Game City recently announced its plans to establish an incubator specifically focused on supporting the growing game industry in Scania. Game City is a non-profit organization that seeks to make the southern part of Sweden into Europe’s leading region in the field of digital game development. The NGO consists of 20 member companies derived from the gaming industry.
In a recent survey Game City pinpointed a lack of funding and support as the main inhibitor for young entrepreneurs to enter into the game industry in Scania. The incubator will facilitate a better system for newcomers in the industry, while providing funding for its continued growth.
Lacking Support for a Young Industry
In an interview with 8till5 Peter Lübeck, the founder and general manager of Game City, states that there are indeed a lot of talented people in the area. Many of them are working in bigger companies, but have the drive to start up by themselves. The biggest obstacle for these individuals is the lack of support for newcomers and this keeps many startups from becoming a reality.
“It’s a young industry that only a few venture capital funds have experience working with. There will be more and more but maybe not as much in Southern Sweden as in Stockholm.” Says Peter Lübeck
It is this risk aversion in the game industry that Game City will try to come to grips with. Other southern cities have recently had great success with establishing incubators for game development. Lübeck points to incubators in Karlshamn and Skövde as examples of successful institutions that build bridges between private initiative and the educational system.
Together with the incubator, an accelerator program and a common house dedicated to game development are seen as important steps to improve the industry in the area. Peter Lübeck is convinced that these factors will open the gaming industry for new talent and thereby increase the potential of the area.
