This week news and headlines in the Finnish Game Industry Mika Tammenkoski, CEO of Metacore, reflects on the lessons of 2025 and looks toward 2026, suggesting that the recent turbulence in the mobile game industry may well represent a new long-term normal. Remedy Entertainment continues to challenge itself by pushing its creative and production boundaries with the upcoming CONTROL Resonant. As a practical reminder, the Epic MegaGrants application round is now open. Next week, many Finnish game developers head to Pocket Gamer Connects London, the first international industry checkpoint of the year.
This week’s news, we share highlights from the past few weeks across The Finnish Game Industry. Angry Birds Licensing is merging with SEGA’s global operations and introducing a new international agent network, and Nitro Games has secured a €1.6 million contract. Despite stormy weather and freezing winter conditions, Finnish game developers’ machines do not congeal: My Winter Car was released on Steam on 29 December, Potion8 revealed its debut title Goblin’s Die with an announcement trailer, Sledders received major updates, and Phantom Gamelabs shared insights on building co-op at the core. For students, the Bit1 student game competition returns this spring, with registration opening in January. When it comes to funding, two timely opportunities are opening next week: the Epic MegaGrants submission window on 12 January and Business Finland’s funding info session for R&D in the creative industries on 13 January.
This week news about the Finnish Game Industry Neogames Finland is proud to share that The Finnish Game Industry has completed a mapping of its greenhouse gas emissions, marking an important step toward better understanding the sector’s environmental impact and future actions. When it comes to compensation in other areas, Game Makers of Finland invites professionals to contribute to its annual Salary Survey. Peliosuuskunta Expa celebrates its 13th birthday and conveniently reminds everyone that the Epic MegaGrants submission window opens in January. On the studio side, Kimble Games reports over 100,000 preorders for Wheelie King 8 ahead of release. As the year comes to a close, we want to wish you happy holidays, encourage you to enjoy a well-earned break, and thank you for being part of this year with us.
This week news about the Finnish Game Industry brings several major updates. Housemarque revealed a new trailer for Saros, now available for pre-order, and Remedy Entertainment announced that Control Resonant is coming to PS5 in 2026. The backbone of the Finnish game industry is its developer community, and thanks to the long-term work of IGDA Finland, that foundation now reaches across the country, from Helsinki all the way to Lapland, through 18 IGDA Hubs. This week also marked the first Finnish Games Industry DEI Summit, hosted by Next Games together with Neogames and We In Games Finland. On the new game release front, Mopeful Games unveiled the trailer and Steam page for their upcoming WARDRUM, Boom Karts VR by Zaibatsu Interactive is out now on Quest with crossplay, and Phobos Down by FRACKTiLE Games has launched on Steam.
This week news about the Finnish Game Industry we want to remind you about the upcoming info session on funding by The Creative Europe Desk Finland. On the release side, the solid rocks keep rolling. Fingersoft launched Hill Climb Racing Lite on Poki.com, Studio Grail released Grave Regrets, and Amistech unveiled both a teaser and Steam page for My Winter Car. 10tons published a trailer for their upcoming title Dysplaced, and Plebeian Studio with Bonus Stage Publishing are set to release the full version of Gladio Morio in Q3 2026. On the people front, Metacore strengthens its tech team with Petri Hyökyranta and Daniel Lindkvist.
This week news about the Finnish Game Industry brings great updates from studios, shiny new launches, and some useful event perks. Pools arrives on PlayStation 5 and PSVR with a demo already out, and Harakka Studio releases a free Steam demo for Remnants of Yore. On the release side, Reentry – A Space Flight Simulator lands on Steam, Next Games / Netflix unveils Puzzled launching on 26 November, and Interstellar Espionage Inc. from Fancy Raven Games is now out. For those planning ahead, Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026 and the Nordic Game Conference offer solid discounts for our subscribers.
This week news about the Finnish Game Industry serves both heavier and brighter notes, but the show must go on even when the week brings tough headlines. Redhill Games is closing its doors, and Cities: Skylines development shifts from Colossal Order to Iceflake Studios, keeping the project still in Finnish hands. Good news, and partly from last week, Next Games prepares four upcoming titles for Netflix, Get Colossal enters global alpha playtest, Riftbusters starts strong with promising early reception, Kimmo Lahtinen’s Sektori looks set to become an indie classic for 2025, and Boom Karts heads into VR in less than a month. AND Finnish companies received a total of €260,000 in AVEK’s DigiDemo and CreaDemo Support for games and game related projects!
This Slush week has been mad as usual, but the positive feeling for new opportunities was clearly in the air in events and discussions. The year is still far from over and there are plenty of things ahead including the Finnish Game Industry QA Meetup on 25 November, Theme Park 2025 at the end of the month, the Finnish Game Industry DEI Summit on 9 December, and the Game Designers of Finland meetup on 10 December.
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.