Building a bridge between the needs of the Swedish game industry and academic research. That’s the main goal of the Game Development Research Centre. It is a five-year project that brings together four Swedish universities and major stakeholders within the Swedish games industry.
To bolster Sweden’s position in the global game industry, the University of Skövde, Malmö University, Blekinge Institute of Technology and Karlstad University will establish the Game Development Research Centre (GDRC). The Swedish Knowledge Foundation is the main funder of the initiative.
GDRC aims to strengthen Sweden’s position as a leading game development nation by providing the game industry with its own dedicated research base. It is a much-needed initiative because of the gaming industry’s special character. While other industry sectors rely heavily on infrastructure or physical resources, the most valuable asset in game development is creativity.
John Sören Pettersson, Professor in Information Systems at Karlstad University, explains:
– Karlstad University builds on its research in agile systems development methods to advance game production within GDRC. We will moreover develop our focus on user experience and accessibility – now as a resource for game development. In collaboration with studios and incubators like The Great Journey, we will be able to study work processes and test new ways of working in practice.
The Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen), which is investing more than SEK 29 million, is the main funder of the project. Although the The Knowledge Foundation has extensive experience in financing collaborative projects between academia and industry, the investment in GDRC is unique.
– With this investment, we aim to enable the development of new collaboration models tailored to the unique conditions of the games industry. The initiative lays the foundation for long-term partnerships that are crucial for Sweden to maintain and strengthen its leading position in game development, says Eva Schelin, CEO of the Knowledge Foundation.
The Swedish game industry is dominated by micro-enterprise, almost 90% of companies have fewer than ten employees. Despite their size, these small studios can achieve major commercial success. GDRC aims to make it possible for this kind of successful micro-enterprises to engage in long-term research and thus gain access to cutting-edge knowledge.
– Through GDRC, researchers and companies can collaborate from the very start of the research process. This enables the partners to identify research questions and produce results that are both directly useful for the companies involved and scientifically valuable, says Per Backlund, Professor at the University of Skövde and the one who has coordinated the work with the application for a joint research centre.
The game industry is still young. Its unique structure does not fit the research and collaboration methods traditionally applied between universities and other major Swedish export industries.
– With this project, we are establishing a national hub for Swedish game development research, which will also develop more suitable methods for collaboration. The University of Skövde is taking a leading role in the project thanks to its strong local game development ecosystem. However, it is the funding from the Swedish Knowledge Foundation that makes this joint initiative possible, says Tehseen Aslam, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Collaboration at the University of Skövde.
John Sören Pettersson points out that within the scope of this centres lies also providing joint courses for doctoral students and develop master level syllabi that are relevant for the various competences that are needed in games development. During its first two years, the centre will find procedures for affiliating doctoral students and research projects that are not directly financed by the centre itself.
Facts: The Game Development Research Centre (GDRC)
- Project time: Five year 2026-2031
- Main Funder: The Swedish Knowledge Foundation
- Academic partners: University of Skövde, Malmö University, Blekinge Institute of Technology and Karlstad University.
- Industry and research partners: EA Digital Illusions, Divine Robot, Llama Lane, Cygames, F-Mad AB, Coffe Stain Studios, Okatima, Modl.ai., Stunlock Studios AB, Embracer Games Archive, GOALS, Ubisoft Sweden (Massive), Reactional Music Group, Game Habitat, Science Park Skövde, The Great Journey AB, Healthy gaming, RISE, Dataspelsbranschen.
