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The Game Incubator celebrates a successful first year at Lindholmen Science Park

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Inspiring lectures, games and discussions about game development were on the agenda when the Game Incubator celebrated its first eventful year at Lindholmen Science Park. For several years, Gothia Innovation AB has developed a successful incubator for the game industry in Skövde – the Game Incubator at Gothia Science Park. A year ago they took the next step with a new incubator in Gothenburg through a partnership with Lindholmen Science Park AB.

“The attractiveness of the Game Incubator in the constantly growing game industry is a real asset for the ecosystem here. We are extremely pleased about this partnership with Gothia Innovation and VGR. The cooperative projects taking place here promote and support game development and the formation of new companies in the region, which further strengthens Sweden’s position in the international game market in the long term,” said Niklas Wahlberg, CEO of Lindholmen Science Park AB.

The Game Incubator’s first year at Lindholmen Science Park has been eventful to say the least: in 2016 it was involved in the startup of 22 new game companies. 

“The Game Incubator gives promising new game companies a chance to grow in a setting that offers access to expert knowledge, business coaching and new contacts and networks. In the past we worked with Coffee Stain Studios, the company behind the global success Goat Simulator. Another example is Stunlock Studios, which released the bestseller Battlerite in 2016. Battlerite took the market by storm to say the least,” said Anne-Marie Kaufmann, deputy operations manager of the Game Incubator.

After welcoming remarks by Niklas Wahlberg and Anne-Marie Kaufmann, the guests tested out games and had the chance to pose questions to the Game Incubator’s startups. This was followed by two inspiring talks. 

Amrik Krishnan represented Zenuity, a new joint venture between Volvo Cars and Autoliv, which will develop technology for self-driving cars. He described how Zenuity can benefit from data from the game industry. Klaus Lyngeled, CEO of the growing game company Zoink, which has its offices at the Game Incubator, described what it’s like to work as an indie game developer.

In view of the Game Incubator’s performance during its first year in Gothenburg, the strong position of the Swedish game industry and the opportunities for cooperation that lie ahead, the future looks bright.

“Last year we coached a total of55 people, who have jointly raised nearly SEK 10 million in risk capital. We currently have game developers from Belgium and the UK who have moved to Sweden in order to start their game companies with us. This is an excellent testimonial to the job we are doing in Skövde and Gothenburg. It also shows that the Game Incubator is recognized both nationally and internationally,” said Christian Riedl, business coach at the Game Incubator. 

 Read more about the Game Incubator