A total of eight awards were presented during the gala evening. The Finnish Game of the Year 2017, the Small Screen Game of the Year 2017 and the Big Screen Game of the Year 2017 were selected by the members of the Finnish Game Developers’ Association. The Applied Game Award 2017 was selected by the Serious Gaming Cluster Finland Association. The Creative Achievement of the Year 2017 and the Finnish Rookie of the Year 2017 were chosen by the board of the Finnish Game Developers’ Association.
IGDA Finland also presented their recognition to Teemu Haila with a Lifetime Achievement award, and to Jori Hellstedt with the Volunteer of the Year award. The gaming magazine Pelit gave away their traditional “Kyöpeli” trophy to the People’s Choice Game of the Year 2017. The winner this year was Lydia by Platonic Partnership.
The Finnish Game Awards was organized by the Finnish Game Developers’ Association and the Neogames Finland Association. The gala evening was sponsored by the game studios Rovio, Unity Technologies Finland, Supercell, RedLynx, Housemarque, Small Giant, Colossal Order, PlayRaven, Futureplay, Seriously, Critical Force and MotionVolt.
This year’s winners at The Finnish Game Awards were:
The Applied Game Award 2017: Antidote / Psyon Games
Antidote is a good example of a game that combines a game-oriented, entertaining approach and educational content. It is a trick that is not as easy as it sounds. The World Health Organization (WHO) has chosen Antidote as a way to fight against the growing anti-vaccine trend. For more information, visit www.psyongames.com.
The Finnish Rookie of the Year 2017: Team Ocmo
Team Ocmo is already a couple of years old as a team, but still a rookie. Team Ocmo’s debut game Ocmo shows that sometimes long game development periods are worth the effort. Ocmo is exceptionally mature and balanced for a first game, a great achievement from a young company. For more information, visit www.teamocmo.com.
The Best Creative Achievement of the Year 2017: Lydia / Platonic Partnership
Lydia has received a lot of fame and glory in various arenas. A tiny new studio’s first game, Lydia is a promising and carefully thought-out entity whose implementation is harmonious and where all elements fit seamlessly together. Lydia has a message that it carries beautifully and deliberately. For more information, visit www.platonicpartnership.com.
The Big Screen Game of the Year 2017: Nex Machina / Housemarque
Nex Machina is guaranteed Housemarque quality. The game, developed with arcade legend Eugen Jarvis, is loyal to its roots and provides exactly what people are used to expecting from Housemarque’s games. Whether Nex Machina is the last game of its kind from Housemarque remains to be seen. For more information, visit www.housemarque.com.
The Small Screen Game of the Year 2017: Empires & Puzzles / Small Giant Games
Empires & Puzzles was the surprise of the year 2017. Especially at the end of the year, Empires & Puzzles performed brilliantly and once again proved that the Finnish game industry has a lot to offer. For more information, visit www.smallgiantgames.com.
The Main Award – The Finnish Game of the Year 2017: Nex Machina / Housemarque
The Finnish Game of the year 2017 is Housemarque’s Nex Machina. It received a third of all votes cast. This is the second time Housemarque has won the Game of the Year award. The previous win was Resogun, chosen as the best game of the year 2013 in the first gala arranged by the Finnish game developers in 2014. For more information, visit www.housemarque.com.
Finland’s gaming sector strengthens and the front is expanding
According to the estimates by the Finnish Game Developers Association and Neogames Finland Association, the middle class of the Finnish gaming industry has clearly strengthened, although the industry’s turnover fell slightly to EUR 2.36 billion. The number of companies employing more than 50 people and with a turnover of more than EUR 10 million will continue to grow, and the number of employees is also increasing. The listing of four Finnish gaming companies into the stock exchange in 2017 is already a major milestone in itself.
The number of new gaming companies and game titles remained at the previous year’s level in 2017. Around 150 new games were released. The most significant share of these were mobile games, but augmented and virtual reality implementations have also increased. Finland’s gaming sector as a whole was strengthened, despite the ever tightening worldwide competition, increased customer acquisition costs and the continued labour shortages. Finland is still among the three biggest game developer countries in Europe.
