Home

This two week’s news from the Finnish Game Industry starts with Remedy, as Control Resonant launches on PS5 on 24 September and new CEO Jean-Charles Gaudechon discusses the next steps for Alan Wake and Control as franchises. Neogames has released its new report on game industry growth and entrepreneurship, Game Industry Entrepreneurship Paths from Start-up to Growth. Regarding to industry support, Jyväskylä is forming a shared strategy for games sector development. For game developers, there are several international opportunities to note: the W Love Games scholarship for gamescom dev and gamescom Cologne 2026, the Creative Europe MEDIA stand at gamescom with a 26 June deadline, and China Game Business Boost 2026 at China Joy, with the deadline today. On the studio side, SEGA and Rovio have appointed Toons Max as the official Angry Birds licensing agent in China, Rovio’s Anastasiya Kara discusses the shift from core-first to event-first mobile games. New releases include Tree Men Games’ HELI 100, Jestercraft’s Mining Grounds, MicroDose’s Marble Sort with Voodoo, and Pelimies Remake for iPhone and iPad. The Finnish Society for Game Research has also awarded the 2026 Game Studies Thesis Competition prizes to Vilma Varismaa from Tampere University and Sina Berger from South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, with Mikko Korpela from Tampere University receiving an honourable mentionAlso worth noting: Ari Pulkkinen was recognised to legendary status at the Nordic Game Awards, and the Way Forward Forum takes place in Oulu today.

Stay updated on what’s happening in the Finnish game industry by following the Play Finland Facebook group, and help us stay informed by posting your Finnish game industry news there!  Follow Neogames Finland also on LinkedIn.

Subscribe to Neogames’ weekly newsletter directly to your email

BIG NEWS!

📣 Neogames Dones & News

📰 Game Industry News, thoughts & discussions 

🎮News from and about Finnish Game Studios

😍 NEW Finnish games released & soft launched

💰 Funding

📝 Jobs & Recruitment

👉 Upcoming Events

See also following calendars:
The Game Industry Events calendar (mostly relevant for Finnish Game industry)
Game Conference Guide Calendar (more international (powered by EGDF and Slovakian games association)
Game Industry Biz

This week’s roundup highlights news from the past week in the Finnish Game Industry. In the future, this bulletin is again posted every Friday afternoon. You can find past weekly roundups from Weekly roundup section.

News are gathered from various industry sources and the Play Finland group posts during the week. Post your Finnish Game Industry related news to the group to get a chance to be included in the weekly roundup!

Best Regards,
Neogames Finland

PELIALANYRITTÄJÄPOLUT kansi

pelialanyrittajyyspolutSMALLwww

Click the image above to download the file for closer review.

Game Industry Entrepreneurship Paths from Founding to Growth is a project carried out by Neogames Finland ry and funded by the AEL Foundation. The project examines early-stage entrepreneurship in The Finnish Game Industry, business model choices and the conditions for growth.

The report (written in Finnish) looks at why an increasing number of new or small Finnish game companies choose business models that do not primarily aim for scalable growth. It examines this question in a changing operating environment where funding, platforms, distribution channels, discoverability and revenue models are all undergoing significant changes at the same time.

The aim of the project was to identify barriers to growth and business development, as well as structural factors that affect the ability of early-stage game companies to develop, grow and renew The Finnish Game Industry. Another aim was to build practical tools that help companies and supporting organisations identify critical decision points as early as possible.

The report is based on interviews with Finnish game industry entrepreneurs, funders, educational institutions, incubators and ecosystem actors, as well as a project workshop, case examples and background material on the game market, funding and entrepreneurship.

The report and its appendices are currently available in Finnish.

Key findings

A key finding of the report is that the choices made by early-stage game companies cannot be explained by one single factor, such as lack of funding or limited business competence. Instead, they are shaped by the combined effect of several factors: the goals of the founding team, market understanding, funding path, production scope, team competences and how early business-related decisions are recognised.

1. Game industry entrepreneurship should not be viewed as one linear path from idea to growth

Early-stage companies may move towards growth entrepreneurship, profitable and sustainable business, or independent indie-driven development. These paths are not ranked against each other, but their goals, risks, funding logic and support needs differ significantly.

2. Growth entrepreneurship is not the automatic starting point for most early-stage companies

For many new teams, the primary goal is to make a good game, employ themselves, realise their own creative vision or build a manageable business. Growth may be a desired outcome of a successful product, but it is not always a consciously planned or realistic goal from the beginning.

3. Business choices are often made too indirectly

Platform, genre, revenue model, target audience and production scope are decisive business choices. In early-stage teams, however, these decisions are often made based on game development, creative vision or existing competences, without sufficiently early assessment of their impact on the market, funding and growth.

4. Market validation often happens too late

Many game projects progress far before the target audience, commercial potential or market space have been tested sufficiently. This can lead to production, team structure and funding needs being built on assumptions instead of market signals.

5. Funding does not only enable activity, it also steers the company’s direction

Different forms of funding support different business models. Venture capital requires a scalable growth story, publisher cooperation emphasises the commercial potential of the product, public support can help in the development phase, and cash-flow-based development limits risk but slows growth. The funding path is therefore a strategic choice, not just a technical application process.

6. The support ecosystem is strong, but fragmented from the company perspective

Finland has a lot of game industry expertise, education, incubators, networks and funding instruments. The challenge is that these do not always form a clear and continuous path from the company perspective. The transitions from idea to a business-ready plan, from first market signals to the next funding phase, are especially critical.

The project resulted in:

  • an up-to-date analysis of barriers to growth, profitability and business development for early-stage companies in The Finnish Game Industry
  • a structured view of different game industry entrepreneurship profiles and their support needs
  • two case examples illustrating different entrepreneurship paths in practice
  • an overview of existing support forms for Finnish game industry entrepreneurs
  • a visualisation of Finnish game industry entrepreneurship paths, bringing together the key decision points of the report as a practical tool

The purpose of the report is to help game companies, educational institutions, incubators, funders and other ecosystem actors identify early decision points before production, funding, team structure and business model become too firmly locked in.

The appendices include an overview of existing support forms and a visualisation of Finnish game industry entrepreneurship paths. The visualisation brings together the key decision points of the report as a practical tool.

Conclusion

The main conclusion of the project is that early-stage game companies should not be directed too strongly towards one single model of entrepreneurship. Instead, companies should be helped to identify, as early as possible, what kind of company they are actually building.

Supporting growth remains important for the renewal and international competitiveness of The Finnish Game Industry. At the same time, it is important to recognise that profitable, controlled and creator-driven business can be a realistic and valuable path for many companies. What matters is that these choices are made consciously, early enough and in relation to the market, funding, team competences and the company’s own goals.

Download:

Report: Game Industry Entrepreneurship Paths from Founding to Growth
Appendix 1. Existing support forms
Appendix 2. Finnish Game Industry Entrepreneurship Paths visualisation

Please note that the report and appendices are available in Finnish.

Gamescom Nordic All Stars Booth 26.-28.8. Deadline for registrations 3.6.2026

Neogames is again organizing Nordic All Stars booth in Gamescom Business Area 26.-28.8.

The booth participation is also possible to individual Finnish studios with cost price. We have also some Finnish, Norwegian, Estonian and Swedish clusters and projects with studios joining us.

The Exhibitor package includes:

  • Business Package including 3 exhibitor passes per company and listing as official exhibitor
  • Access to the booth lounge, shared meeting rooms, and demo stations (allocated via our booking system)
  • 1 Meet-to-Match account per exhibitor
  • Logo visibility in the booth Logo Wall
  • Nordic Party ticket (if available)
  • Booth reception services: Water, booth catalog listing, receptionist, and possible happy hour etc.

The price of the Exhibitor package is €2000 + VAT. Deadline for registrations is 3.6.2026

More info and registrations: koopee@neogames.fi / 040-5324176

The week we had in the Finnish Game Industry  is led by The Finnish Game Awards 2026, where Channel37’s robot adventure The Last Caretaker won Best Finnish Game of 2025, followed by Amistech Games’ My Winter Car in second place and Kimmo Factor’s Sektori in third. The gala also brought several other awards and recognitions: Cities: Skylines II by Colossal Order won the new Best IP Expansion of the Year category, Clash Royale by Supercell received Neogames Finland’s first Business Excellence Award, Kokoon Games was named Rookie of the Year, Sektori won Best Creative Achievement of the Year, and Valtteri “Wanda” Lahti received the Power Player of the Year lifetime achievement recognition. You can find all the winners and awards in the newsletter. Outside the gala lights, Returnal director Harry Krueger announced his new Finland-based studio Cosmic Division, Matias Myllyrinne founded Mainstay Games, and Bonobo Software’s role-playing game Taival continued its wonderfully Finnish one-euro Kickstarter campaign after reaching 10,000 Steam wishlists.

Stay updated on what’s happening in the Finnish game industry by following the Play Finland Facebook group, and help us stay informed by posting your Finnish game industry news there!  Follow Neogames Finland also on LinkedIn.

Subscribe to Neogames’ weekly newsletter directly to your email

BIG NEWS!

📣Neogames Dones & News

📰 Game Industry News, thoughts & discussions 

🎮News from and about Finnish Game Studios

😍 NEW Finnish games released & soft launched

💰 Funding

  • Supercell calls on companies to reach for potential partnerships on new website

📝 Jobs & Recruitment

  • Check tips and links from Neogames webpage

👉 Upcoming Events

See also following calendars:
The Game Industry Events calendar (mostly relevant for Finnish Game industry)
Game Conference Guide Calendar (more international (powered by EGDF and Slovakian games association)
Game Industry Biz

This week’s roundup highlights news from the past week in the Finnish Game Industry. In the future, this bulletin is again posted every Friday afternoon. You can find past weekly roundups from Weekly roundup section.

News are gathered from various industry sources and the Play Finland group posts during the week. Post your Finnish Game Industry related news to the group to get a chance to be included in the weekly roundup!

Best Regards,
Neogames Finland

The Finnish Game Awards 2026 celebrated a diverse lineup of winners, including a world-saving robot adventure, a distinctly Finnish winter driving experience, an adrenaline-fueled techno shooter, city-building creativity, and an exceptional group of Finnish game developers.

The gala evening began with the W Love Games Excellence Award 2025 for the best indie game of the year. It was presented to dice-driven role-playing game Paradigm Island by End-all Entertainment.

The evening continued with IGDA Finland recognizing Joni Paasikivi as the IGDA Volunteer of the Year. The IGDA Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Emma Von Munthe Af Morgenstierne Vantaa.

The gala also honored the winner of the Bit1 Student Game Competition 2026, with Dappal Interactive taking home the award for its unique tennis game My Tennis Apocalypse.

Finnish Game Jam presented the Jampion of the Year Award to Noora Archer for her role as the lead organizer of the exceptional Spaceship Game Jam game development event.

The entirely new award category for Best IP Expansion of the Year was won by Colossal Order’s city-building game Cities: Skylines II. The highly anticipated update was described as a game-changing addition because it enabled players to create and share their own content for the game. Fans have already created more than 1,500 custom assets, and the number continues to grow.

The Rookie of the Year Award went to Kokoon Games. The experienced team boldly founded a new studio in the highly competitive mobile games market.

The Power Player of the Year lifetime achievement recognition in the games industry was awarded to Valtteri “Wanda” Lahti. He is a key figure in the games industry in Jyväskylä and serves as Chair of Expa Game Business Cooperative.

The Finnish game industry organization Neogames Finland presented its own Business Excellence Award for the first time. Clash Royale by Supercell was recognized for demonstrating that even a long-running hit title can be successfully revitalized and taken to new heights despite the challenging market conditions of 2025.

The Best Creative Achievement of the Year Award went to Sektori, a fast-paced techno shooter by Kimmo Factor that represents Finnish gaming heritage at its best. The game was created by Kimmo Lahtinen, with music composed by his brother Tommi Lahtinen.

The evening’s top honor, the Best Finnish Game of 2025 Award, was a closely contested race between three titles. Third place went to Sektori, the techno-shooter by Kimmo Factor. Second place was awarded to My Winter Car, the winter driving game from Amistech Games.

The top prize and the title of Best Finnish Game of 2025 went to Channel37’s robot adventure The Last Caretaker. Set in a world overtaken by the sea, the game is currently available in Steam Early Access and has already achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success.

“Sometimes a game can be many things at once. Channel37 has succeeded in creating a game that is simultaneously wistful, atmospheric, and visually stunning, while also being engineered with remarkable precision. It’s rare to be able to justifiably fit both wistfulness and engineering into the same sentence. That alone is an achievement in itself,” commented says Joni Lappalainen, Chair of the Board of the Finnish Game Developers’ Studios Association. “Game award galas have been organized in Finland since 1998, although the organizers, award categories, and formats have varied over the years. The Finnish Game Developers’ Association has organized the gala together with Neogames Finland since 2014. The mission of the gala has always remained the same: to bring together the Finnish game industry, celebrate its achievements, and highlight the latest developments for invited guests. This year, the main awards went to outstanding indie productions. Next year, the situation may already be different, as the Finnish game industry is constantly evolving and developing.”

The winners for Finnish Game of the Year 2025 have been selected through a member vote by the Finnish Game Developers’ Studios Association. Nearly 100 commercial Finnish games released in 2025 were included in the voting. All winners and links to the winning games can be found in the list at the end of this press release.

A video recording of The Finnish Game Awards gala can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/live/oBdFR-ePgYc.

The Finnish Game Awards 2026 was sponsored at the gold level by Housemarque and Small Giant Games, and at the silver level by Dreamloop Games, Expa Game Business Cooperative, Fingersoft, Hanki Games, Kuuasema,  Metacore Games, Next Games – A Netflix Game Studio, Supercell, and Ubisoft RedLynx.

 

More info

Photos: The Finnish Game Awards 2026

List of winners:
W Love Games Excellence Award 2025: Paradigm Island (End-all Entertainment)
IGDA Volunteer of the Year 2025: Joni Paasikivi
IGDA Lifetime Achievement 2026: Emma Von Munthe Af Morgenstierne Vantaa
Bit1 Game Competition 2026: My Tennis Apocalypse (Dappal Interactive)
Jampion of the Year 2025: Noora Archer
Best IP Expansion 2025: Cities: Skylines II (Colossal Order)
Rookie of the Year 2025: Kokoon Games
Power Player of the Year 2025: Valtteri ”Wanda” Lahti
Business Excellence Award 2025: Clash Royale (Supercell)
Best Creative Achievement of the Year 2025: Sektori (Kimmo Factor)
Finnish Game of the Year 2025: The Last Caretaker (Channel37)

Links to winning games:
Paradigm Island: https://paradigmisland.blog/
My Tennis Apocalypse: https://www.dappal.com/my-tennis-apocalypse/index.html
Cities: Skylines II: https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/
Clash Royale: https://supercell.com/en/games/clashroyale/
Sektori: https://www.gimblll.com/sektori/
My Winter Car: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4164420/My_Winter_Car/
The Last Caretaker: https://thelastcaretaker.com/

 

Contact person
Neogames Finland / KooPee Hiltunen / +358 40 5324176 / koopee@neogames.fi

 

 

Finnish Game Developers’ Association (Suomen Pelinkehittäjät ry)

The Finnish Game Developers’ Studios Association is a network representing game development companies in Finland. The association fosters collaboration between companies and advocates for the interests of the game development industry. It organizes events, shares industry information, and ensures that the concerns of game developers are considered in relevant decision-making processes. Notable initiatives of Suomen Pelinkehittäjät ry include the Pelimetsä project, breakfast events, and the annual Finnish Game Awards Gala.

Neogames Finland Association

Neogames is a member-based, non-profit game industry association. Its task is to coordinate, accelerate and support the growth and development of the Finnish game industry, as well as to connect stakeholders across the sector and promote shared interests. More information at www.neogames.fi.

The week we had in the Finnish Game Industry – While Angry Birds celebrates its well-deserved induction into the World Video Game Hall of Fame, Sega is navigating a $31.6m net loss and a major strategic pivot away from its “Super Game” project. On the frontline of play, Housemarque’s Saros keeps getting praises, Virtual Hunter reaches the 20,000-wishlist mark, Catland reveals geopolitical satire CORDCUTTER, and an insightful retrospective on indie self-publishing from MiTale.

Stay updated on what’s happening in the Finnish game industry by following the Play Finland Facebook group, and help us stay informed by posting your Finnish game industry news there!  Follow Neogames Finland also on LinkedIn.

Subscribe to Neogames’ weekly newsletter directly to your email

📰 Game Industry News, thoughts & discussions 

🎮News from and about Finnish Game Studios

💰 Funding

  • Supercell calls on companies to reach for potential partnerships on new website

📝 Jobs & Recruitment

  • Check tips and links from Neogames webpage

👉 Upcoming Events

See also following calendars:
The Game Industry Events calendar (mostly relevant for Finnish Game industry)
Game Conference Guide Calendar (more international (powered by EGDF and Slovakian games association)
Game Industry Biz

This week’s roundup highlights news from the past week in the Finnish Game Industry. In the future, this bulletin is again posted every Friday afternoon. You can find past weekly roundups from Weekly roundup section.

News are gathered from various industry sources and the Play Finland group posts during the week. Post your Finnish Game Industry related news to the group to get a chance to be included in the weekly roundup!

Best Regards,
Neogames Finland

This two-week news round from the Finnish Game Industry are HUGE! Housemarque launched SAROS worldwide last week with fantastic reviews, and the Finnish Game Industry will be celebrated at the Finnish Game Awards on 21 May. Check the nominees below, and note that the event will also be streamed. Finnish games have also been nominated at the Nordic Game Awards 2026, with the winners to be announced at Nordic Game in Malmö on 28 May. On the studio side, the ground is rumbling: Supercell is set to acquire Merge Mansion studio Metacore, with reports that up to 160 jobs could be cut, while Remedy reported a stable Q1 despite lower revenue and operating profit after the Control franchise passed 6 million units, and Nitro Games will develop a mobile game based on the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Good news for developers is that Griffin Gaming Partners has launched a $100 million indie developer fund, and the DigiDemo concept support application period is also open until 12 May 2026. Since public policy also shapes the practical operating environment for game companies, Neogames has published the Finnish Game Industry parliamentary election goals in Finnish.

Stay updated on what’s happening in the Finnish game industry by following the Play Finland Facebook group, and help us stay informed by posting your Finnish game industry news there!  Follow Neogames Finland also on LinkedIn.

Subscribe to Neogames’ weekly newsletter directly to your email

📣Neogames Dones & News

📰 Game Industry News, thoughts & discussions 

🎮News from and about Finnish Game Studios

😍 NEW Finnish games released & soft launched

💰 Funding

📝 Jobs & Recruitment

  • Check tips and links from Neogames webpage

👉 Upcoming Events

See also following calendars:
The Game Industry Events calendar (mostly relevant for Finnish Game industry)
Game Conference Guide Calendar (more international (powered by EGDF and Slovakian games association)
Game Industry Biz

This week’s roundup highlights news from the past week in the Finnish Game Industry. In the future, this bulletin is again posted every Friday afternoon. You can find past weekly roundups from Weekly roundup section.

News are gathered from various industry sources and the Play Finland group posts during the week. Post your Finnish Game Industry related news to the group to get a chance to be included in the weekly roundup!

Best Regards,
Neogames Finland

The Finnish Game Awards 2026 gala will honor the best Finnish games of the last year and celebrate the Finnish games industry.

“The Finnish games industry experienced quite a renaissance last year in multi-platform and PC games, particularly as the visibility of games sold via the Steam store increased significantly,” says Joni Lappalainen, Chair of the Board of the Finnish Game Developers’ Studios Association. “More broadly, Finland saw an indie carnival, with small and mid-sized studios releasing games at a faster pace and also succeeding in the market. At the same time, the traditionally strong mobile segment remained robust, driven by Supercell. This year, major studios will also begin releasing long-developed PC and console titles.”

However, indie games were not the only success story of 2025. According to preliminary estimates by Neogames Finland, the Hub of the Finnish Game Industry, the overall revenue of the Finnish games industry grew despite a globally challenging year.

Award categories and nominees

The Finnish Game Developers’ Studios Association will present awards in five categories at the gala. A completely new category this year is Best IP Expansion of the Year, reflecting the industry’s shift from standalone game releases to long-lasting and expanding game services.

For the first time this year, Neogames Finland will also present its own Business Excellence Award.

The other categories are Finnish Game of the Year, Finnish Rookie of the Year, Power Player of the Year, and Creative Achievement of the Year.

The nominees for Finnish Game of the Year 2025 are Amistech Games (My Winter Car), Channel37 (The Last Caretaker), Cornfox & Brothers (Oceanhorn: Chronos Dungeon), Hanki Games (Sledders), Kimmo Factor (Sektori), MiTale (Willow Guard), Next Games (Puzzled), Notovia & Dreamloop Games (I’m on Observation Duty 8), and Zaibatsu (Squishmallows Match). Short game descriptions and links can be found at the end of the release.

Other industry organizations will present their own recognitions during the gala. IGDA Finland will award the IGDA Lifetime Award and IGDA Volunteer of the Year 2025. Finnish Game Jam will present the Jampion of the Year award, and W Love Games will grant the W Love Games Excellence Award for the best indie game. The Bit1 Game Award 2026 will also be presented to the winner of the Bit1 student competition.

The nominees and winners for Finnish Game of the Year 2025 have been selected through a member vote by the Finnish Game Developers’ Studios Association. Nearly 100 commercial Finnish games released in 2025 were included in the voting.

The winners and award recipients will be announced immediately after the ceremony on the Neogames website and via a separate press release.

Gala on May 21 at White Hall and on YouTube

This year’s Finnish Game Awards gala will take place at a new venue, White Hall near Senate Square in Helsinki, on May 21, 2026. The event is open to invited guests and ticket holders. Ticket are now on sale – get your ticket here.

The awards ceremony will be streamed live on YouTube from 19:00 to 20:30 at https://www.youtube.com/live/oBdFR-ePgYc. The broadcast will be hosted by long-time Finnish games industry influencer Teemu Haila. The event can be followed on social media with the hashtag #fga26.

The 2026 gala sponsors

Gold sponsors: Housemarque & Small Giant Games

Silver sponsors: Dreamloop Games, Expa Game Business Cooperative, Fingersoft, Hanki Games, Kuuasema,  Metacore Games, Next Games – A Netflix Game Studio, Supercell, and Ubisoft RedLynx

More information

Images: The Finnish Game Awards 2026

Neogames Finland / KooPee Hiltunen / +358 40 5324176 / koopee@neogames.fi

Finnish Game Developers’ Association (Suomen Pelinkehittäjät ry)

The Finnish Game Developers’ Studios Association is a network representing game development companies in Finland. The association fosters collaboration between companies and advocates for the interests of the game development industry. It organizes events, shares industry information, and ensures that the concerns of game developers are considered in relevant decision-making processes. Notable initiatives of Suomen Pelinkehittäjät ry include the Pelimetsä project, monthly breakfast events, and the annual Finnish Game Awards Gala.

Neogames Finland Association

Neogames is a member-based, non-profit game industry association. Its task is to coordinate, accelerate and support the growth and development of the Finnish game industry, as well as to connect stakeholders across the sector and promote shared interests. More information at www.neogames.fi.

Finnish Game of the Year nominees

My Winter Car is a simulation game where players repair and customize their own car while experiencing Finnish winter life. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4164420/My_Winter_Car/

The Last Caretaker is a survival adventure where the player is a robot awakening after a long sleep to save humanity on a water-covered Earth. https://thelastcaretaker.com/

Oceanhorn: Chronos Dungeon is an action-packed dungeon crawler offering a fresh take on the popular RPG series. https://www.oceanhorn.com/oceanhorn-chronos-dungeon

Sledders is a competitive snowmobiling simulator full of speed and thrills, featuring both single-player and multiplayer content. https://www.sleddersgame.com/

Sektori is a fast-paced, adrenaline-filled action shooter set to techno rhythms. https://www.gimblll.com/sektori/

Willow Guard is an RPG that combines narrative-driven storytelling with challenging hack-and-slash gameplay. https://www.willowguard.games/

Puzzled is a collection of puzzle games offering a fun and fresh Netflix-inspired approach. https://www.netflix.com/tudum/puzzled

I’m on Observation Duty 8 is a horror game where players monitor surveillance cameras, spot anomalies, and try to survive. https://www.notovia.net/fi/iood8/

Squishmallows Match is a casual puzzle game featuring soft and adorable Squishmallows characters. https://zaibatsu.fi/#projects

This week’s news from the Finnish Game Industry starts with Finland’s new Country Brand Strategy, which now includes a dedicated narrative for the industry developed by Neogames together with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Finnish Game Awards is approaching on May 21, bringing the industry together onsite and via livestream, with ticket sales opening next week. For developers planning their next steps abroad, IGDA Finland is accepting submissions for gamescom 2026 until April 30.

On the studio side, Remedy has released Control Ultimate Edition for iPhone, and Alan Wake 2 is set to appear in Phasmophobia. Sega and Rovio continue to expand Angry Birds licensing through a new partnership with WildBrain, and indie developer Kimmo Lahtinen is preparing to launch Sektori on Switch 2 on May 14. Business updates also continue, as Nitro Games has published its annual report for 2025.

Stay updated on what’s happening in the Finnish game industry by following the Play Finland Facebook group, and help us stay informed by posting your Finnish game industry news there!  Follow Neogames Finland also on LinkedIn.

Subscribe to Neogames’ weekly newsletter directly to your email

 

📣Neogames Dones & News

  • Finland’s new Country Brand Strategy has launched, including a Finnish Game Industry narrative developed by Neogames with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
  • Neogames asks on Linkedin poll which events Finnish game devs plan to attend as exhibitor or trade delegation on 2026 (China Joy / PGC Shanghai, gamescom Europe, India GDC, Tokyo Game Show)

📰 Game Industry News, thoughts & discussions 

🎮News from and about Finnish Game Studios

💰 Funding

📝 Jobs & Recruitment

  • Check tips and links from Neogames webpage

👉 Upcoming Events

See also following calendars:
The Game Industry Events calendar (mostly relevant for Finnish Game industry)
Game Conference Guide Calendar (more international (powered by EGDF and Slovakian games association)
Game Industry Biz

This week’s roundup highlights news from the past week in the Finnish Game Industry. In the future, this bulletin is again posted every Friday afternoon. You can find past weekly roundups from Weekly roundup section.

News are gathered from various industry sources and the Play Finland group posts during the week. Post your Finnish Game Industry related news to the group to get a chance to be included in the weekly roundup!

Best Regards,
Neogames Finland

It is almost time to celebrate the awesome games by the Finnish Game Industry in 2025!

Who wins the title of the Finnish Game of the Year? Nominees have been announced – check more here.

The Finnish Game Awards 2025 gala event will be held on May 21st at Valkoinen Sali in Helsinki.

The event is exclusive to invited guests and ticket holders. TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE! Get your ticket(s) from Eventbrite (click this hyperlink). The sales end on May 7th, 23.30.

You can watch the ceremony also in YouTube as a livestream.

 

 

Thanks to our sponsors!

Gold sponsors: Housemarque & Small Giant Games

Silver sponsors: Dreamloop Games, Expa Game Business Cooperative, Fingersoft, Hanki Games, Kuuasema,  Metacore Games, Next Games – A Netflix Game Studio, Supercell, and Ubisoft RedLynx.

 

The Finnish Game Awards is organized by Suomen Pelinkehittäjät ry (Finnish Game Developer Studios Association) and Neogames Finland ry, powered by Liwlig.