This week, we have big news again from the Finnish Game Industry: Supercell blew the roof off the mobile market by announcing a staggering $3 billion in revenue for 2024. Housemarque has unveiled its next game, Saros, set for release in 2026, continuing the studio’s track record of quality-high-profile console launches. Remedy Entertainment also has good news, as Alan Wake 2 has recouped its development costs, and the company’s annual revenue has surged by 49%. Looking ahead, they have also confirmed that Alan Wake 3 and Control 3 are in the pipeline, with releases planned for 2029 and 2030.
The Finnish Game Industry demonstrates its diversity in game development across multiple platforms and developer scales. Indie talent is showing strong presence, with End-all Entertainment—recipient of last year’s IGDA Finland grant—releasing a demo of Paradigm Island, and Finnish developers accounting for nearly 10% of participants and games at Global Game Jam 2025. At the same time, industry giants remain solid: Supercell reports rising Hay Day user engagement through “growth virality” after 12 years, and Metacore solidifies its position as the leading benchmark for casual and Merge2 games. Speaking of different platforms, Ridge Racer 64 arrives on Nintendo Switch Online. Alan Wake 2 becoming the first game to support Mega Geometry Technology is clear evidence of Finland’s strong technological foundation.
This week, Finnish game industry news are; Fingersoft appointing Teemu Närhi as its new CEO and Kukouri Mobile Entertainment shutting down game operations while selling its IPs to Social First. Also, remember that there is only one week left to update the list of Finnish games released in 2024. Today is also the last day to apply Oulu Game Industry Pre-Incubator. Good news for jobseekers is that now you can sign up for Rovio's job alerts.
This week, the Finnish game industry—particularly Sam Lake and Remedy Entertainment—received another well-deserved recognition by being honored with the Andrew Yoon Legend Award. Pocket Gamer London attracted several Finnish game developers (among many other nationalities) to participate in the event this week. An important note: Neogames is compiling a list of Finnish games set to release in 2024 and urgently needs community support to ensure the list is complete and accurate. Please make sure your game is included. Junior developers are also in focus, with the bit1 competition now open and applications for the Oulu Game Industry Pre-Incubator underway. Last but not least, this weekend marks the Global + Finnish Game Jams.
The year 2025 is kicking off in practice! WonderHive has pivoted, secured an investment from SISU Ventures, and is now known as Playnest. Neogames has reviewed the year 2024 in The Finnish Game Industry, highlighting key achievements and Neogames’ own activities. The Think Ink competition, themed "Gaming in Media," awarded €100,000 to Platonic Partnership’s Metapress gamification platform, inspiring fresh ideas for journalism. However, not all news is positive, as Huuuge's Helsinki studio will be closed. Next week brings Pocket Gamer Connects London, followed by the Game Jam weekend starting on 24th February.
Welcome back to work, and I hope you have a great start to the year 2025! You can start by checking the impressive highlights of IGDA Finland's Year 2024 and celebrate the long-awaited release of the legendary, award-winning My Summer Car game, which is finally out of early access after nine years. The Neogames team visited this week at Business Finland and met with its new CEO, Lassi Noponen. Regarding to Business Finland, don’t forget to register for their upcoming online info session on R&D funding for the creative industries. In addition, new educational programs for the game industry are kicking off, so the application period is now open.
This is the week when we Finns get everything done for the whole year. So, talk the talk and walk the walk: Squad Busters is among the most played games on iPhone, Fingersoft’s Hill Climb Racing games have reached 2.5 billion installs across platforms, Ray Browser has closed a new funding round, and Nasdaq has congratulated Expa Game Business Cooperative and Digi & Game Center for their recognition as the world’s northernmost Unreal Authorized Training Center.
The Finnish government is also lending a helping hand (money) to game developers by announcing new R&D funding for creative industries. However, there also comes a time when doors close, and lights are turned off: Resistance Games is shutting down. But as they said; “Our story continues now under different companies and business ideas to create the most memorable games and game experiences imaginable. In this sense Resistance will never die!”
Now that most of everything has been done, please take a well-deserved rest and enjoy the Christmas break. We all have earned it.
The Neogames team wishes you Happy Holidays and the best New Year to you all!
Winner winner, chicken dinner! Supercell's Squad Busters won iPad Game of the Year 2024. Nitro Games is creating a game for PC fans - Autogun Heroes: Supercharged. Solo-developer Jussi-Pekka Kemppainen and his upcoming game Drivers of the Apocalypse reveal trailer shined on PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted.
Epic news from Finland's game industry! Expa and Digi & Game Center have made history as Finland's first—and the world's northernmost—Unreal Authorized Training Center. This week, three new Finnish mobile games were released: Blue Berry, Gladio Mori, and Santa's Break. Supporting the next generation of game developers remains essential for the future success of the industry—Neogames supports the long-term efforts of educational institutions to enhance student skills and improve employment opportunities in the gaming sector. Stay tuned for more industry updates!
It has been a somewhat intensive SLUSH week, where foreigners have witnessed one the reasons why people in Finland are so strong and stubborn – maybe it is connected to very cruel weather. In addition to the weather update, this week’s highlights of The Finnish Game Industry are: Quicksave announcing QSApp, a revolutionary tool making WebGL more accessible through no-code editors. Peter Vesterbacka and Kustaa Valtonen investing in Snorble via their newly launched FinestLove VC; and a well-deserved recognition that New York Game Awards set Remedy Entertainment’s Sam Lake as Legend Award recipient.