Sweden’s Skövde Becomes an Unexpected Global Hub for Video Game Development

Dec 13

A small Swedish town is quietly becoming one of Europe’s most influential centers for video game development. Skövde, with a population of just over fifty thousand residents, has transformed into a global game creation hub thanks to long term investment in education, innovation, and industry collaboration.

The town hosts a strong network of studios responsible for successful titles such as Goat Simulator, Valheim, and V Rising. A key factor behind Skövde’s growth is its close relationship with local universities, which focus heavily on game design, programming, and interactive media. Graduates often remain in the region, strengthening the local ecosystem instead of relocating abroad.

This model has allowed Skövde to scale its industry organically while maintaining creative independence. Today nearly one thousand professionals and students are involved in the town’s gaming sector, making it one of the highest concentrations of developers per capita in Europe.

Skövde’s success demonstrates how regional communities can compete globally by investing in education and fostering collaboration between academia and industry.