEE HILTUNEN Director +358 40 532 4176 [email protected] SUVI LATVA Coordinator +358 40 592 4018 [email protected] J-P KALEVA Senior Policy Analyst +358 40 716 3640 [email protected]

Picture: Seriously ● Best Fiends 53 54 Serious Games Cluster ● Picture: Vulpine Games environment. wellbeing, gamification, simulationand for learning and education, health and &products games develop members other than pure Our entertainment. with aproducts purpose primary and games developing companies of nonprofit organisationand a network a is Finland Cluster) Gaming (Serious SGC

Last Planets Last www.seriousgamingcluster.fi [email protected] miikka board the of Chairman Miikka Lyytikäinen „ developers, do contact us! University. Helsinki and Center Learning Playful Oy, Etu Cluster/Kainuun Tekes, Kavio „ Contact: game serious for looking are you If Our strategic include partners IGDA Finland IGDA FINLAND (International Game Developers Associa- tion) is a worldwide nonprofit professio- nal society for game developers. IGDA Finland promotes the develop- ment of careers and professional skills of individual game developers based in Fin- land, and develops the international re- cognition of the Finnish game developer community. A key activity of IGDA Finland is to bring Finnish game developers together to network and share knowledge in monthly gatherings organized by the local hubs all over Finland. Everyone is welcome to join our events! „„ Contact: Vesa Raudasoja, Chairman of the Board [email protected] www.igda.fi igda

55 international game igda developers association

student igda clubs 56 Finnish Game Jam „ „ „ „ information of game development events. provide and organizers jam unify jams, game run to are FGJ of objectives main The Finland. in ahobby as development organization founded to game support Finnish Game Jam Game Finnish „ „ „ „ finnishgamejam.com Details: scene. jam game Finnish the of supporters honors jam games, jammers and the Awards Jam Game Finnish annual The prestige game jams around the globe. possibilities tojammers in participate offers program scholarship FGJ throughout the country. around 1000 organizers and jammers gathers Jam, Game Global the in The annual main event, participation

is a non-profit anon-profit is FIVR 57 (Finnish Virtual(Finnish Reality)

Contact: „ is an association for virtual reality and augmented reality developersand enthuists, which seeks to promote the development and visibility of these sectors in Finland. The association organizes events, trade fairs and presentations, as wellas takes local developers to foreign events. Similarly, FIVR also bringsforeign investors in Finland. FIVR keep in touch with the introduces and stakeholders platform them. to domestic enterprises the The association has three VR / AR accelerators, of which the 30 person hub in Helsinki acts as a center for the accelerators. Turku and Tampere new Olli Sinerma, Chairman of the Board [email protected] www.fivr.fi „ FIVR 58 Education ● Picture: Remedy

Quantum Break Education 59 Picture: Lightneer Big Bang Legends Bang ● Big hasan excellent base for raising new talent to game industry. into introduced recently was Coding Youth the and curriculum school the department of the City of Helsinki is leadingthe way globally on running youth clubs and summer camps focused on game development. Finnish from moved has education games strict curriculums to a more flexible where approach student oriented and first games are developed as early as possible, and when all the gaps between a formal and non-formal a educational path will be bridged, Finland is likely to be able of offer both clear routes to success and caring community support its young for talents. Game Education FINLAND 60 Education UNIVERSITIES (EQF levels 6 and 7) 6and levels (EQF OF APPLIED SCIENCES UNIVERSITIES „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ http://www.lapinamk.fi/en http://www.oulu.fi/university/ http://www.utu.fi/en/Pages/home.aspx https://www.ulapland.fi/EN www.uta.fi http://www.uta.fi/sis/trim/index.html www.jyu.fi/it/en FinlandEastern www.uef.fi/en/cs https://www.helsinki.fi/en ofUniversity www.aalto.fi/en/ Lapland University of Applied Sciences Sciences Applied of University Lapland Oulu of University Turku of University of Lapland University Media and Information for Center Research /Tampere Tampere of University Jyväskylä of University Helsinki of University University Aalto (EQF levels 7 and 8) 7and levels (EQF „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ http://web.centria.fi/ game-design/ bachelor-of-culture-and-arts-dp-in https://www.xamk.fi/koulutukset www.kyamk.fi/Frontpage www.karelia.fi/en/ www.kamk.fi/en www.jamk.fi/en www.metropolia.fi/en/ www.haaga-helia.fi/en Sciences ofHaaga-Helia Applied University of Sciences Applied University Centria Applied Sciences, XAMK XAMK Sciences, Applied of University Finland South-Eastern Sciences Applied of University Kymenlaakso Sciences Applied of University Karelia Sciences Applied of University Kajaani Sciences Applied of University Jyväskylä Sciences Applied of Metropolia University Helsinki

Education 61 Oulu Vocational College Vocational Oulu CollegeVocational Lappia Sataedu North Outokumpu college Karelia Luksia, Western Uusimaa Municipal Education Consortium and Training Keuda Suupohja vocational institute Suupohja Kainuu vocational institute and Kajaani highscool combined program Peliamis www.osao.fi/en/ http://www.lappia.fi/sites/en-US http://sataedu.fi http://www.pkky.fi/en/oppilaitokset ammattiopisto/outokumpu https://www.luksia.fi/in-english https://www.keuda.fi/hakijalle/ aikuisten-koulutus/tutkintoon-johtava koulutus/ http://www.oppihotelli.fi/2016/ peliamis AEL https://www.ael. fi/koulutustarjonta/media-alan- ammattitutkinto?id=5121 http://www.saiedu.fi/en/mainpage „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „

North Karelia municipal education and education and North municipal Karelia training consortium Pelitalo / Kouvola Region Vocational College Vocational KouvolaRegion Laajasalon opisto Helsinki College Vocational Turku UniversityTurku of Applied Sciences Savonia University of Applied Sciences University Applied Sciences of Tampere Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences Oulu University of Applied Sciences LahtiUniversity of Applied Sciences www.laajasalonopisto.fi http://pelitalo.org/ www.pkky.fi/en, www.ksao.fi/en/ www.hel.fi/hki/ammatillinen/fi/in_english www.tamk.fi/en www.amiedu.fi www.tuas.fi/en/Amiedu http://portal.savonia.fi/amk/en http://www.mamk.fi/exchange www.oamk.fi/english/ www.lamk.fi/english „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS (EQF levels 4 and 5) 62 Regional Support THE ROLE THE Clusters Regional in 2014 and 2015, about 63 % were % were 2014in 63 2015, and about promising most studios established 49 the From industry. game Finnish the in increasing quickly is hubs ● Games Traplight Picture: Big Bang Racing Bang Big of regional clusters and and clusters regional of studios. developer game for measures support continuous development of regional This of underlines the the importance region. capital the outside established Regional Support 63 Zombie Catchers Catchers Zombie

● Picture: Men Two and a Dog 64 Joensuu ● Picture: JoensuuGames Coop „ „ „

SOTKA 3DSpace Adventuree forVR „ „ „ http://en.tiedepuisto./games [email protected] 83 +358 03 502 50 Joensuu Science Park Development Manager, Games Miettinen Veikko Contact: provide. premises Joensuu Science Park can best the in located environment studio a150 is sqm which OASIS, called studio Game open an in developed are Park Science Joensuu in ideas Business Game growth. of apath onto years early companies through the challenging guide expertly to helps Incubator Joensuu Science Park Business Kajaani 65 Perspective ● Picture: Nemesis Picture:

Located 600 km northeast from from km northeast 600 Located has the Finland's Kajaani Helsinki, of students local pool largest second industry. of the game and professionals best game the undeniably Around Finland, has risen in centre education start constantly growing a lively and As Cluster. - KAVIO up concentration prizes like of the talent pool, proof and Indie Sensation Nordic BAFTA, have already Finnish Game Award found their way to Kajaani. Contact: 614 445 514 +358 [email protected] „ „ „ „ „ „ „„ The Playa Game Industry Hub is a community of game industry companies in the region in South- East Finland. The hub is centered in Kotka, nestled between the metropolitan areas of Helsinki and St. Petersburg. The community consists of game developers, game equipment manufacturers, suppliers, educational institutes and other stakeholders. (+15 companies and over 100 employees in Kotka, Kouvola and Lappeenranta) „„ Playa Game Industry Hub supports the local game companies, especially start-ups with business development, South-East Finland South-East financing and publishing. „„ Contact: [email protected] tel. +358 40 190 2523 „„ www.playahub.com

Picture: Kukouri Mobile Entertainment 66 and Kiemura Oulu 67 Picture: Fingersoft Picture: Hill Climb Racing 2 ● Oulu is the center of northern of game center the is Oulu 300 companies, industry 33+ with employees and 20 M EUR Revenue gaming unique export.The 90% with ecosystem in Oulu is creating the predictable for and conditions repeatable success from first demo to global market. The players key are neatly settled at the brand new Game Campus Oulu in the city center. Campus is led by Fingersoft, the biggest company in the area. Oulu Game Lab, an innovative is program incubation and education important occupant. another Contact: [email protected] 44tel. 1399 703 +358 www.businessoulu.com „ „ „ „ „ „ 68 Turku „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ ● Picture: RivalGames

„ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ The Detail www.turkugamelab.fi www.gameturku.com and +358 557 7251tel. 40 [email protected] Contact: etc. Lab Turku Game Park, Science activities:Active Turku support developers’ community Active and passionate game the world in best the as twice ranked program degree animation Academy Turku Arts 50+ researchers graduates per year50–60 degree in game development delivering a programming-focused Three higher institutes education more and Delta Quadro Tribeflame, TicBits, 24+ game companies: Rival Games,

Picture: PlayRaven ● Robocide 69 Picture: Shiver Games 70 ● Lucius Front cover art: Next Games • Walking Dead Remedy • Quantum Break Rovio • Angry Birds Kopla Games • Nonstop Knight Seriously • Best Fiends Supercell • Clash Royale Fingersoft • Hill Climb Racing 2 Colossal Order/Paradox Interactive • Cities: Skylines Natural Disaster

Back cover art: Everywear Games • Rune Blade DoDreams • Drive Ahead Frogmind • Badlands Housemarque • Alienation Redlynx • Trials Fusion Seriously • Best Fiends Traplight Games • Big Bang Racing Picture: Iceflakes ● Race Online 71