Major National Initiative to Launch New Digital Game Incubator to Ensure Equal Support for Studios Across Sweden

Five regional game clusters are joining forces to develop a shared digital incubation process and a prototype for a national Swedish accelerator program for game startups in early and growth stages. The initiative aims to provide more equitable opportunities for game entrepreneurs no matter where in the country they are based.

The effort is driven by Sweden’s regional game clusters: Sweden Game Arena in Skövde and Gothenburg, Game Habitat in Malmö, The Great Journey in Karlstad, Arctic Game in northern Sweden and Gameport in Karlshamn. It is carried out within the framework of the project SCORE (Sustainable COllaboration for inter Regional Excellence) and co-funded by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth with a total budget of SEK 13.4 million.

“There is tremendous innovation potential in the Swedish games industry but the level of support for entrepreneurs varies significantly depending on where in the country you are. Sweden still lacks a nationally coordinated support structure for the sector. With SCORE we want to change that and build unified frameworks that help more teams succeed” says Marcus Toftedahl, Business Developer at Sweden Game Arena.

Learning From Each Other

Sweden is a global leader in game development with a total industry turnover exceeding SEK 90 billion in 2023. The sector is made up of 97% small and medium sized studios – an ecosystem with unique needs that must be addressed. The Swedish government has identified cultural and creative industries including games as a new foundational industry. This digital incubator initiative is one concrete step toward building sustainable infrastructure aligned with the sector’s current landscape.

“This project gives us a unique opportunity to learn from each other and build something that raises the baseline for everyone. In the long term it also lays the groundwork for a national support system that could be a game changer for Sweden’s competitiveness in the global games market” says Peter Lübeck, CEO of Game Habitat.

Inclusive Structures

The initiative also tackles one of the games industry’s biggest barriers to growth: access to capital. Many investors lack knowledge of games specific business models and unconscious bias can limit investment in companies founded by women and nonbinary individuals. SCORE addresses both issues by strengthening investor awareness and equipping the regional clusters with tools to build more inclusive support systems.

“SCORE enables us to offer more targeted support to young teams with strong potential and help more of them move from idea to startup and beyond. The fact that gender equality is integrated into every part of the project makes it even more impactful” says Jenny Brusk, Business Developer at Sweden Game Arena and founder of DONNA.

SCORE also helps ensure that Sweden remains globally competitive in game development by strengthening studios at an early stage and reducing the risk of valuable IPs being sold abroad. At the same time the project establishes collaborations at the European level to build a more resilient games industry beyond Sweden’s borders.

The project will launch in September 2025 and run through November 2028. The total budget is SEK 13.4 million and it is co-funded by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.

Definition of Games

In this context, games refers to all types of interactive digital entertainment excluding gambling.

About Sweden Game Arena

Sweden Game Arena has put Sweden, region Västra Götaland and the city of Skövde on the world map when it comes to games. By appearing at international game conferences, participating in international academic collaborations and creating Sweden’s leading game conference, Sweden Game Conference, the brand has reached far beyond the country’s borders.

In the growing community within Sweden Game Arena, there are several successful game companies whose games top the global bestseller lists. Most of them have made a similar journey – from game students at the University of Skövde to starting their own companies through the startup program Sweden Game Startup, which is powered by Science Park Skövde. Together, the companies form a strong community and the next big success is just around the corner.

Read more at www.swedengamearena.com.