This week news about the Finnish Game Industry travels from great company news and local highlights to EU-level debates. Social First, developers of Nexus Station, have acquired the GamerPay.gg platform and The space strategy game Ephemeris, by Yrdvaab Ltd, has received significant EU funding and FOUR new games coming from Next Games this month! DFA concerns keep looming: the Digital Fairness Act being prepared by the Commission was highlighted and commented on by Neogames Finland’s Jari-Pekka Kaleva in Kauppalehti. Supporting young talent remains important: Gamebadges has released its new Educator Guidebook to help schools build clear pathways from education to employment, and Neogames Finland is proud to be part of the project. Across Finland, things are happening: Kajaani Game Catalyst made it to Yle news and is still open for new applicants, and Oulu Pelifarmi hit 50 game demos. And as the year winds down, the event season heats up — Games Now! Event Week and GameJam are here, today The Game Industry Business Seminar / XmasJKL takes over Jyväskylä, and next week’s SLUSH with its side events will be one of the big pushes of the year, offering a great opportunity for many game developers. Keep the pace — the year is soon done, just a little more to go.
This week news about the Finnish Game Industry covers e.g. funding and founding your game startup and a new game release. Neogames Finland hosted Get Funded – How to Fund Your Game Start-Up in 2025 on Tuesday – you can rewatch the stream if you missed it. We also published our statement on the planned Business Finland cuts to innovation funding. Talkin about founding a company; applications are now open for Kajaani GameLAB 2026 until November 23. On the release front, The Last Caretaker is out now in Early Access on PC – time to craft and build your way to saving the world. And to wrap up the week, National Game Week celebrates game education and culture, with 2025’s theme focusing on sustainable development.
This week news about the Finnish Game Industry moves between endings, new beginnings, and a bit of politics in between. Squad Busters is reaching its finish line with the final update coming in December 2025, while Hill Climb Racing 3 rolls out in Open Beta across Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the UK. Finland’s official stance on the Digital Fairness Act was clarified in Parliament, where Neogames’ KooPee Hiltunen spoke before the Committee for Economic Affairs — big thanks to the decision-makers who have kept their ears open on the matter. And next week, it’s time for Get Funded – How to Fund Your Game Start-Up in 2025, organised by Neogames Finland on Tuesday, November 4, and streamed for everyone who can’t join on-site.
This week news about the Finnish Game Industry brings a full mix – events, new releases, and strong voices for inclusion and equality. WiGFi’s survey (please fill the form) and Tarja Porkka-Kontturi’s reflections remind us that diversity still needs work. The calendar is packed with gatherings ie. the Game Designers of Finland meetup, EXPA JKL’s Unreal webinar, Two events between Games and Film Industry; Matching Games & AV networking event!, the Halloween Edition of Film × TV × Game × Comics Networking, and many more events. On the studio front, Willow Guard expands beyond games, Metacore is doubling down on older players, and Remedy adjusts its forecast. New Finnish titles keep the pace: Pax Dei is fully launched at Steam and arrives on PC Game Pass, Stick With It and Splittown v1.0 launch on Steam, and Concubine enters Early Access.
This week’s Finnish Games Week news shows the game industry from all sides — full 360 degrees. During the week we have learned and shared a lot through lectures, panels, discussions, side-events and meetups. The week started with IGDA Leadership Day, continued with PGC Helsinki, and wrapped up with We Love Games. At the same time, Finnish Games Week is also live on Steam, showcasing some of Finland’s most creative titles (hats off to Natasha Skult for organizing it!). Speaking of Steam, it’s needed to be mention that Pax Dei is stepping out of Early Access on October 16th.
But while the celebrations continue, serious discussions are underway: the proposed DFA regulation could bring Europe’s games industry to its knees, and Ilkka Paananen and Neogames among others are taking a stand on this. As we only have one planet, sustainability matters — so we’re happy to see and support the launch of the Sustainable Games Alliance standard. And last but not least, behind all these stories are people: this time it’s about highlighting women and non-binary professionals in the Nordic games industry. Aurora 2025 Awards celebrated 15 inspiring leaders making an impact and shaping the future of Nordic games.
But while the celebrations continue, serious discussions are underway: the proposed DFA regulation could bring Europe’s games industry to its knees, and both Ilkka Paananen and Neogames are taking a stand on this. As we only have one planet, sustainability matters — so we’re happy to see and support the launch of the Sustainable Games Alliance standard. And last but not least, behind all these stories are people: this time it’s about highlighting women and non-binary professionals in the Nordic games industry. Aurora 2025 Awards celebrated 15 inspiring leaders making an impact and shaping the future of Nordic games.
Neogames sees that, despite the challenges, Finland’s games industry is still alive and kicking. Our crew is actively taking part in Finnish Games Week (Oct 6–10), and we support the industry in many ways, including organising the 6th edition of Get Funded! on November 4. On the studio front, this week’s news includes The Last Caretaker heading into Early Access on November 6, Angry Birds making a return to mainland China through a partnership with Kingsoft Shiyou and Xiaomi, and Habbo Hotel: Origins preparing to land on Steam later this year.
Neogames Finland organizes the 6th edition of Get Funded!, a half day of talks about business and development funding instruments available for local game developers in Finland. The event is supported by Taru Tech and hosted by our partner A Grid at their Espoo premises.
First look at Saros, Housemarque’s upcoming title, gameplay has been revealed (and it looks thrilling!). Metacore is celebrating its fifth anniversary with not-so-modest numbers: Merge Mansion has passed 60 million downloads and $700 million in lifetime revenue. Neogames crew has been travelling around Finland – from indie developers in the north to political decision-makers in the south. New Finnish game releases during the past two weeks give a great view of the versatility across platforms and game types. On top of all, the autumn calendar packed with events will keep the industry folks busy.
This week we want to remind you that you should soon apply for the Epic MegaGrant – but no later than Sept. 22. Next week kicks off with the 17th Northern Game Summit in Kajaani, after which the autumn event river keeps streaming full speed ahead and then billowing into Finnish Games Week, October 6–10, 2025.
The big highlight this week – and for the year – is The Finnish Game Industry Report 2024, now officially released by Neogames Finland. Finnish developers, true to form, keep putting out solid rock titles: Phantom Gamelabs’ Riftbusters has now launched globally. Patch notes to our newsletter include items from earlier this summer, with new releases and games climbing the Steam wishlist. Next week is also the deadline for CreaDemo and DigiDemo demo grants. Please note that nominations remain open to spotlight heroic women and non-binary professionals making a remarkable impact at the game industry across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.