The computer game industry in Västernorrland is growing rapidly. Mid Sweden Games is one of two game clusters in Västernorrland that is now moving to BizMaker from Bron Innovation to meet the future business development needs of the game companies in the region.
- "The development of computer game companies in recent years has shown that this is an industry to be reckoned with, and their progress is already putting Västernorrland on the map in Sweden and the rest of the Nordic region," says Giselle Abbas, business developer at BizMaker.
In 2019, there were five companies, all based in Sundsvall. Three years later, in 2022, the number of companies has multiplied and the companies are scattered in Sundsvall, Kramfors, Härnösand, Timrå and Örnsköldsvik. Since last year, Västernorrland has been recognized by Dataspelsbranschen in their annual Dataspelsindex, another sign that the region has become more established.
- We also see that players from elsewhere have opened their eyes to Västernorrland, most recently Machine Games from Uppsala, which is opening an office in Sundsvall. They have seen that there are skills and opportunities here," says Giselle Abbas.
Two strong regional gaming clusters - Mid Sweden Games and High Coast Game Lab in Nordingrå - have contributed to the development of the gaming industry in Västernorrland. Mid Sweden Games, which started as a project at Bron Innovation, is now moving into BizMaker.
- Bron Innovation has done an incredibly good job of establishing the game cluster. When we listen to the companies' voices, we hear that the needs going forward include business development, investment opportunities and meeting places. These issues are BizMaker's home turf, and we are happy to have access to that expertise," says Giselle Abbas, who accompanies Mid Sweden Games to BizMaker.
A regional working group is now being created, where Mid Sweden Games and High Coast Game Lab will work together to respond to the needs in the best possible way.
At Mid Sweden Games, a number of initiatives are underway, in addition to the monthly meetings with the companies that form the basis of the cluster activities. Collaboration with various educational actors on courses and training is high on the agenda, as well as collaboration with other strong gaming regions in Sweden.
- We hook up with, among others, Skövde, which is a place with a strong business community linked to the gaming industry and with a well-developed ecosystem of enablers, to benefit from their experiences and lessons learned.
On the companies' wish list is also a regional incubator and accelerator activity for the computer game industry, something that is close to BizMaker's existing business development programs such as Forest Business Accelerator and Youth Wellness Accelerator.
- When we talk about companies and making companies grow, BizMaker is the right place to be, concludes Giselle Abbas.
FACTS.
Three successful examples of computer games from Västernorrland
- Sir Whoopass - Immortal Death. An adventure game with quirky details, highly rated by the target audience. From the Atomic Elbow studio.
- Grim Nights - A survival strategy game from developer Mattias Myde who runs the studio Edym Pixels.
- Blitz Football Manager - A mobile sports simulator where the player coaches an American football team. The studio Sideline Labs aims to be number 1 in its genre.
