More than mobile: how the Nordics have expanded beyond pocket-sized play

• From the classic Snake in 1997 to ARC Raiders in 2025
• An ecosystem that spans mobile, PC, console and online worlds
• This year’s Helsinki event has broadened its horizons to encompass all the platforms and all the countries

If you mention the Nordic region to anyone in the games industry, their first thought will be of the region’s pioneering presence in the realm of mobile gaming. From the classic Snake on the Nokia 6110 in 1997 to 2012’s Clash of Clans by Supercell and King's Candy Crush Saga, then on to Merge Mansion by Metacore in 2020, you can see why the Nordics are always at the top of the conversation for mobile gaming.

This has been largely driven by games coming out of Finland, which is why we’ve been taking the Pocket Gamer Connects roadshow to Helsinki every year since 2014.

More similar than different

Every country that comprises the Nordics has made contributions to the global games industry beyond their size, but while there are similarities, there are also differences.

While Finland can be said to have invented modern mobile gaming, the country has since encompassed other formats with global hits like Remedy’s Max Payne and Bugbear’s Wreckfest.

Sweden has the notable honour of producing the world’s best-selling game in Minecraft from Mojang, as well as DICE’s Battlefield and Wolfenstein from MachineGames. And they’re not slowing down, with Embark Studios’ ARC Raiders selling more than 4 million copies in its first two weeks last year.

Denmark tends to produce fewer games, but an unusually high percentage become global hits, such as SYBO’s Subway Surfers on mobile and the Hitman franchise from IO Interactive that’s appeared on just about every platform you can think of.

Funcom remains Norway's most internationally recognised developer, perhaps best recognised for Age of Conan, while Iceland produced one of gaming's greatest MMOs with EVE Online; a game that has been in continuous live operation for 23 years. That puts it up there with the all-time greats such as RuneScape and World of Warcraft.

The Nordic region has produced some of the best - and best-selling - games of all time. You can find out more about its incredible industry with our recent State of Play article. Or see who we think are the Top 30 Nordic Game Makers of 2026.

The Nordic games industry is no longer defined by one platform, but by an ecosystem that spans mobile, PC, console and online worlds.

Event horizon

What’s noticeable in 2026 is that the countries have complementary approaches and achievements, regardless of hardware. That’s why this year’s Helsinki event has broadened its horizons to encompass all the platforms and all the countries in this region like never before, with the advent of PG Connects Nordics. this October 20th and 21st.

In previous years, PG Connects Helsinki has acknowledged the region’s multiplatform performance with speakers directly speaking to PC and Console that reads like a who’s who of the best of the best. Amazing companies such as Housemarque, Remedy Entertainment, PlayerUnknown, CD Projekt Red, Jagex, 505 Games, CCP Games, and Landfall Games.

For this year’s edition of the biggest games industry conference in the Nordics, we’ve not only broadened our geographical horizons to specifically include Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland in our familiar Finnish fiesta, but we’re offering more seminar content than ever that speaks directly to PC and console professionals.

As well as the dedicated Big Screen Gaming conference track, our platform agnostic agenda will present unmissable learning opportunities across multiple tracks, including The Developer Toolkit, Game Maker Insights, and Game Dev Stories.

And if all that multiplatform goodness isn’t enough for you, why not explore the lucrative market for digital practitioners in other sectors with the return of the Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit?

This year’s Helsinki edition under the new name of PG Connects Nordics represents our renewed dedication to present the very finest games industry content across geographical and hardware boundaries to build an unmissable event for anyone interested in what the region has to offer.

Tickets are available now with Early Bird tickets starting at just over €150.