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.
This is a recap of highlights, news, and new game releases from the Finnish games industry during summer 2025. The two oldest Finnish game studios, Housemarque and Remedy, are both celebrating their 30th anniversaries. Several new Finnish games have been released – and more are on the way. On last week the Neogames crew has been busy hosting the Nordic All Stars booth at Gamescom and working on better regulation policies, especially around labour-based immigration.
Neogames, alongside prominent Finnish economic associations, is advocating for substantial changes to the government's draft for the so-called three-month rule proposal.
This week we’re combining news from two weeks, and we’re already getting very excited about the Finnish Game Awards coming up next Tuesday, 13 May. Finnish Cottage Simulator is clearly having its moment in the sunshine – nominated both at the Finnish Game Awards and as Nordic Game of the Year. Q2 seems to be filling up with events, and Finnish Games Week in October is already looming on the horizon. New Finnish games keep popping: Stratogun by Horsefly Games is out on PC and consoles, Kaamos by Pepperbox Studios is live on Steam, and Remedy will release FBC: Firebreak globally on 17 June. Money is good fuel for the game development, regarding to that IGDA Finland Grant is open – not huge, but a good start for indies.