A working group of the Swedish Parliament's Culture Committee has now presented a nearly 200-page knowledge report on games and board games. Among other things, the authors call for games to be recognized as a cultural sector and for a national strategy for the games industry to be developed.
In October 2024, the Swedish Parliament's Culture Committee decided to take a closer look at the games and board games industries as part of its ongoing evaluation. Now, a cross-party working group of eight people has presented its knowledge report. In over 180 pages, the parliamentarians outline the current state of the Swedish industry, identify opportunities and shortcomings, and take a look at the situation in many other countries, including Canada, the UK, and Germany.
In summary, the working group concludes that Sweden can and should do more to support the industry in Sweden. The authors see one problem in the fact that the industry affects various departments and, moreover, is not as clearly perceived as part of the cultural sector as the music and film industries. This makes it difficult to access appropriate support measures.
The report therefore calls for the games industry to be officially recognized as part of the cultural sector. The authors also suggest that a national goal be developed in Sweden's cultural policy. In addition, a national strategy for the computer games industry should be created. Last but not least, targeted subsidies and research funds should also be made available by the government for the development of the computer games sector.
In addition to very general demands, the authors have also compiled more specific requests. Above all, the framework conditions for cluster formation should be improved. A key point here is the creation of physical meeting places. At the same time, however, the authors warn that the number of clusters needed in Sweden is limited, so over-founding should be avoided. Clusters that have already been successfully established are primarily attributable to the commitment and determination of individuals.
The authors also specifically mention the “Press Start” program in Germany. Since growth in the gaming industry is currently driven primarily by start-ups, the authors believe that funding in Sweden needs to be adjusted accordingly, focusing primarily on the growth of existing companies. Here, the authors point to the success of Press Start in Germany, among others, but also to “pre-start-up funding” in Denmark.
It remains to be seen what will happen politically with the report. In any case, the Culture Committee supports the findings and proposals, which the authors now want to present to their parliamentary groups. However, there is still a long way to go before concrete plans can be implemented.
