How to become a game developer

The basics

Before we begin, let us just say that making games is extremely fun! Sure, we’re biased, but really, it is. Both fun and challenging actually.

Making games is challenging because it requires many different skills. Learning the skills, however, can also be really fun and rewarding. Requiring so many different skills, it also means there are a lot of different roles to choose from when pursuing a career in games!

There really is need for a lot of different types of game developers in the games industry. Not just in our region, in South Sweden, but globally. The industry needs people with all sorts of skills and experiences, and people from all walks of life. Currently the industry - as many other tech heavy industries - is predominantly male, and is therefore especially encouraging women and marginalized genders to join.

Different roles

First, let’s have a look at what game development actually entails. On the surface it’s easy, it’s people working in the game development industry making games - directly or indirectly.

Directly by for instance designing characters, making sound effects, or programming levels.
Or indirectly by managing projects, hiring the right staff, or marketing the games.

Big game studios have staff with a very large variety of roles, where a lot of staff is not directly involved with developing the games. At smaller studios, with less staff, it’s less common with staff not being directly involved in the game development. Game studios sizes range from indie studios with just one or a few employees, to studios with thousands of staff. Most studios are however actually quite small.

The most common professions in the industry relate to programming, art, and game design. In a survey of the game development employees in south Sweden that Game Habitat conducted in 2022, individuals with those kinds of roles accounted for 73 % of all employees.

Game developers sitting at a bench in the park

Creative business

Let’s just remember that game development is really complex, it requires a lot of various skills, and takes time. Still, making a game is in many ways just the starting point. Also for the people directly involved in the development. Because once there is a game, it needs to be published, marketed, updated, and maintained. For instance, once the game is released, or shipped as we say in the industry, players will probably hit you up with suggestions for new features or report bugs that you need or want to look at. And of course, people working with for instance marketing or community management have a lot of work to do also long after the game is finished.

Game development is an extremely creative process, involving for instance art, programming, and design, but it’s also a business that needs to focus on marketing, sales, and support to players.

Not just making games

This is why, on the surface, game development might look like a straightforward business just making games, but why that is simply not the full story. And that’s why, especially at bigger studios, game development requires a lot of staff with different skills.

The good news is that those that only want to focus on creating amazing games, can often do just that. And those that enjoy the other bits of the industry, can often focus on those. And some people, of course, will simply have to be involved in a bit of everything. The game development industry is rooted in both creativity and business, and therefore encompasses individuals from both camps.

In this guide, however, we mainly focus on the creative side of the industry, explaining how anyone can become a game developer, and what it’s like working in the industry.

Games in the region

What is it like to work in games in South Sweden? The short answer, according to most of the game developers already working here is: Great! Like, really great.

The longer answer:

The south Swedish games industry is focused around Malmö, where the vast majority of all the region’s game developers work. However, the industry is rapidly growing outside of Malmö as well. The region has one of the highest concentrations of game developers and studios in the world, Malmö alone for instance has almost three times as many game studios per capita compared to London.

The density of game developers means, working in games in South Sweden, you will meet a lot of peers, which might not be as easy in other parts of Sweden or elsewhere in the world. To further support that, Game Habitat and our member studios host a plethora of social activities throughout the year to provide additional opportunities to meet peers in the industry. The strong local community is generally a huge reason why game developers are drawn to Malmö.

Malmö at the world stage

Malmö, actually, is one of the world’s most prominent cities for game development. Some of the world's biggest IP’s in entertainment are developed here, several of Sweden’s biggest studios are in town, and several of the world’s largest game developer companies have subsidiaries in the city. Games made in Malmö and South Sweden have reached millions of players all over the world. The impact is huge.

In conclusion, when working in game development in Malmö and South Sweden, you truly work in an international environment, with some of the best developers in the world, at studios developing world-famous IP's. And what you do impacts millions of people all over the world.

If you're curious to learn more about the region's game developer industry, you can find out more here.

Next chapter: The many roles

All chapters

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