2025 was another record year for the Swedish gaming industry, according to the Swedish Games Industry’s annual report, the Game Developer Index.
Swedish companies had a turnover of SEK 43.7 billion, 19 percent more than the previous year.
Game developers made great games. If we just look at Steam sales, every fourth new game downloaded in 2025 was created in Sweden, says Johanna Nylander.
The report cites analysis company Alinea Analytics, which also says that Swedish games accounted for ten percent of total sales on Steam, the leading PC distribution platform, last year.
"Big challenges"
Embark Studios rode the success of its multiplayer title "Arc Raiders" and became Sweden’s third-largest developer, with a turnover of SEK 3.8 billion, after King ("Candy Crush") and Mojang ("Minecraft").
Dice, the company with the most employees (745), also had a successful year with the release of “Battlefield 6”.
The number of employees in the industry, however, has increased only marginally in recent years, to 9,140. This may be because turnover has not yet translated into employment, says Johanna Nylander.
We have also had companies that have faced major challenges over the past year, affected by the global economy and other trends.
“Looks bright”
On the other hand, Sweden seems to have fared better than the global industry, which has been shaken by layoffs and closures.
We may not have overemployed as much as the US did during the pandemic. We have been closer to normal, she says.
2026 also looks set to be a strong year for the Swedish gaming industry. Mojang launched “Minecraft Dungeons 2”; Malmö-based Tarsier’s horror game “Reanimal” and Landfall’s climbing title “Peak”, released last year, reached 20 million players this year. Meanwhile, Stockholm-based Liquid Swords has gone bankrupt after its debut title “Samson” flopped.
It still looks bright, but it may not be quite the same super year as 2025, says Johanna Nylander.
What do you think?