International Factfile 2015: Sweden

According to the Association for the Nordic Game Industry (ANGI), Sweden is the biggest country for games in the Nordic region, comprising 36 per cent of games retail sales, in terms of both volume and value.

Compared to 2013, Sweden’s games market declined slightly last year, seeing retail sales revenue fall by 15 per cent, despite both PS4 and Xbox One experiencing massive growth – 905 and 8,003 per cent, respectively. PC suffered, too, falling 21 per cent in terms of retail sales value.

Games retailers are a rarity in Sweden. There are around 20 major brands, with five of these accounting for the majority of sales.

Swedish gamers have familiar tastes to players here in the UK. FIFA 15 was the best-selling game of last year in Sweden, followed by local creation Minecraft and GTA V.

PS4 was the biggest platform in Sweden last year, generating €25.5 million (17.8m) in retail sales revenue. Xbox One, meanwhile, generated €6.7 million (4.7m).

On average, new PS4 titles cost €58.93 (41.12), while Xbox One games are slightly cheaper at €55.98 (39.06). The average cost of a game for any platform is €36.32 (25.34).

PC is an evergreen in Sweden, and mobile is the top grower,” says Jacob Kroon,communications officer for Swedish Games Industry.

Mobile is a very important factor, but it’s vital to remember that the industry is growing as a whole, and recent success with mobile has led some countries to more or less abandon PC and other ‘traditional’ platforms.

Sweden, on the other hand, has always had, and continues to have, a strong focus on PC games as a stepping stone to greatness across the board.”

Population: 9,775,572

Capital City: Stockholm

Currency: Krona

GDP (Per Capita): $49,582

KEY RETAILERS

Webhallen, Elgiganten, Discshop, Gamestop

TOP DISTRIBUTORS

Bergsala, Koch Media, Nordisk Film Distribution, Pan Vision

TOP DEVELOPERS

Paradox Interactive, King, Mojang, Raw Fury Games, DICE, Avalanche Studios, Stardoll

PUBLISHERS IN THE REGION

Activision Blizzard, Disney, EA, Koch Media, Microsoft, Bandai Namco, Warner Bros, Nintendo