The Swedish Games Industry has announced the “Game Culture Canon” with the unveiling of Sweden’s game culture treasures with Dataspelsbranschen, Sweden’s trade association for video game companies, unveiling 15 games of significant cultural impact. The list also features some recognized games such as Minecraft, Candy Crush Saga, Goat Simulator, and The Battle of Polytopia.
The Games Culture Canon was created on the back of Sweden’s Minister for Culture Parisa Liljestrand’s plans to create an official culture canon in December 2022. The initiative, led by the Swedish government and supported by the trade association for Sweden’s video game companies, aims to establish a cultural canon that includes digital games.
The official statement from Dataspelsbranschen read: “Games should be an obvious part of culture but are missing from most cultural policy documents. Therefore, as the trade association for Sweden’s video game companies, we have taken the initiative to produce a list of digital games that mean a lot to Swedish culture.”
Fifteen games were finalized out of a hundred public choices in the process that began this Spring
The process began during the spring of this year, when the public nominated several hundred games, out of which we got our final 15. This list was finalized by the expert jury that comprised seven members, each bringing diverse expertise from fields such as game development, innovation management, and user experience (UX) design, to name a few.
The complete list of games that were featured by the trade association is given below, sorted by year-
| Game Name | Developed By | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Stugan | Kimmo Eriksson, Viggo Kann, Olle E Johansson | 1978/1986 |
| BackPacker | Tati Mixedia | 1995 |
| Europa Universalis | Paradox Interactive | 2000 |
| Ground Control | Massive Entertainment | 2000 |
| Battlefield 1942 | DICE (Digital Illusions CE) | 2002 |
| Amnesia – The Dark Descent | Frictional Games | 2010 |
| Minecraft | Mojang | 2011 |
| Toca Tea Party | Toca Boca | 2011 |
| Candy Crush Saga | King | 2012 |
| Star Stable Online | Star Stable Entertainment | 2012 |
| Goat Simulator | Coffee Stain Studios | 2014 |
| The Battle of Polytopia | Midjiwan | 2016 |
| Budget Cuts | Neat Corporation | 2018 |
| Sayonara Wildhearts | Simogo | 2019 |
| It Takes Two | Hazelight | 2021 |
It is fascinating to see a few mobile entries as well, and if we speak about them, they have all been one of the biggest franchises on mobile.
Minecraft has been one of the favorites for over a decade in open-world sandbox exploration, while Goat Simulator and Candy Crush Saga have found their audiences thanks to the fun element. And there’s The Battle of Polytopia, crafted by Sweden’s own Midjiwan which has been a huge hit thanks to its strategic depth.
Dataspelsbranschen has also taken the initiative to present a game culture canon at the political festival Almedalen. Overall, there is no doubt that the achievements these games have had, have left a long-lasting impression on the cultural impact of the Swedish Games Industry.
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