This represents growth of over 30 percent compared with the previous year. It also appears that sales will remain at 3.2 billion euros in 2022. The industry's operating profit in 2021 was 0.9 billion euros. The result for 2022 is not yet known. These figures place the Finnish games industry among the top five countries in Europe and consolidate its status as the leading producer of mobile games.

"It is worth noting that the Finnish games industry has generated a turnover of 23 billion euros in the last ten years and has paid over 2.5 billion euros in various taxes to Finland," comments KooPee Hiltunen, director of Neogames."It's fair to say that the games industry has become a significant part of the Finnish economy."

The growing employer suffers from a shortage of skilled workers

In 2022, the Finnish games industry employed more than 4,000 people in Finland and abroad, marking a milestone for the industry. By the end of 2022, the estimated total number of people employed in the industry will be around 4,100. This is an increase of about 500 people since the end of 2020.

The number of game studios has increased again, and Finnish game developers are boldly starting new companies. At the end of 2022, there were an estimated 232 active Finnish game studios.

However, the shortage of skilled labor remains one of the biggest challenges facing the industry. The industry expects to need at least 500 additional employees within the next two years. Since it is difficult to find skilled workers in Finland, the industry is recruiting extensively on the international market and taking advantage of telecommuting opportunities.

Rejuvenation is the lifeblood of the games industry

The number of newly released Finnish game titles has decreased, but this should not be viewed negatively. This development is due to the fact that local studios have adapted to the global trend of the game-as-a-service model, which is becoming increasingly popular. Games now have longer life cycles, and companies are focusing on further development of existing titles.

While the Finnish game industry is known for mobile game development, the PC platform is quickly gaining popularity and is almost as popular (64%) as mobile devices (66%). Multi-platform game development is widespread in Finland, with 59 er studios developing games for two or more platforms.

Finnish game developers are actively exploring new opportunities in the game market, including artificial intelligence, Web3, new platforms, different revenue models, and user-generated game content. While game studios are closely monitoring the rapid advances in creative artificial intelligence, practical applications in game development processes are still a work in progress. There are high expectations for artificial intelligence, especially in terms of managing rising production costs and delivering increasingly personalized game experiences.

Finnish Games Industry 2022 Report

Neogames has published its report on the Finnish games industry in the form of a PDF document, available here. The report is the result of interviews conducted with 134 Finnish game studios. The information gathered was supplemented with data from various other sources.

The Finnish Game Awards

The Finnish game industry celebrated the traditional Finnish Game Awards Gala on May 4. A total of 11 Finnish games were nominated in various categories. The biggest winner of the evening was Tree Men Games with their game PAKO Highway, which won both the 2022 Game of the Year and 2022 Mobile Game of the Year awards. The 2022 Game of the Year for the big screen is Undead Horde 2: Necropolis by 10tons. The Creative Achievement of the Year 2022 is the adventure game Skábma - Snowfall by Red Stage Entertainment. Other award winners at the gala included One Trick Entertainment (Rookie of the Year 2022), Critical Force Game Studio founder Veli-Pekka Piirainen (Power Player of the Year 2022), Ren Soharab (IGDA Volunteer of the Year 2022) and Olli Juhola (Finnish Game Jam's Champion of the Year 2022).