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According to Statista Finland’s gaming sector is going to continue to grow at an impressive rate through the rest of the decade. In 2019, the total sector was worth $185.74 million, but by 2029, the forecasts suggest a Finnish gaming sector that will have grown by over 91% to $356.
49 million. Mobile-Leader Finland was one of the early leaders in the mobile technology field, and Finnish games developers have made a mark by producing some of the most iconic mobile-focused games in the world. Perhaps the biggest was the 2009 smash hit Angry Birds .
Rovio’s game, which was released for iOS, is still the world’s most popular mobile game, and has earned over 12 million downloads. This Finnish success story effectively launched the mobile gaming genre. Three years later, Clash of Clans , produced by Supercell, achieved a similar level of global domination, and became one of the most lucrative mobile games ever created underlining Finland’s position at the forefront of the world mobile gaming sector.
As a result, Helsinki has become known as arguably the world’s leading center for mobile gaming. It is home to over 200 game development companies, and thanks to government support, boasts a reputation for encouraging innovation and a proud technical heritage. And it is mobile game developers and players who appear to be driving the current phase of growth in Finland’s gaming sector.
As of June 2024, mobile gaming was still trailing downloadable games in terms of revenue, but by 2026, it is forecast to have pulled ahead and by 2029, is expected to represent over 33% of total gaming sector revenue in Finland. Regulatory Changes Another gaming sector that could be on the verge of growth is the online gambling industry. Monopoly authority Veikkaus has long held a monopoly on Finland’s gambling sector, but a report presented by the Ministry of the Interior in 2023 showed that in total, Finland’s gamblers wager as much as €500 million every year on gambling sites provided by foreign operators.
Earlier this year, it was announced that there would be a consultation on opening up Finland’s gambling market to allow private companies to offer casino and other forms of online gambling through regulated licenses, and although there is no timescale to the changes, it is possible that by the end of the decade, Finland’s casino gaming industry could also be making a growth contribution. Esports Passion Finland’s gamers and gaming developers also have a passion for esports, which in turn is helping to boost the gaming sector. Although Finland’s gaming market is smaller in size than many of the global esport powerhouses, Finland has produced several top esports athletes, most notably in the FPS genre, including Aleksi ‘allu’ Jalli , Elias ‘Jamppi’ Olkkonen and Juhani ‘Kantoraketti’ Toivonen .
Earlier this year, Finnish Starcraft player Joona ‘Serral’ Sotala won IEM Katowice and Finland is also home to a number of the world’s top Dota2 players. As with the gaming sector as a whole, this strength in esports has been partially boosted by the commitment of Finland’s governments and authorities. In 2016, the national Olympic committee welcomed the Finnish Esports Federation as a member and the following year, esports players were officially designated as athletes for tax purposes.
The ongoing success of Finland’s esports athletes seems likely to drive the popularity of gaming in the country ever higher over the next few years. Finland’s Gaming Future Finland’s success as a European gaming hub is a remarkable story and that reputation is continuing to grow. In 2021, Finland had an estimated 8% share of global game development companies, ahead of Sweden, the United Kingdom and Germany, trailing behind only the USA and Canada.
Based on forecasts for growth in the gaming industry over the next few years, the future is looking equally bright. It could be that Finland’s gaming sector that helps to drag the economy out of a phase of uncertainty and towards greater prosperity by the end of the decade. HT.
