The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (hereinafter KOCCA) supported four domestic game companies in participating in the 2026 Sweden Game Conference, held from October 15 to 16 at Skövde Kulturhus in Sweden.

Sweden is a country that has produced globally successful games such as Minecraft, Candy Crush Saga, and Helldivers 2. The Sweden Game Conference (SGC) is an annual indie developer and startup-centric event held in Skövde, Sweden, which is widely known as a game development hub. This year, around 1,000 participants including developers, publishers, investors, researchers, and students gathered for game exhibitions, business matching, conferences, networking, and pitching.

The KOCCA Sweden Business Center supported participation in the event for the second consecutive year following last year. Last year, the domestic game companies supported by the center participated as the first and only overseas companies among co-participating enterprises, and this year, the center once again supported four domestic indie game companies as the sole overseas participants.

This year's event featured Gawon Global, Girion Games, The Other, and H.Luv. The KOCCA Sweden Business Center provided participating companies with business matching services and consultation spaces. The participating companies introduced their games to local industry insiders and discussed potential overseas distribution and business cooperation.

As a result, 76 export consultation sessions worth approximately $8.065 million (approx. 10.7 billion KRW, based on the exchange rate of 1,328 KRW per dollar) took place over the two days. They also operated booths showcasing their games, where about 40% of booth visitors added the games to their Steam wishlists on the spot.

A visitation program to game companies and incubators located in Stockholm and Skövde was also arranged. The delegation visited six local companies and institutions—Press Start Game Tech Hub, Raw Fury, Paradox Interactive, Stunlock Studios, Coffee Stain Studios, and Science Park Skövde—to exchange views on game development and distribution strategies.

The participating companies introduced their games and current development statuses, discussing market entry and business cooperation possibilities with local game industry figures. Through this, they examined the current state of the Swedish game industry and had opportunities to interact with local enterprises.

Director Jeong Ji-su of Girion Games noted that it was meaningful to directly check the reactions of local game industry professionals, prospective developers, and actual users in Skövde, the center of the Swedish game industry. Jeong added that it was particularly impressive how local publishers value not only the performance of individual game titles but also close collaboration and long-term growth potential with development studios.

Jeong further noted that the indie game ecosystem in the Skövde region has a well-formed culture where developers and creators go beyond simple competition to cooperate, share experiences, and grow together. Such an incubating and collaboration-centric ecosystem offers significant implications for the domestic indie game industry.

Following the Sweden Game Conference, the KOCCA Sweden Business Center plans to support domestic game companies in participating in the Nordic Game event to be held next May. The center intends to expand business matching and global network building support with the goal of pioneering overseas sales channels and expanding exports for domestic companies in the Nordic market.

Cheon So-hyeon, head of the KOCCA Sweden Business Center, stated that Sweden is a major hub of the Nordic game industry where world-class game developers and publishers operate, serving as a place where domestic indie game companies can explore cooperation opportunities for global market entry. Cheon added that the center will continue tailored support, such as connecting local exchanges and business consultations, so that domestic game companies can broaden their opportunities to advance into the global market based on the cooperative foundation built in the Nordic market.