Spillerom: Dataspillstrategi 2020–2022

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
The document reports that the 15 largest Norwegian game producers had combined game sales of about 401 million NOK in 2018, with sales growth of over 30 percent from 2017 according to Virke Produsentforeningen's preliminary figures.See it on page 20
02
The strategy states that in 2016, 86 percent of Norwegian game companies had fewer than 10 employees and fell under the EU definition of micro enterprises.See it on page 20
03
According to the document, 96 percent of boys and 63 percent of girls aged 9–18 play digital games, with the share of girls falling steadily with age from 93 percent at age 9 to 42 percent at age 18.See it on page 16
04
The document reports that in 2018 Norsk filminstitutt awarded 23.7 million NOK in development and launch grants for digital games.See it on page 27
05
The document states that 70 percent of employees in the games industry have university or college education, and that more than half of employees had education in game production, game design, animation or similar fields.See it on page 20
06
The document says that for a selection of games released in recent years, the average grant share from NFI for games aimed at an international market was 20 percent of total development and production costs.See it on page 23
07
The document reports that in 2016 Norwegian game companies with an operating profit numbered 48 percent of those surveyed by Oslo Economics, while 13 percent had profits above 1 million NOK.See it on page 21

Summary

The Norwegian government's strategy for digital games (dataspill) covers the period 2020–2022. It was prepared with Norsk filminstitutt, Kulturtanken and Medietilsynet, and builds on written and oral input from industry, public bodies and other actors. The strategy sets goals for a varied offering of high-quality Norwegian games, a professional and diverse games industry, impact for Norwegian games, and an inclusive and accessible game culture. It states that the Norwegian games industry is largely made up of small companies with low profitability and weak finances. The document reports that over half of Norwegians play digital games and that 96 percent of boys and 63 percent of girls aged 9–18 play. It also notes that Norwegian game companies are relatively small, with 86 percent having fewer than 10 employees in 2016. The strategy proposes new production grants, a separate regulation for games, and a larger budget for games through NFI. Industry sales figures cited in the document show that the 15 largest game producers had combined game sales of about 401 million NOK in 2018, up over 30 percent from 2017.