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Weekly News,

This week news about The Finnish Game Industry is a whirlwind of activity around Finnish Games Week in Helsinki, from IGDA Finland’s Leadership Day and Pocket Gamer Connects Nordics to W Love Games rounding off the week. Supercell ranks ninth in PocketGamer.biz’s Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2026, while Housemarque has released the free SAROS: Zenith update. Beyond the in-person events, Finnish strategy, horror, puzzle, action and VR demos, including Skyward Entertainment’s Second Stone, are available during Steam Next Fest, which runs until 26 October. New Finnish games keep coming out, with Gloomsoft’s Moadra now on PC and Moon Sweepers launching next. Kajaani Game Catalyst will be open for applications from 26 October to 22 November. And if the topic of funding resonates with you, sign up for Get Funded, which brings funding advice and investor perspectives on 4 November.

Stay updated on what is happening in The Finnish Game Industry by following the Play Finland Facebook group and Neogames Finland on LinkedIn.

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📣 Neogames Dones & News

  • Get Funded 2026, organised by Neogames Finland and Xamk, runs on 4 November, 13:00–17:00 EET, in Helsinki and online. The free event for early-stage game teams includes funding advice and an investor panel with Supercell Investments, Nuard Ventures and Sisu Game Ventures. On-site registration required; livestream open to everyone. Programme, registration and livestream.
  • Gamebadges;
    • invites companies to join its Industry Endorsement List, supporting competence mapping and skills recognition. Endorsement does not commit companies to a particular level of adoption. Details and endorsement form.
    • Gamebadges’ European Game Educators’ Meeting runs online on 3 November, 16:00–17:30 EET, covering skills recognition and graduate employment, with an Arcada case study and Sophie Vo’s keynote. Programme and registration.

📰 Game Industry News, thoughts & discussions

  • PocketGamer.biz shares lessons from PGC Nordics, held in Helsinki on 20–21 October. Read the conference highlights.
  • W Love Games event ends the Finnish Games Week on 22–23 October, at Oodi and online. The free programme includes talks, workshops and IGDA Finland’s Mentor Café with portfolio and CV reviews; registration required. Programme and registration.
  • Kajaani Game Catalyst applications run from 26 October to 22 November. Free GameLAB, Incubator and Accelerator routes combine online coaching with Kajaani meetups. Companies formed in the Incubator and Accelerator companies must be registered in Kainuu. Programme details and application schedule.
  • SuomiGameHUB rounds up Finnish Steam Next Fest demos, spanning strategy, horror, puzzles, action and VR. The festival runs until 26 October. Explore the demo roundup in Finnish.
  • Green Game Jam 2027 registration closes on 22 November. Playing for the Planet invites studios with live games to create in-game content around Stories of Resilience. Participation details and registration.
  • Yle explores financing challenges for small Finnish game developers, featuring Paahtomo Games’ Mika Happonen and Finndie Forge’s support for finding investors and publishers. Read the article in Finnish.
  • Game Research Days registration closes on 22 October. The free Jyväskylä event on 3–4 November features over 30 presentations and keynotes by Ulla Richardson and Annakaisa Kultima. Programme and registration.

🎮 News from and about Finnish Game Companies

  • Supercell ranks ninth in PocketGamer.biz’s Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2026, published on 21 October during PGC Nordics. The editorial list reviews performance and developments over the past year. See the list and Supercell’s entry.
  • Housemarque released SAROS: Zenith on 19 October. The free update adds the Overlord Rush boss challenge and leaderboards, a Slow Motion mode and motion controls. Developer announcement.
  • Channel37 released The Last Caretaker’s Update 6.0: The Jump on 19 October. The Early Access update adds North Bastion, Transfer Gates and cold-survival systems, and continues Anna’s story. Developer announcement.
  • Turku-based FakeFish’s Frostrail demo is playable until 26 October. Released on 19 October for Steam Next Fest, the survival FPS supports solo play and co-op for up to four players. Developer announcement and demo.
  • Skyward Entertainment released a Second Stone demo on 19 October. The Helsinki studio’s Headup-published action RPG combines combat, platforming and exploration across two parallel worlds. Play the free demo.
  • Grim Page Studio has announced Too Angry to Clean, a third-person co-op destruction game for 1–4 players. Playtest applications are open on Steam ahead of its planned Q1 2027 PC release. Game details and playtest sign-up and announcement trailer.
  • Finnish publisher Bonus Stage Publishing brings Sound System to Steam Early Access on 4 November. Developed by Echo Foundry Interactive, the rhythm game supports guitar controllers, keyboards and standard controllers, with local play for up to three. Publisher announcement.
  • Supercell reports unauthorised access to internal videos and video platform users’ names and email addresses. Its investigation has found no impact on player data; partners are warned about phishing and impersonation. Company statement.

😍 NEW Finnish games released & upcoming releases

  • Gloomsoft’s Moadra launched on Steam on 22 October. The Finnish sci-fi Metroidvania combines exploration, combat and evolving abilities on Windows PC. View on Steam.
  • DragDrop Games’ Moon Sweepers launches on Steam on 23 October. The Finnish lunar-cleaning game supports solo play and online co-op for up to 16 players. View on Steam and read Pelaaja’s coverage in Finnish.
  • Leikkaus Team’s Leikkaus launches on Steam on 26 October. The Finnish satirical horror game follows a student collecting benefits from an abandoned university. View on Steam.
  • Adventure Islands plans to release Copy Cats on PC and mobile on 29 October. Players manipulate cat clones that mimic their movements; a free Steam demo is available. Developer announcement, Steam demo and App Store pre-order.
  • Helsinki-based Volpe Software’s Clairvoyage: The Lighthouse launches on Steam on 4 November. Players restore a lighthouse to prevent a shipwreck in this time-loop horror puzzle game. A free demo is available. View on Steam.

💰 Funding

  • EIT Culture & Creativity’s CPD course call closes on 30 October. Eligible training providers and education-led consortia can seek up to €75,000 (75% of costs), targeting at least 600 successful participants. Call details.
  • Creative Europe MEDIA: funding calls and application support
    • Video Games and Immersive Content Development – deadline 2 February 2027. Eligible narrative projects can receive up to €200,000 (60% of costs) through the first playable prototype. Call details.
    • Support for game-development applicants: an English-language info session on 10 December, 45-minute application reviews bookable from December, and a Finnish-language budget workshop in January. Info sessions and application support.
    • Innovative Tools and Business Models – deadline 14 January 2027. Supports eligible audiovisual tools and business models, including games-related projects. Media Desk Finland’s info session takes place on 2 December. Call details and info-session registration.

📝 Jobs & Recruitment

👉 Upcoming Events

See also: The Game Industry Events calendar and GamesIndustry.biz events.

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News is gathered from industry sources and posts shared in the Play Finland Facebook group. Share your news from The Finnish Game Industry there for consideration in the weekly roundup.

Best regards,
Neogames Finland