Game industry of Finland

The Game Industry of

FINLAND

Picture:Boomlagoon•Monsu

The Finnish Game Industry• In2015,theFinnishgameindustrygrewinallindicators.

• Theamountofgamespublished,theamountofemployeesandthetotalturnoverincreased.

l Thevastmajority,over95%oftherevenuecamefromexports.

l Fromanationaleconomyperspective,thegameindustryisthemostrelevantcontentexportindustry.

l DuringlastyearsTheFinnishgameindustryhasgrownfasterthantheglobalgamemarket,CAGR2004– 2015is45%.

Studios

Picture:BugBear•Wreckfest

• Finnishgamestudiosaremainlyyoungcompaniesandstart-ups.

• Altogether200gamestudioshavebeenestablishedduringthelastfouryears.

• TheFinnishgameindustryheldatotalof290companiesin2015:250limited-liabilitycompanies,30traderentrepreneursand10cooperatives.

• AccordingtoNeogames’statistics,29newcompanieswerefoundedin2015.Theamountishalfofwhatwerefoundedintherecordyearof2012(55).

l Athirdofthenewcompanieswereso-calledSecondRoundStart-ups

l Around20ofthe290companieswerefoundedmorethantenyearsago.

Picture:Supercell•BoomBeach

Finnish game companies, year of establishment

201320122011201020092008200720062005

444955312515996

4

2014

20042003200220001997

23231

2015 29

Picture:Traplight•WhatonEarth!

Locations of the studios• TheFinnishgameindustryis

concentratedinthecapitalarea(38%)

• Comparedtoourpreviousstudiesin2009and2011,theroleofcapitalareaisdecreasing.

• In2009,theshareofthecapitalareawas64%andin201152%.

• 62%ofStudiosthearelocatedinthelocalgrowthhubsaroundFinland(Turku,Kymenlaakso,Tampere,Jyväskylä,Oulu,Kajaani,Joensuu)

Picture:Playraven•ConceptArt

Location of the companies

18,0%

8,3%

25,9%

38,0%

9,8%

Game releases & Platforms

Picture:Rovio•AngryBirdsMovie

• Wellover150commercialgameswerepublishedinFinlandin2015,inallthemajorplatforms(mobile,console,PC).

• Somegameswerealsopublishedonnewplatformssuchasthesmartwatch(AppleWatch)andVR(virtualreality/OculusRift).

• Finnishindustryisstillmobiledriven.Themajorityofsalesandthebiggestfinancialsuccessesin2015camefrommobilegames.

• However,themobilegamemarket’stoughcompetitionmadeitdifficultfornewcompaniestoemerge.

• Theexpensesofmarketingandthecostofrequiringnewusersgrewandindeedtheamountofinvestmentsneededincreased.

Platforms

Picture:Boomlagoon•Monsu

• Steam,anInternet-baseddigitaldistributionplatformforPCsgainedpopularityalsoinamongstFinnishgamedevelopers

• Alltogetheraround30PCorconsolegameswerepublishedinFinlandin2015.

Picture:Housemarque•Alienation

Platforms 2014

AndroidWindowsMobile

PC

PC/OnlineXbox

PlayStation

NintendoFacebook

OculusRift

91784049

3413

14

85

4

82.7%70.9%36.4%44.5%

30.9%11.8%

12.7%

7.3%4.5%

3.5%

iOS

Developers & Diversity

Picture:OoKoohKo•ConceptArt

• Therelativeturnovermeaningturnover/employeeoftheFinnishgameindustryhasbeengrowingmuchfasterthanthenumberofpeopleemployedbytheindustry.

• Theindustryemployed2700peopleattheendof2015anddespiteRovio’slay-offsintheautumn,theamountofindustryemployeesincreasedby200.

• TheFinnishGameJamandAssemblydrewpeopleinterestedingamesasahobby

• TheFinnishGameJam’smaineventgathered689gameenthusiasts,in15differenttowns.Finlandiscertainlyoneofthemostactivegamedevelopercountriesinnon-professionaldeveloperstoo.

• ThesameactivetrendcanalsobeseenineSports.

Number of employees in the Finnish game industry 2008–2015

Picture:Seriously•BestFiends

201320122011201020092008

2500220018001264107911201147

201427002015

Turnover & Investments

Picture:Fingersoft•IhateFish

• Atthemomenttherearewellover20studioswithaturnoverover1millioneuro

• Smallnumberofstudiosgeneratethemajorityofturnover• EightFinnishcompaniesreceivedasignificantforeigninvestment

in2015,foratotalworthof40milliondollars(36millioneuros).• Thelargerpartoftheinvestmentscamefromthe

westernmarket,butinafewcasesfromAsianinvestorsaswell.

• NeogamesestimatesthattherevenueoftheFinnishgameindustrywasabout2,4billioneurosin2015.Comparedwith2014,theindustrygrew33percent.

• Investmentsarenotincludedintheturnoverfigures

Turnover of the Finnish game industry core

Picture:Redlynx•TrialsFusion

201320122011201020092008

18009002501651058787

2014

Million

24002015