Sweden’s Video Game Cultural Heritage
Dataspelsbranschen, Sweden’s video game trade association, recently unveiled a list of 15 domestic titles that have been deemed important for the country’s cultural heritage. These games, selected by an expert jury from a pool of hundreds of nominations by the public, will now be included in Sweden’s “cultural canon.”
The association emphasized the significance of recognizing games as a crucial part of culture, despite their absence from many cultural policy documents. The selected titles span various genres and platforms, showcasing the diversity and creativity of Swedish game developers.
- Stugan (1978 / 1986) — a text-based adventure game developed by Kimmo Eriksson, Viggo Kann, and Olle E Johansson;
- BackPacker (1995) — a world travel quiz game created by TATI Mixedia;
- Europa Universalis (2000) — a classic grand strategy game by Paradox Interactive, marking the beginning of a major franchise;
- Ground Control (2000) — a real-time strategy game that put Massive Entertainment on the map;
- Battlefield 1942 (2002) — the inaugural title in the Battlefield series, shaping DICE’s future;
- Amnesia – The Dark Descent (2010) — a horror adventure game by indie studio Frictional Games;
- Minecraft (2011) — a sandbox game by Markus Persson, known as the best-selling video game of all time;
- Toca Tea Party (2011) — a children’s mobile game by Toca Boca;
- Candy Crush Saga (2012) — King’s popular match-3 title;
- Star Stable Online (2012) — a horse-themed MMORPG offering various activities;
- Goat Simulator (2014) — a humorous game that became a success for Coffee Stain;
- The Battle of Polytopia (2016) — a stylized 4X strategy game by indie studio Midjiwan;
- Budget Cuts (2018) — an indie VR stealth game by Neat Corporation;
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (2019) — an award-winning rhythm game by indie studio Simogo;
- It Takes Two (2021) — a popular co-op game by Josef Fares and Hazelight Studio.
Dataspelsbranschen expressed its intention to potentially expand the list with more games in the future, with titles like Valheim and Helldivers 2 being strong contenders for inclusion. The association aims to elevate the status of games, enhance understanding of the medium, and ensure the list remains relevant and accessible to all.
