The gaming cluster in Boden has recovered
The Boden Game Camp cluster has recovered from the pandemic and has grown rapidly in a few years to include nearly 20 game companies with a total of 50 employees and training programmes for 300 students.
On Thursday and Friday, the Boden Game Changer event is being organised at Boden Business Park in Sävast outside Boden, with over 200 participants and around 20 speakers from the computer game industry.
Boden Municipality and Boden Business Park invested in becoming a physical centre for game education just before the pandemic destroyed such activities. But after the pandemic, the business has recovered. In 2020, there were three gaming companies established in Boden Business Park. Now there are 19, of which 15 are small start-ups.
“It has taken off again, with new companies, activities and events, like this one,” says Mattias Bergqvist, Business Developer at Boden Game Camp.
In addition to the 50 employees in the cluster’s companies, many of the 300 students studying on one of the eight game development programmes run here are offered internships. A tenth of the students come from other countries, 80 per cent from south of Stockholm and 20 per cent from Norrbotten.
Mattias Bergqvist runs two companies here. One is Northify, which works with game testing, quality assurance of games and game development. The other is 921 Studios, which works on behalf of Boden municipality on business development of Boden Game Camp, together with municipal employee Hanna Müller.
“Our goal is for many to start and run their own business, or find employment in games companies. We want to create the conditions for students to stay here. I see a very bright future,” says Mattias Bergqvist.
Lennart Håkansson, North Sweden Business
