Talk about a legendary evening! Tampere Game Hub’s Gamedev Summer Party is now officially over. Merry spirits, great food and drinks, and we even saw a new game startup form on the dock – just before we were boarded by the sauna boat! Over a hundred game developers attended.
Huge thanks to our sponsors Moido Games, 10tons, Iceflake Studios Oy, Catland, KOUD and Kalma Games! Also a huge thanks to the side event sauna boat party folks sponsored by Boom Corp, Tribo Games, Hanki Games Oy & Greener Grass Company.
It is extraordinarily great to see so many companies and gamedevs come along to celebrate the industry. Together, we’ll make Tampere the new games capital of Finland. Stay tuned for more events from Tampere Game Hub, Finnish Game Incubator & more!
The game industry is on the crossroads. We’re seeing a record number of shutdowns, layoffs and game delistings – more than in any period in recent history. Now more than ever, Tampere Game Hub is here for you, the game developers of Tampere, Finland. Here is our mission statement for Tampere Game Hub with concrete steps on how we’re rebooting our efforts and nailing down the next steps to be the supporting, driving force you’ve come to expect of us.
1. Being There For You With Direct Support
Thanks to the efforts and impact of our previous director Lauri Komulainen, we’ve managed to keep a consistent support system in place for entrepreneurs looking to start out in the game industry, academics looking for their first jobs and trainee placements and companies looking to expand into the Tampere region. Now, we’re increasing impact by opening a direct hotline to Tampere Game Hub. We promise to be there for you in this difficult shift in the industry. The only way to get Tampere’s game development scene stronger again is to be there for everyone. We encourage you to reach out to us and to our Discord for peer support, no matter your struggle. We’re here for you.
2. Amplifying Our Impact With Events
We’re tracking down the best ways to help you out. One of our main goals has always been being a networking factor between game developers in the region – making sure that we stay unified in times of greatness and yes, even crisis. That’s why we’re bringing back our community events like Tampere Game Gatherings, LEADERBOARD, the Legal Summit and yearly Tampere Gamedev Summer Parties. We will endeavor to expand these events even further – and we’re open to new ideas as well as old ones. The place for Tampere Game Hub in the industry is being a part of the crowd. Let us know what kind of events you’d think would improve the Tampere game development scene!
3. Supercharging Founders With Education
The only way for the game industry to revive is to make new games. That is why we’ve been running the Finnish Game Incubator for over 5 years now, with 36 companies and teams served and a 98% course rating. Finnish Game Incubator is our completely free 10 week course completely remotely that supercharges your game team to new heights. It is run by actual game executives who have been there, instead of only teachers – this is to make sure that you’ll get your education from deep within the trenches of actually shipping video games. This effort will continue later this year with the 8th batch of Finnish Game Incubator and beyond.
4. New Look, New Mission, Classic Showrunners
We’ve had the pleasure and privilege of working with previous directors Lauri, Johanna and Pyry, who we are eternally grateful for being there for game developers while we had to lock in with our companies. With a renewed focus, we’re taking direct command of Tampere Game Hub – the original founders Joni and Tomi – as seasoned game executives with years of experience. We’ve overhauled our visual identity and our website to focus on the core of our mission – to be there, for you. Whether you are just starting out with your game idea or you’ve been doing this for years, we hope we can solidify Tampere Game Hub as a reliable support partner for you on your mission to make games in Tampere.
5. Let’s Make Tampere The Incredible Capital of Games
We hope that together, we can make the Tampere game development scene incredible. So many years we’ve had to struggle together – we think that only together we can turn things around. We believe new founders and bold new games will bring amazing new ideas that will skyrocket Tampere as the capital of games in Finland. If you believe the same, you’ve come to the right place. Please do not hesitate in telling us what you think of our mission. After stormy years, we need to be ready as a city to chase the sunrise on the horizon.
Tampere Game Hub exists to empower game developers in Tampere through direct support, community events, hands-on education, and strong industry connections. Together, we’re building the next capital of games in Finland.
IGDA Finland is once again looking for promising teams and their games for the recipients of the IGDA Finland Grant!
The grant is intended for teams who are just beginning their game development journey. The applicants need only have their own business ID (y-tunnus) and a solid plan to make their dream come true. In return, the applicant gets IGDA Finland’s full support, including mentoring by industry veterans and a chance to showcase their game in different IGDA hubs across Finland! Most important part of the support is of course the hefty sum of 10 000€!
For more information on how to apply, and general info in details please head over to igda.fi/grant.
We are excited to announce our new event: Leaderboard! On April 11th, 2025 at the Tampere University Central Campus building Pinni B!
Join us in two track event aiming to improve leadership in the Finnish game development industry, and helping students get started in their future careers in game development by getting more tools to their mindset toolbox on leadership and self-management. The tracks consist of themed panel discussions by industry veterans from Finland and beyond.
Taking the lead is often difficult and feels like a herculean task. Leaderboard’s Leadership Track in room B1100 aims to tackle these issues and help making the gamedev industry better for everyone by breaking myths and sharing skills our panelists have learned during their career.
Leadership Track Panel Themes and Panelists
The second track is designed for students aspiring to become game developers. The Student Track brings together panelists from various fields of game development to share their insights. Discussions will focus on developing self-discipline, taking initiative, and navigating career opportunities in the industry. The track concludes with a screening of the Finnish demoscene documentary Hands Deep – Matka Demoskeneen.
Student Track Panel Themes and Panelists
The day culminates in a networking event at the 5th floor of Platform6, Åkerlundinkatu 8.
See you at Pinni B of the Tampere University Central Campus on April 11th!
The new agreement between Microsoft and The Tampere Game Hub brings new events, developer gatherings and more to Tampere game developers
Tampere Game Hub director Tomi Toikka and Microsoft Finland’s Game Development representative Aapo Latvala playing Xbox games in the Tampere Game Hub Lounge. Photo by Anh Phan.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 08.12.2021
Tampere Game Hub ry, an organization dedicated to promoting and assisting the Tampere game development scene, has started a collaboration with Microsoft, one of the worlds largest IT companies.
Spanning 40 studios in the Pirkanmaa region, the game development hub in Tampere is the second largest regional hub in Finland. The region features many talented studios including 10tons, Iceflake Studios, Colossal Order and Dreamloop Games.
Tampere Game Hub ry is run by Director Tomi Toikka and chairperson of the board Joni Lappalainen (CEO, Dreamloop Games).
Microsoft started talks with Tampere Game Hub Summer 2021 and the talks were concluded on 25.10.2021. The result was a collaboration agreement starting from the beginning of December. This cooperation will include Microsoft sponsored events, assistance for Tampere game developers with development for the Xbox platform and in utilizing Microsoft tools such as GitHub, Azure, PlayFab and Visual Studio.
”Microsoft has been an excellent partner with helping out game studios in Tampere. We’re so excited to kick off things officially, and you won’t have to wait long until we’ll have events in Tampere in cooperation with Microsoft for the entire game developer scene of Tampere!”
Tomi Toikka, Director of Tampere Game Hub
A picture from the Tampere Game Lounge in Platform6 Startup House. Photo by Anh Phan.
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company, which provides cloud computing services, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. Its best-known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems and the Microsoft 365 suite. Microsoft’s products in the hardware space include the Xbox console, Hololens, a Mixed Reality device and Microsoft Surface device family. The latter two also have development teams in Finland’s capital area and in Tampere.
“It has been a great journey with Tampere Game Hub and we’re excited to announce this collaboration agreement. Our talks around collaboration matured after Microsoft’s establishment of Gaming Ecosystem Organization last spring. Shortly after the announcement, Tomi expressed their interest in improving their studio’s technology options. We are interested and committed in empowering our local communities to achieve more and help them create world-class content with leading technology.”
Aapo Latvala, a Game Development representative from Microsoft Finland.
Tampere-based Nighthouse Games gets publishing deal for Sockventure game with help from Tampere Game Hub
Sockventure game gets publisher in Versus Evil – Tampere Game Hub ry financially sponsored legal consultation, mentoring and advice for Finnish Game Incubator alumni team Nighthouse Games known for “Sockventure” platformer game coming 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 06.04.2021
Tampere Game Hub ry financially sponsored Nighthouse Games’ publisher negotiations for their game Sockventure, resulting in a publishing contract with Versus Evil. Sockventure, coming 2021 to Steam, is the first project from Tampere-based Nighthouse Games. Nighthouse Games was part of Finnish Game Incubator Batch One (formerly known as the Tampere Game Incubator).
“Our first move into helping teams out in a financial way is here, and the results are tremendous”, starts director Tomi Toikka from Tampere Game Hub.
“Publisher negotiations can be nerve wracking for game teams just starting out, so we figured helping out in a more concrete way would fit Nighthouse Games the best. We paid for a legal consultant from our mentor network to look over the publishing contract”, Tomi Toikka continues.
With legal help from the mentor network provided by Tampere Game Hub, Nighthouse Games successfully secured their publishing contract on March 31st 2021 and are on track for a 2021 release of Sockventure on Steam.
“We wouldn’t have a publisher without Tampere Game Hub”, says Antti Hietikko, Founder of Nighthouse Games.
“It’s been a great jump start for our career. Tampere Game Hub provided an environment of pure game business that shared honest, concrete feedback for us. Thanks to Tampere Game Hub and the Finnish Game Incubator, we learned how to pitch and talk to publishers and investors – culminating in concrete help with our publisher negotiations. Go Tampere Game Hub!”, Antti Hietikko, Founder of Nighthouse Games exclaims.
Sockventure is a thrilling action platformer from the talented team at Nighthouse Games. The game features over 200 levels of pulse-pounding twitch platforming gameplay. Sockventure has stunning colorful graphics, hand-crafted levels, tight controls and fun ever-changing gameplay. Sockventure will be available 2021 on Steam for the PC platform.
Have fun dying in Sockventure, coming to Steam 2021 from Nighthouse Games and Versus Evil!
Tampere Game Hub is growing fast, and now is tracking 42 game studios within the region of Pirkanmaa. Support for game studios is extremely important and Tampere Game Hub will continue providing mentoring, consultancy, networking and more in the future – to all game teams that need it in Finland. Financial help for qualifying game studios is considered on a case-by-case basis, and can range from covering paid legal consultation and mentorship to concrete help such as helping out with marketing materials, pitch decks and PR.
Finnish Game Incubator returns 2021 with a new online course. For the third year in a row, Finnish Game Incubator will give game studios all they need to conduct business with their game products, including dedicated courses for pitching, marketing and latest trends. Applications are open to submit in free format to toikka@tampere.games. Teams are required to reside in Finland and have an active game project with content to showcase.
Stay tuned for more exciting announcements from Tampere Game Hub and the game scene in Tampere, Finland.
Versus Evil Publishing Sockventure Announcement Blog Post:
Finnish Game Incubator Demo Day 2021 opens Thursday 25.02.2021 live on Twitch at 18:00 GMT+2.
Seven game pitches and exciting news from all across the Finnish game industry scene live on Twitch 25.2.2021 18:00 GMT+2 at https://twitch.tv/TampereGameHub!
Finnish Game Incubator by Tampere Game Hub and Ahlman culminates in an exciting Demo Day with seven game pitches, exciting news from game hubs all across Finland and a gathering of promising new indie studios.
Live from the new Platform6 startup house in Tampere, Finland join host Tomi Toikka (Tampere Game Hub) in welcoming the latest batch of promising indie studios from all across Finland.
Finnish Game Incubator is culminating in our largest event and batch of game studios yet! We are thrilled to present the latest and greatest from the Finnish game industry to the public. Despite these trying times, we are extremely optimistic about the future of Finnish games across the globe.
Tomi Toikka, Director of Tampere Game Hub ry
Finnish Game Incubator was organized by Tampere Game Hub in association with Ahlman and Business Tampere. The 10 week course challenged seven teams from all across Finland to think about their business in the challenging industry of videogame development.
Joined by mentors that ranged from industry experts to videogame investors, the teams have gained valuable insight and are pleased to present to you their teachings in the form of game pitches.
The game studios presenting at the event are Coil Games, Fad Games, Forbidden Studios, Mlyst, Monkey Business, Mohavi Creative and Tapiotar.
With teachers Tomi Toikka (Director, Tampere Game Hub) and Joni Lappalainen (CEO, Dreamloop Games), the teams have prepared presentations and game footage of their games to showcase their talent and hard work to the public.
Tampere Game Hub director Tomi Toikka organized the 10 week Finnish Game Incubator program.
Additionally, the Finnish Game Incubator Demo Day event features exciting presentations from Helsinki Games Capital, Turku Hive Game Hub and Tampere Game Hub – big regional players in the Finnish game development scene.
Our sponsor presentations include a pitch by PHZ Game Studios, a look into what’s happening at the Platform6 startup house and thoughts about mentorship by Steve Stewart (Marketing at Dreamloop Games).
Join the Finnish Game Incubator Demo Day live on Twitch Thursday 25.2.2021 at 18:00 GMT+2 onwards at https://twitch.tv/TampereGameHub.
Full schedule will be posted to the Twitch page closer to the event time.
About Tampere Game Hub ry
Tampere Game Hub ry promotes and cultivates the Tampere game industry.
Led by acting director Tomi Toikka and Joni Lappalainen (Dreamloop Games).
With 40 game studios, the game industry of Tampere remains a powerhouse of game development in Finland.
See more at https://tampere.games. Contact Director Tomi Toikka at toikka@tampere.games or +358 45 846 1006.
About Finnish Game Incubator
10 week course by Tampere Game Hub, Business Tampere and Ahlman.
Teaches game studios on game development, game business, pitching, investor relations, marketing, legal, production and much more.
7 teams chosen to the program in 2020, culminating in a Demo Day 25.2.2021.
Batch two ends May 2021 and includes the game studios Coil Games, Fad Games, Forbidden Studios, Mlyst, Monkey Business, Mohavi Creative and Tapiotar.
Mentors of the batch two program included experts like Kalle Kaivola (Lightheart Entertainment), Jiri Koivuniemi (Visionist), Jyri Partanen (Sampo Games), Antti Sartanen (Return Entertainment), Steve Stewart (Dreamloop), Jaakko Lindgren and Juha Rönkä (Dottir) alongside Tomi Toikka (Tampere Game Hub), Minna Erkko (Ahlman) and Joni Lappalainen (Dreamloop Games).
See more at https://tampere.games. Contact Director Tomi Toikka at toikka@tampere.games or +358 45 846 1006.
City of Tampere, Business Tampere, Tampere Game Hub and Ahlman unite to offer game studios Finnish Game Incubator – an all-encompassing game business coaching program, fully remotely on Discord. This year, every applicant that participates in the coaching also gets an Further vocational qualification for Entrepreneurs degree from Ahlman. During the course teams will gain the knowledge required to get the degree.
– Game studios around Finland have had to survive without regularly scheduled business support networking events, such as game industry gatherings and seminars, Tampere Game Hub director Tomi Toikka shares.
– Now more than ever there is demand for coaching that goes through game business practices. This year all teams and studios around Finland are invited to the program remotely through Discord, Tomi continues.
The coaching program includes some of the best mentors in the Finnish game industry teaching game business essentials in ten remote mentoring days. Throughout the course the subjects handled include best practices for game development and the essentials of game business. Each mentoring day ends in a one-on-one mentoring session, where teams will get feedback directly from the mentors.
This year the Finnish Game Incubator mentors are Kalle Kaivola (Lightheart Entertainment), Jyri Partanen (Sampo Games), Jiri Koivuniemi (Visionist) and Antti Sartanen (Hipfire Games).
The coaching is entirely free of charge for chosen teams. Teams and studios wishing to participate in the coaching need to be already working on a game project. This year, every applicant that participates in the coaching also gets an Further vocational qualification for Entrepreneurs degree from Ahlman.
Tampereen kaupungin, Business Tampereen, Tampere Game Hubin ja Ahlmanin järjestämä koko Suomen kattava pelihautomo opettaa kaiken pelialan liiketoiminnasta – täysin etänä. Lisänä tänä vuonna valmennuksen yhteydessä hankitaan osaamista ja suoritetaan myös Yrittäjän ammattitutkinto.
– Pelistudiot ympäri Suomea ovat joutuneet pärjäämään vailla normaalisti saatavilla olevia liiketoiminnan tukiverkostoja, kuten pelialan tapahtumia ja seminaareja, Tampere Game Hubin ohjaaja Tomi Toikka kertoo.
– Nyt jos koskaan on kysyntää valmennukselle, joissa käydään läpi pelialan liiketoimintaa. Tänä vuonna mukaan pääsevät kaikki Suomen pelitiimit ja studiot etänä Discordin kautta, Tomi jatkaa.
Valmennukseen kuuluu muun muassa pelialan parhaiden mentoreiden sparraamat kymmenen etänä toteutettavaa mentorointipäivää, joissa läpikäydään pelituotannon ja pelialan liiketoiminnan perusteet ja parhaat käytännöt. Jokainen mentorointipäivä päättyy mentoreiden kanssa sessioon, jossa yksilöllisesti neuvotaan parhaimmat käytännöt tiimikohtaisesti.
Tänä vuonna pelihautomoon osallistuu mentorina muun muassa Kalle Kaivola (Lightheart Entertainment), Jyri Partanen (Sampo Games), Jiri Koivuniemi (Visionist) ja Antti Sartanen (Hipfire Games).
Valmennukseen osallistuvilta pelitiimeiltä edellytetään jo työn alla olevaa peliprojektia. Valmennuksen yhteydessä osallistujat hankkivat osaamista ja suorittavat myös Yrittäjän ammattitutkinnon. Pelihautomosta kiinnostuneita pyydetään hakemaan mukaan ohjelmaan 23.10.2020 mennessä osoitteessa: https://tampere.games/finnish-game-incubator-suomeksi/
Lisätietoja antaa
Pelialan asioihin ja hakeutumiseen liittyen Tomi Toikka, Director, Tampere Game Hub, +358 45 846 1006 tai toikka@tampere.games
Yrittäjän ammattitutkintoon liittyen Minna Erkko, yrittäjyysvalmentaja, Ahlman, +358 40 566 7854 tai minna.erkko@ahlman.fi
Surprise! Tampere Game Hub ry just turned one year old today on 19.6.2020. Formed by acting director Tomi Toikka and founders Joni Lappalainen and Janne Kaakinen, the organization has had a splendid year full of concrete support for the Tampere game industry.
With 37 game studios (and counting!) at the time of writing, the Tampere game industry is the second largest game industry sector in Finland.
Our first year together uniting the Tampere game industry
What a ride it has been. Starting from the humble idea of having an umbrella group to unite the key players in the local industry, we have expanded to help startups get into the scene, negotiating everything from office spaces to getting the best mentors in the Finnish game industry to coach promising game teams.
Tampere Game Hub was selected as the Community Achievement of the Year 2019 by Tribe Tampere!
We’ve already won an award for the Community Achievement of the Year 2019, established key partnerships and laid a foundation for all current and future game teams and companies to thrive in Tampere.
Our first incubator program Tampere Game Incubator had amazing mentors from both the investor and game development side – and we capped off the year 2019 with great ideas for the next iteration.
We’re committed to keeping the pace for years to come. That’s why we are investing in technology such as the database of Tampere.games and working out the details of having remote events, new local community initiatives and cooperating with the city of Tampere.
Stay tuned for news in the near future about providing office spaces for the local game industry, which is a key goal we are working on before the end of the year.
Tampere Game Hub -sponsored events return later this year
Since starting Tampere Game Hub ry, we’ve hosted and sponsored multiple events, including a massive IGDA Helsinki Gathering and events in Tampere such as the Tampere Game Incubator Demo Day and IGDA Tampere gatherings.
In October 2019, our sponsored Helsinki IGDA Gathering had over 300 visitors!
While the world is still struggling from the global pandemic, slowly but surely we are reopening our community and starting to host events again. Adhering to local and international safety precautions, Tampere Game Hub -sponsored events will continue later this year. We are confident that by sponsoring local and Finland-based events we get closer to our goal of uniting the game industry of Tampere – and beyond.
Game teams trying out pitching for the first time in late October 2019 in the Tampere IGDA Gathering sponsored by Tampere Game Hub in Jack the Rooster bar
We are interested in bringing in new events and organizations to the Tampere region – get in touch and we can sponsor the event for you, be it covering venue costs, refreshments or just having a few speakers over.
Tampere Game industry news highlights
The past few months have been admittedly a bit hectic, but we’ve got some news from the Tampere game industry scene:
10tons announced Skeletal Avenger, an exciting new rogue-lite hack’n’slash with single player and local co-op!
Tampere Game Incubator alumni company Otus Games shared this short clip from their upcoming mobile title!
We’ll keep you posted for more news on our social media channels. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and on the local game industry Slack.
Tampere Game Incubator is now the Finnish Game Incubator
Tampere Game Incubator is now the Finnish Game Incubator!
Due to ongoing concerns regarding the global pandemic, we had to postpone the Tampere Game Incubator 2020 program. Rest assured we are returning to the concept.
We are proud to announce that we are now the Finnish Game Incubator and are accepting all game teams and companies in Finland regardless of city. We are aiming to reveal the new incubator program later this year. We are cooperating with Ahlman to give all participants a free Entrepreneurship degree – and we will include mentors from both Finland and abroad.
Starting later this year, the 10 week fully remote course program will be better and more extensive, including all the information and tools you need to excel in game business. And of course, the entire incubator program is completely free for all selected teams.
Stay tuned for more news later this year, including news on how to sign up for the new incubator. This year, we are also contacting some promising teams and companies ourselves. We’ll open up the sign up form for the public this Fall 2020.
Better and healthier game industry support using data
We are carefully monitoring all feedback, and addressing common concerns. Using data with the cooperation from the City of Tampere, we can make changes and act based on valuable data.
Cooperation with the city of Tampere and select partners allow us to make decisions that benefit the entire Tampere game industry.
Latest data from the jobseeker survey conducted this year by the city of Tampere showed that 56% of Tampere game industry jobseekers have considered entrepreneurship – indicating a need for more support to help people get started on their own game startups. We are adding a new Learning Hub to the website to address this, including materials made in tandem with local Company Representatives to adhere to the current best practices.
73% of responders wish for more information on local game careers. To address this, we are adding a new job listing feature to the Tampere.games website, allowing careers to be posted right to the front page. Expect it to go live later this year.
Other services and support requested include networking events (65% of responders) and additional education (40%). Tampere Game Hub will continue to sponsor local industry events and we encourage you to reach out to us if you wish to make an event of your own! Tampere Game Incubator fills in a niche space of focusing on already formed game teams – we are in dire need of things like specialist artist courses, programming courses and business development courses. Let us help you set these up.
A whopping 32% of jobseekers were working on a private game project that they were planning to publish! This is great news. If you need help getting your game out to the market, don’t hesitate to contact toikka@tampere.games and I will connect you to all the support available. When the Finnish Game Incubator signups open, we encourage you to apply.
Tampere.games keeps getting better – job listings coming this year
The front page as of June 2020.
We’re sporting a fresh new design! Tampere.games also now includes an individual games showcase, a new events hub and vastly improved company pages. The entire website is maintained with an advanced system built on top of WordPress, enabling easy editing to all company representatives and easy access to data from the entire scene.
Future additions include:
An extensive new Learning Suite, including (for free) all used materials in the upcoming Finnish Game Incubator and tips on how to get into the industry and best practices on building your own game startup.
Livestream event functionality, embedding livestreams and the like to enable remote events
Forms to apply for sponsorship for your events
Finally Job Listings instead of just being relegated to the sidebar, highlighting new careers in the Tampere region.
We are constantly adding new companies and game teams to our database and our new (completely free) Company Representative membership helps us keep our data fresh and up to date. Get in touch at toikka@tampere.games if you would wish to modify your game studio profile on the tampere.games website, post jobs, add games and have a vote in key decisions about our operations.
Exciting times ahead
Full house at Tampere Game Incubator Demo Day 2019.
Stay tuned for more information about upcoming office spaces. We can’t wait to share more news with you regarding our promise to support local startups in addition to hosting even more amazing events – all under one roof. News about the upcoming office spaces will come sooner than you think.
Slowly but surely, we will also start inviting local game industry key players to our formal board proceedings. If you are interested in a board position in the future and wish to steer the future of Tampere Game Hub, please get in touch! Our pledge to you is openness, transparency and a chance to make a difference.
Here’s my promise to you – Tampere Game Hub is here to stay and support you in all situations you might find yourself in while working in games in Tampere.
Here’s to many more years of supporting the Tampere game scene. Have an extremely happy Midsummer and stay safe out there!
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