European gaming studios worth knowing
The American gaming press talks about America. Most of the world's most interesting recent games have been made in Europe.
The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 are Polish. Baldur's Gate 3 — the most decorated game of 2023 — is Belgian. Microsoft Flight Simulator is French. Hitman is Danish. Minecraft is Swedish. Crusader Kings and Stellaris come from a Stockholm studio that's been quietly making strategy games for 25 years. Some of the most morally serious, anti-formula games on the planet — This War of Mine, Frostpunk — come from a 50-person Polish studio called 11 bit.
Below: ten European studios worth paying attention to. Most are independent. Several have been bought by larger holding companies (Microsoft, Tencent, Sega) — we flag ownership honestly on each card.
Techland
Ownership: Privately held by Marchewka
Known for: Wrocław-based, founded 1991. Dying Light (2015) and Dying Light 2 Stay Human (2022) — parkour zombie open-world series, 30M+ copies. Earlier: Call of Juarez Western series, Dead Island (2011, original IP, later licensed). The other major Polish studio after CD Projekt Red. Dying Light has matured into a genuinely well-supported live-service action game without becoming exploitative. Founder still controls it.
https://www.techland.net
People Can Fly
Ownership: Listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2020
Known for: Warsaw-based, founded in 2002. Painkiller (2004), Bulletstorm (2011), Gears of War: Judgment co-dev (2013), Outriders (2021). Multiple internal studios across Poland and the US. Polish shooter studio with serious co-dev pedigree for Epic Games and others. The Bulletstorm and Painkiller IPs are cult classics. Outriders had a rough launch but the team's craft is real.
https://peoplecanfly.com
Bloober Team
Ownership: Listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange
Known for: Kraków-based, founded 2008. Psychological horror specialists — Layers of Fear (2016, 2023), Observer (2017), The Medium (2021), Silent Hill 2 remake (2024, in partnership with Konami). The Polish horror studio that Konami trusted with the Silent Hill 2 remake — a hand-off that's gone better than most fans expected. Bloober's atmospheric horror is now world-class.
https://www.blooberteam.com
CI Games
Ownership: Listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange
Known for: Warsaw-based, founded in 2002. Sniper: Ghost Warrior series (5 entries, 11M+ copies), Lords of the Fallen (2014 original; 2023 reboot). The Sniper Ghost Warrior IP is the longest-running Polish-developed shooter franchise. The 2023 Lords of the Fallen reboot was the studio's most ambitious project — uneven launch, but the dark-fantasy souls-like has improved with patches.
https://cigames.com
MercurySteam
Ownership: Privately held
Known for: Madrid-based, founded 2002 by Enric Álvarez. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow trilogy (2010-2014), Metroid: Samus Returns (2017), Metroid Dread (2021) for Nintendo. Currently working on Blades of Fire (2025). Spain's most globally trusted game studio — Nintendo handing over the Metroid franchise is a hand-off Japanese publishers rarely extend to Western developers. The Metroid Dread reception was strong enough to validate the bet.
https://www.mercurysteam.com
Tequila Works
Ownership: Privately held
Known for: Madrid-based, founded 2009 by Raúl Rubio Munárriz. Rime (2017), Deadlight, The Sexy Brutale, Gylt (Stadia exclusive at launch, later cross-platform). Spanish indie-art studio with consistent visual identity — Rime in particular has aged well as a critically respected adventure game. Smaller scale than MercurySteam but more clearly authorial.
https://tequilaworks.com
Avalanche Studios Group
Ownership: Privately held + Nordisk Games (Egmont Group, Danish) minority owner
Known for: Stockholm-headquartered, founded 2003 by Christofer Sundberg, Linus Blomberg, Magnus Nedfors. Just Cause series (1-4), Mad Max (2015), Generation Zero, Rage 2 (co-dev with id Software), Hunting Simulator. Sweden's largest independent game developer. Avalanche's Apex engine is one of the most-respected open-world technologies in the industry. Just Cause helicopters and physics remain definitive of large-scale traversal sandboxes.
https://avalanchestudios.com
DICE (EA DICE)
Ownership: Acquired by Electronic Arts (US) in 2006 — engineering and design teams remain in Stockholm
Known for: Stockholm-based, founded 1992 as Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment. Battlefield series (since 1942), Mirror's Edge, Star Wars Battlefront. Frostbite engine used across most EA studios. Stockholm gaming studio under American ownership since 2006. Frostbite engine is foundational to EA's whole gaming portfolio. Honest caveat: this is American-owned, but Swedish-engineered.
https://www.dice.se
Massive Entertainment
Ownership: Owned by Ubisoft (French) since 2008
Known for: Malmö-based, founded 1997. Tom Clancy's The Division (1, 2), Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (2023), Star Wars Outlaws (2024). . The Snowdrop engine is developed here and licensed across Ubisoft's portfolio. Malmö-based Ubisoft studio with serious open-world tech credentials. French ownership is the caveat but the Swedish engineering team has been remarkably stable. Snowdrop is one of Europe's most-deployed game engines.
https://www.massive.se
Embracer Group
Ownership: Listed on Stockholm Stock Exchange
Known for: Karlstad-headquartered, founded 2011 as Nordic Games (renamed Embracer 2019). Holding company controlling ~120 game studios — Saber Interactive, 4A Games (Metro), Plaion (publishing), THQ Nordic, Coffee Stain (Satisfactory), Dark Horse Comics, plus the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit IP via Middle-earth Enterprises. CEO and founder Lars Wingefors still major shareholder. Europe's largest gaming-rollup holding. Recently restructured into three units (Coffee Stain & Friends, Asmodee, and Middle-earth Enterprises spin-out). Founder-controlled, Swedish-listed. Currently going through a tough operational period after over-aggressive M&A.
https://embracer.com
11 bit studios
Ownership: Listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange
Known for: Warsaw-based, founded 2010. This War of Mine, Frostpunk, Frostpunk 2. Anti-war, morally-loaded strategy and survival games. The most morally serious game studio in Europe. Frostpunk made you choose between feeding children and burning corpses for heat. That's the editorial range.
https://www.11bitstudios.com
Asobo Studio
Ownership: Privately held
Known for: Bordeaux-based, founded 2002. Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020 and 2024), A Plague Tale: Innocence, A Plague Tale: Requiem. France's most technically ambitious studio. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 was a genuine engineering achievement — the entire planet in real terrain data.
https://www.asobostudio.com
CD Projekt Red
Ownership: Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange
Known for: Warsaw-based, founded 2002. The Witcher series, Cyberpunk 2077. . Polish-controlled. The breakout success of Eastern European AAA gaming. Single-player, story-led, no microtransactions. The studio that proved AAA gaming doesn't have to come from the US.
https://www.cdprojektred.com
Frontier Developments
Ownership: Listed on London Stock Exchange
Known for: Cambridge-based, founded 1994 by David Braben (the original Elite). Elite Dangerous, Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo, Jurassic World Evolution. Niche but mastered. Their management-sim and space-sim games have few real competitors at their scale.
https://www.frontier.co.uk
IO Interactive
Ownership: Privately held
Known for: Copenhagen-based, founded 1998. Hitman franchise — Agent 47. Bought their independence back from Square Enix in 2017 and now self-publishes. The unusual story of a studio that got bought, didn't like it, and bought itself back. The current Hitman trilogy is widely regarded as the franchise's best.
https://www.ioi.dk
Larian Studios
Ownership: Privately held, founder-controlled
Known for: Ghent-based, founded 1996. Baldur's Gate 3 (2023) — Game of the Year at The Game Awards, DICE, BAFTA, GDC. Divinity: Original Sin franchise before that. Proof that a 400-person Belgian studio can outclass the entire US AAA industry. Their next project is set to do it again.
https://larian.com
Mojang Studios
Ownership: Owned by Microsoft since 2014 (caveat)
Known for: Stockholm-based, founded 2009 by Markus "Notch" Persson. Minecraft — the best-selling video game of all time (300M+ copies). . Swedish-born, US-owned. The Microsoft acquisition is a real caveat — the game is still made by the Stockholm studio but the IP belongs to Redmond.
https://www.minecraft.net
Paradox Interactive
Ownership: Listed on Nasdaq Stockholm
Known for: Stockholm-based, listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. Grand strategy publisher: Crusader Kings, Stellaris, Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Cities: Skylines. 25 years of niche-becoming-popular. The most niche-loyal European publisher. DLC model is controversial but the underlying games are unmatched in their genre.
https://www.paradoxinteractive.com
Remedy Entertainment
Ownership: Listed on Helsinki Stock Exchange
Known for: Espoo-based, listed on Helsinki Stock Exchange. Max Payne franchise, Alan Wake series, Control. Strong cinematic narrative style. Finland's quiet AAA studio. Alan Wake 2 (2023) was one of the most distinctive games of its year. Smaller-scale than CD Projekt, consistently more inventive.
https://www.remedygames.com
Supercell
Ownership: Privately held
Known for: Helsinki-based, founded 2010. Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Brawl Stars, Hay Day. Mobile-only. Tencent (Chinese) majority shareholder since 2016 (caveat). Finnish design and engineering, Chinese ownership. Among the most successful mobile gaming studios in history. Tencent ownership is the asterisk.
https://www.supercell.com