Skövde's gaming industry continues to show impressive growth with a noticeable increase in turnover and profits compared to the previous year. This is according to new statistics from Dataspelsbranschen. The 36 gaming companies in Skövde had a combined turnover of over 2.7 billion (1.8 billion in 2021) and made a profit of almost 1.3 billion (about 1 billion in 2021).

- Skövde's gaming industry is making record profits, and several companies have had great success. We now see that many of them are beginning to mature with a more long-term approach, both in how they run the companies and think about the games. The focus is not only on releasing new games but also on managing the existing ones," says Johanna Nylander, head of analysis at Dataspelsbranschen, which has produced the local statistics.

Johanna Nylander also points to the importance of local infrastructure and engagement.

- Skövde is one of the three most important cities for game development in Sweden. The rapid growth reflects the local commitment and expertise in game development. There is a robust infrastructure with the University of Skövde, Science Park Skövde's startup program and the community offered by Sweden Game Arena. The industry is also well supported by the municipality and the region," says Johanna Nylander.

- We are often asked why Skövde has managed to build up such a strong gaming industry. There is of course no simple answer, but one contributing factor is the cross-border collaboration we have in the municipality. We pull in the same direction and have built up the necessary support functions for the industry. With Sweden Game Arena, we are involved along the entire journey, from early idea - often already during the study period - to company building, capital acquisition and scaling up. And we see that it bears fruit, the game industry in Skövde is flourishing," says Marcus Toftedahl, game analyst at Science Park Skövde AB and spokesperson for Sweden Game Arena.

Key figures for the gaming industry in Skövde

Source: Computer Games Industry 2023: Game Developer Index (based on 2022 data)

Skövde 2022
36 companies
2 766 million in turnover
1 267 million in profits
183 million in corporate taxes
297 employees, of which 61 female + 2 non-binary/other gender.

Comparison with previous years:

Skövde 2021
32 companies
1813 million in turnover
1057 million in profits
287 employees, including 60 women = 20.9%

Skövde 2020
30 companies
1 077 million in turnover
760 million in profits
198 employees, including 30 women = 15%

For more information, please contact

Johanna Nylander, Head of Analysis, Computer games industry
Tel: 0709-48 29 88
E-mail: [email protected]

Marcus Toftedahl, game analyst Science Park Skövde AB, spokesperson Sweden Game Arena.
Tel: 0702-06 10 66
E-mail: [email protected]