A landmark year for the Danish gaming industry

Sebastian Kjær
September 11, 2024

Sebastian Kjær

@sebastian

Despite explosive revenue and exports, the Danish gaming industry has struggled for years to emerge from the shadow of the film industry. This year, the industry got its own institute and its own trade association.

This post is also available in: Danish

Hitman. Subway Surfers. Inside. Deep Rock Galactic.

Millions of gamers across the globe get acquainted with computer games from Danish developers every day. Several are on the charts of the best games of all time, and financially, the industry’s revenue has increased from DKK877M in 2017 to DKK3,649M in 2022. And that’s not even counting the Unity game engine and Steelseries gaming gear, both of which also started in Denmark.

Despite the impressive numbers, the industry has been shadowed by the film industry in common perception for years; funding for game development was anchored in the Danish Film Institute, and the industry was part of the Danish Producers’ Association, along with film and TV. But both have changed this year.

In May, the Danish Ministry of Culture announced the establishment of Europe’s first gaming institute, tasked with distributing public funding for game development and supporting the gaming industry. The institute is funded by the Danish Finance Act with DKK 33.8M between 2024-2027.

Almost simultaneously, 26 Danish computer game companies founded the industry association Games Denmark, which has found its director in Niels A. Wetterberg. And he believes the Danish games industry still has immense potential.

“The Danish gaming industry is the most important cultural industry of the future – both in terms of economic potential and cultural influence in the coming generations. It is a huge honour and pleasure to ensure awareness and understanding of the Danish gaming industry so that its enormous growth potential is fully expressed,” says Niels A. Wetterberg.