Above: Arseny Lebedev (left) and Tommy Palm.
Image Credit: Dean Takahashi
Sweden has launched a new game-company accelerator that will be run by executives from some of that country’s most successful firms.
Mobile titles have become an economic boon to countries — like neighboring Finland — that house studios making games such as Angry Birds, Clash of Clans, and Hay Day. Finland’sTekes government agency has funded lots of game startups, and that has paid off with huge tax revenues fromSupercell, publisher of Hay Day and Clash of Clans. The mobile-game businessis expected to grow from $25 billion in 2014 to $30 billion worldwide in 2015, according to market researcherNewzoo.The Swedes want to get in on this action, and for the most part, they already have via companies like Candy Crush Saga publisher King Digital Entertainment; Electronic Arts’ DICE division, maker of the Battlefield series; Mojang, maker of Minecraft (acquired by Microsoft for $2.5 billion); and Avalanche Studios, maker of Just Cause and the upcoming Mad Max being published by Warner Bros.
These studios have already turned Sweden into a hotbed for interactive entertainment. Now, executives at King, Mojang Rovio (Helsinki-based, with a lot of Swedes working for it), and Avalanche Studios are starting a global games accelerator focused on raising the profile of creative talent in Sweden.
Tommy Palm, a designer that led King’s mobile design team working on Candy Crush Saga, and Oskar Burman, a general manager of Rovio, are among the executives joining the effort. Per Stromback, head of the Swedish Games Association, is also participating.
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Rovio is an entertainment media company based in Finland, and the creator of the globally successful Angry Birds franchise. Angry Birds, a casual puzzle game, became an international phenomenon within a year of release, and is now the ... read more »
King is a leading interactive entertainment company for the mobile world, with people all around the world playing one or more King games.
King has more than 190 fun titles in over 200 countries. Hits include Candy Crush Saga, Farm ... read more »
Sweden’s successful entrepreneurs launch their own game-startup accelerator
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