The Nordic Game Conference as A "Gateway to the Nordic Industry"

The Nordic region is a major hotspot for game development, and NG25 Spring is where the region's professionals come together. "Our vision has always been for the conference to become a gateway for the "outside" to enter the Nordic Industry," says Jacob Riis, Program Director and Executive Producer. An interview.

In less than two weeks, Malmö's Slagthuset will host NG25 Spring - the Nordic Game Conference, one of Europe's leading game conferences and home to game developers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. It's also an important playground and meeting place for professionals from German-speaking countries (program / speakers / tickets). We talk to Jacob Riis - Programme Director, Executive Producer, Nordic Game Conference and Events at Nordic Game Resources AB - about last year's anniversary event, the most important changes compared to previous events, the unique location and the importance of anchoring the conference in the digital space.

GamesMarkt: The Nordic Game celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. How do you look back on the last event, and how has the conference developed since its beginnings?

Jacob Riis: "It was a great experience to celebrate 20 years with Nordic Game last year! From the humble beginnings in 2004 where Nordic Game's founder Erik Robertson got the task from the Nordic Council of Ministers to map out the potential of a future, united, Nordic games industry, to the anniversary in 2024 where all the Nordic countries now have grown significantly, with tons of studios producing one hit game after the other, on all current platforms, and then some. It's been a crazy ride to be part of, and I'm very grateful for having experienced it and even played my part in helping the Nordic dream come true. And I'm especially proud of the fact that we have been able to keep on doing Nordic Game for so many years, even during the covid pandemic, without getting any government support or help from the city or region, or any other official subsidies."

GamesMarkt: Unlike previous years, this year's NG25 Spring will start on a Tuesday instead of a Wednesday. Why has this been changed?

Jacob Riis: "This decision were made after listening to our audience, and the schedule change is primarily to accommodate our participants from outside the region looking to travel home before the weekend. Starting NG25 Spring on Tuesday 20 May also means that the main conference can end with a bang on Thursday 22 May, with the Nordic Game Awards in the evening, followed by a German reception, as well as the official Nordic Party, which will include all the usual goodies such as Maraoke, bars, and dj's, but also some awesome new stuff - which you of course need to be there to experience ;-)"

"And for those still in Malmö on Friday 23 May we present the special event Masterclass Friday – a bonus program curated by industry experts Mighty Diamonds and created with local students, indies, and game startups in mind. All NG25 Spring pass holders are of course welcome to join the Friday event at Slagthuset."

GamesMarkt: What is the idea behind Masterclass Friday?

Jacob Riis: "To create a stimulating extra day for everybody, but especially students and young devs from the region. We're very happy to work with the Migthy Diamonds group on this, and their experts are sure to give the participants some very valuable insights in areas such as design, marketing, art, code, and production."

GamesMarkt: Isn't NG25 Spring getting too big for the rather unique Slagthuset location? Are you expanding some parts like the indie exhibition area as well?

Jacob Riis: "Personally I have a hard time thinking about leaving Slagthuset, because it's such a unique and wonderful venue, and their staff is not only incredibly professional, but has also become a part of the Nordic Game family through the years. But everything has to come to an end, and we can't really expand much more than we already have, so when we exceed a certain attendee number we will have to find a new and larger playground. It won't happen right now though - NG26 is already booked for Slagthuset on 26-29 May next year ;-)"

GamesMarkt: Why is NG25 Spring interesting for visitors from outside Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - especially from Germany?

Jacob Riis: "First of all, the Nordic region is a major hotspot for game development, and it has been like that for more than a decade now. Secondly our vision has always been for the conference to become a gateway for the "outside" to enter the Nordic industry, and so we've worked towards that for the past ten years or so. With so many Nordic studios, service providers, and not least students and indies participating in Nordic Game and coming from the region, it's a great way for peers from the surrounding countries and beyond to get acquainted with a huge part of the Nordic dev community, all in time-saving fashion and compressed into three-four hectic days. And if you're already acquainted it's the perfect time and place to expand on partnerships and make new business."

GamesMarkt: How important is it now to also anchor the conference in the digital space via Discord, Twitch and YouTube too?

Jacob Riis: "It's not quite as important as it was during the pandemic, that's for sure :) But we learned a lot from the experience of having to gather people from all around the world without being allowed to do it physically, and now we use youtube for our live stream and video content, and Discord as a great community space for our participants, before, during, and after the show. We cherish the digital space, but I think it's best when combined with the real deal - meeting people in real life."

GamesMarkt: What are you most looking forward to?

Jacob Riis: "I'm really proud and excited with the speaker program this year, and I really hope to have the time to watch some of the talks from speakers like Peter Molyneux, Josef Fares, and not least the super awesome team from Machinegames whom are doing three Indiana Jones game-related talks, from three different perspectives of its development. But I hope the highlight for me will be to see the Nordic Game team and staff in action – we've finally managed to keep our core team intact from the past two years' editions, and this has made the pre-production of NG25 Spring so much smoother. At least for me haha. Hopefully our audience will feel the difference too :)"

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