Like neighbouring Finland, Sweden's game development strength comes from its advanced education system, an independent spirit and a strong game jam community.

The result has been companies ranging from DICE to King, Mojang and Avalanche.

And thanks to the billions of dollars those companies have generated, their executives are now looking to give back to society. This is the Scandavian way.

The result is Stugan - or Cabin, also the first Swedish computer game, made in 1978, apparently - a non-profit accelerator project to encourage the next generation of Swedish game developers.

Birch tree revisited

Overseen by the likes of Oskar Burman (Rovio), Tommy Palm (King) and Christofer Sundberg (Avalanche) amongst others, Stugan's goal is to get students and ambitious young developers to interact with the global market by coming up with excellent content.

In terms of the specifics of the program, 20 aspiring game developers will be selected to spend eight weeks in a cabin (a stugan) in the Swedish countryside - of course near a lake, it is the Swedish way - where they will develop their game concept during the summer of 2015.

Swedish and international games industry experts will encourage them with lectures and workshops and all participants will keep the rights to the games they work on.

"Stugan has been created to share the deep rooted insights behind these hit games, while inspiring and encouraging students and young designers from around the world so their ideas and talents can ultimately translate into blockbuster hits as well," commented King's Games Guru Tommy Palm.

Individuals or small teams can begin applying in January 2015. At the end of the project, the developers will present their work to potential publishers, sponsors and investors at an event in Stockholm.

For more information visit www.stugan.com