W Love Games is delighted to invite you all to join the second edition of Finnish Games Week Steam Event, taking place October 12-18.

This year we have an interesting opportunity for doubling the efforts in promoting your games, especially as in-person Finnish Games Week in Helsinki will be following week - Oct 19-23, when is also autumn edition of Steam Next Fest. This allows us to boost marketing efforts and online presence throughout two whole weeks!

You can find the criteria for joining the event in the form below. We will inform you of all the details and the planned program step by step, but the most important one is to read the criteria and if eligible submit your games:

To get your game featured, please provide the following information needed through this form. The criteria is:

- published or upcoming game on Steam made by Finnish game company
- if your game is already published on Steam you can offer a discount during the FGW26 event but it is not mandatory
- if you have published multiple games, feel free to submit them as a bundle or separately

https://forms.gle/pSeX3u5Xm9THMV646

#wlovegames #gamedev #peliala #finnishgameweek

Checkout event in Helsinki:

One week until the IGDA Helsinki March Meetup, and oh boy do we have a packed evening planned! Starting with MiTale and Dreamloop Games teaming up to demystify Indie Game Business in 2026!

We’ll also:
💡 Have an update on our IGDA Finland Grant
💬 Trial a pilot session for Café Lingua, a Finnish and Swedish speaking Cafe (17-17:45)
🪐 Introduce Ellarion Tales at the AMA session - come talk Sci-fi, live-action role-playing games (LARP) and immersive events

📣 No pre-registration is required to join our Meetup.

WHAT:
IGDA Helsinki March Meetup with MiTale and Dreamloop Games

WHEN:
Tuesday 17.03.
Doors open at 17
Program starts at 17:45

WHERE:
Maxine, Kamppi shopping center, 6th floor (Elevators can be found on the E-floor, between Jungle Juice Bar and Rax). Note that Maxine is a 18+ venue, hence you must be 18+ years of age to attend.

PROGRAM:
Indie Game Business in 2026! Natasha Skult (CEO at MiTale) and Joni Lappalainen (CEO of Dreamloop Games) will present their strategies in publishing, co-development partnerships and transmedia strategies that can elevate your indie success.

🕹️ Demo Corner will be open and filled with cool indie games and demos!

💬 Chat Corner will be open and ready for chatting!
We also have Ellarion Tales joining us for an AMA session! They are a storytelling studio that creates live-action role-playing games (larps) and other immersive experiences.

🗣️ We are also trialing Let’s speak in Finnish/Swedish - Café Lingua
Interested in practicing and improving your Finnish or Swedish language skills by chatting with native-speaking game industry professionals? Join Café Lingua at the March Meetup in Maxine between 17-17.45.

For more info on the evening, please see the website: https://www.igda.fi/new-events/2026/igda-helsinki-march-meetup

#igda #helsinki #peliala #gamedev #mitale #DreamloopGames

We had a fun event of playing different games. Thank you all for joining and presenters for their games.

Games that where playable:
"Kalewala, The Tale of Sampo" -board game by Tuomas Mansikka (Developer) + Annukka Repo (Art) + Sami Styrman (Publisher) SamsaGames
"Defenders of Kaiju Island" - board game by Jussi Kenkkilä
"Pirate Fight" -card game by Otto Schmitz

Other games are still work of progress, but Kalewala, the Tale of Sampo is available at: https://www.nukkarepo.com/taleofsampo

Defenders of Kaiju Island might be available to playing in the Ropecon 2026!

#lahti #gamedev #boardgames #cardgames #peliala #igda #igdalahti #kalewalataleofsampo #defendersofkaijuisland #piratefight

Roll into the new year with Digihub’s beginner-friendly online RPG. Want to hear the best part? You get to play as a bear!

Due to changes to the schedule the event dates have been moved❗

Join us to play Honey Heist - very simple and super fun one-page RPG 🐻 🍯
You are going to undertake the greatest heist the world has ever seen. Two Things –
One: You have a complex plan that requires precise timing.
Two: You are a GODDAMN BEAR.

📆 Schedule:
13th of March: Session Zero (45min): Session to explain the game, create characters with everyone and answering all the questions.
22dn of March: Game session (~2 hours): Session where we will play the game.

⏰ Sessions start at 6:30 pm EET

Sessions will be held on Digihub Discord server.

🎟️ Sign up for the event here!
https://www.eventbrite.fi/e/online-rpg-by-igda-finland-digihub-tickets-1983202809991

#gamedev #peliala #igda #digihub

More Finnish game devs in news!

"Kimmo Lahtinen (@gimblll) teki lähes yksin Sektor-pelin, jonka ulkomaiset mediat nostivat viime vuoden parhaisiin

Riippumaton pelintekijä Kimmo Lahtinen toivoo, että Suomessa arvostettaisiin pelintekijöitä samalla tavalla kuin muita taiteilijoita."

https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000011811204.html ($)

#gamedev #indiegame #indiedev #peliala #kulttuuri #pelit

IGDA Lahti March Meetup - Board Games

IGDA Lahti is not only about video games! Join us for evening of new card and board games!

Games to try out:
- "Kalewala, The Tale of Sampo" -board game by Annukka Repo (Art) + Sami Styrman (Publisher) SamsaGames
- "Defenders of Kaiju Island" - board game by Jussi Kenkkilä
- "Pirate Fight" -card game by Otto Schmitz

Event is organized by IGDA Lahti in Fellmanni-talo. Doors open at 17:00. Event closes about 21:00. Notice that this event is on Saturday not on Friday like we usually have our events.

If you have questions email: [email protected].

WHERE:
Fellmanni-talo, Kirkkokatu 27, 15140 Lahti
WHEN:
Saturday 7th March, 17:00-21:00

Sign up now: https://pretix.eu/igdalahti/february2026/

#lahti #gamedev #boardgames #cardgames #peliala #igda #igdalahti #kalewalataleofsampo #defendersofkaijuisland #piratefight

GDC - 2026 State of the Game Industry Raportti! (Pelialan artikkeli)

Tammikuussa [GDC] Festival of Gaming julkaisivat heidän tekemänsä 2026 State of the Game Industry raportin.

Raportti sisältää näkemyksiä demografiasta, alan irtisanomisista, generatiivisesta tekoälystä, pelimoottoreista, alustoista ja ominaisuuksista, pelien liiketoiminnasta ja edunvalvonnasta.

Yksi mielenkiintoinen poiminta raportista oli, että "suurin osa pelialan työntekijöistä haluaisi liittyä ammattiliittoon". Meidän näkökulmastamme tämä on tärkeä ja erittäin vaikuttava lausunto, jota on datalla tuettu. Heidän tuloksensa osoittavat, että 82 % vastaajista kannattaa pelialan työntekijöiden ammattiliittoon järjestäytymistä. On hyvä pitää mielessä, että vastaajat olivat enimmäkseen Yhdysvalloista.

Voit ladata heidän raporttinsa heidän nettisivuiltan täältä. Löydät sen myös meidän infopankista.

https://www.peliala.fi/uutiset/gdc-2026-state-of-the-game-industry/

#gamedev #gamemakersoffinland #gamemakers #peliala #finnishgameIndustry

Read the Gmoffi Corner article from Game Maker's of Finland!

Starting a new job – what you should do and how to prepare!

You are in a situation where you have received a job offer. Before you sign the work agreement, you should first have the contract reviewed by a union expert, if you are a union member. If you are not a union member, review it with someone else who has experience and understanding of employment relationships and contracts. In the employee's best interests, it is best for the work agreement to be in writing. For example, if your supervisor or employer's representatives change, it is important that all agreed matters are recorded so that they cannot be disputed later.

Full article: https://www.peliala.fi/en/news/gmoffi-corner-starting-a-new-job/

#gamedev #gamemakersoffinland #gamemakers #peliala #finnishgameIndustry

FGJ Lahti had 12 games created! Go checkout them in the GGJ site.

https://globalgamejam.org/group/31119/games

#gamedev #peliala #igda #igdafinland #igdalahti #lahti #fgj26 #fgj #ggj #finnishgamejam #globalgamejam

Read the Gmoffi Corner article from Game Maker's of Finland!

Gamebadges – Making Game Industry Competence Visible by Ria Gynther

The game industry is built on highly specialised skills, rapidly evolving roles, and project-based work that do not always fit neatly into traditional job titles. A “designer”, “producer”, or “programmer” can mean very different things depending on the studio, project, or even platform. As a result, it can be difficult to clearly communicate what professionals and students are actually capable of doing, especially when changing roles, entering the industry, or working across multiple disciplines.

Gamebadges was created to address this exact challenge by focusing on one central question: How can we make game industry competence visible and easily explainable?

At its core, Gamebadges aims to make game industry skills more visible, understandable, and portable, supporting professionals at different stages of their careers and contributing to a more transparent and connected industry.

Full article: https://www.peliala.fi/en/news/gmoffi-corner-gamebadges/

#gamedev #gamemakersoffinland #gamemakers #peliala #finnishgameIndustry