We live in a video gaming world dominated by the U.S. and Japan. But it’s always intrigued me to look at games developed by the rest of the planet. Last week I took a gander at Canadian developers. This week, let’s look at the newest hotspot for the industry: Scandinavia.
Having lived in Denmark, I know Scandinavians argue over what the definition of “Scandinavia” is, so I’ll try to simply say “the Nordic countries,” even if it doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily.
In a part of Europe known for minimalism and bleak landscapes, their games reflect a more pensive, thoughtful nature than their American and Japanese counterparts.
10. CCP Games (Iceland)
CCP is Iceland’s only developer on this list, but with a nation of only 318,000 people (half the size of Washington, D.C.), it’s understandable. They’re best known for creating the massively-multiplayer science fiction game EVE Online in 2003–one of the only MMOs that’s been able to sustain a consistent userbase in a market virtually monopolized by Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. CCP is currently working on Dust 514, a massively multiplayer first-person shooter set in the EVE Online universe; players in the two games will be able to interact with one another.
9. Rovio Mobile (Finland)
I couldn’t do a list of Nordic game developers without mentioning Rovio, the team behind the 2009 casual gaming colossus Angry Birds. They’ve created their fair share of mediocre iPhone games, and Angry Birds itself has inspired dozens of rip-offs by other companies, but its place cannot be denied in the Nordic gaming pantheon. Perhaps it’s the intriguing name, perhaps it’s the story of “fat birds launched at pigs,” but Angry Birds is one of Finland’s most important exports.
8. IO Interactive (Denmark)
