5 particularly successful Swiss games

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Some computer games sell well because their developers do a lot of things right. We introduce to you five particularly successful Swiss gaming brands.

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What is the flagship of the Swedish games industry? Many game fans may answer this question with Minecraft. The cube game has been so successful that it has grown into a real brand, inextricably linked to its country of origin. It's a similar situation to Angry Birds, and you almost automatically think of Finland, or Poland's The Witcher, Japan's Mario, and the Netherlands' Horizon Zero Dawn. But what is the flagship of the Swiss games industry? Which games are so successful that they are directly associated with Switzerland?

Well, to do that, you first have to define the word “success.” A game's success can certainly be determined by sales figures – but not all companies will actually announce those figures. Another success criterion is review ratings, which are collected from sites like metacritic.com and calculated as an average.

User reviews on the Steam download platform are also often used – as the name suggests, this is related to the popularity of the players themselves. Last but not least, you can also see what awards and prizes a specific game has won – the Swiss Game Awards. Especially important in this country. Therefore, when we talk about “particularly successful Swiss games” we are referring to a combination of all these criteria. After these rather theoretical discussions, we don't want to keep you waiting any longer: here's the Swiss gaming flagship!

“Farming Simulator”

If you look at the sales figures, Farming Simulator (“LS”) is by far the most successful product in Swiss gaming history. In February 2024, developer Giants Software announced that its “LS 22” sales had exceeded 6 million copies – this is a real number! Even the hugely popular football simulation game EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA) lags behind the Swiss farming game on some sales charts. Giants Software released the first part of the series in 2008, and the game has appeared on nearly every platform since then. Digital farming and livestock farming have long been popular not only with farmers: this relaxing and technical game also delights those who lack real farming experience in big cities.

“LS 22” is the latest version available for PC and fixed consoles. It was released in 2021, but has been continuously expanded since then – such as new, stylish tractors and additional utility buildings. The fact that the 'LS' is so successful also has to do with its huge tuning community – there are over 5,600 tunings for the 'LS 22' alone! The game has now even become an eSport, with teams competing against each other in the Farming Simulator League. Giants Software recently released a kid-friendly version for mobile devices called Farming Simulator Kids. At FarmCon in July 2024, the launch of the “LS 25” (see video) caused a real storm of enthusiasm.

studio: Giant Software (Schlieren)
type: agricultural simulation
platform: PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, Mobile
release date: November 22, 2021 (“LS 22”)

“Transportation Fever 2”

Simulation games are a local specialty: another highly successful Swiss game underlines this point. To be more precise, this is a game series that started in 2014. At that time, Urban Games, a (still) small studio from Schaffhausen, released a title with the title Train Craze: a transportation simulation game in which you will expand and manage public passenger transport between 1850 and 2050 Cargo transportation. The game was initially financed through crowdfunding and was so successful that five years later Urban Games brought to the market a successor, Transport Fever – with a significantly larger number of vehicles, a more complex delivery and transport chain, and new campaigns and maps. The latest entry in the simulation series is Transport Fever 2 released in 2019, which also offers a powerful sandbox mode.

Let's take a quick look at user numbers: Transport Fever 2 hit the magic mark of 1 million players in mid-2023, according to Urban Games – and it's likely to be more now. This complex game is fascinating for many reasons: for example, you can get big effects with small tweaks – or that well-connected cities literally thrive. From a purely graphical perspective, Transport Fever 2 is a visual feast.

studio: City Games (Schaffhausen)
school: Economic simulation, sandbox
platform: PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
release date: December 11, 2019 (“Transportation Fever 2”)

“Wandering Village”

Stray Fawn is still in early access, but it's already very successful there: more than 400,000 players have purchased the pre-release version, according to Stray Fawn Studio in Zurich. That's not without reason: the game combines challenging building strategy and roguelike elements with an imaginative game world and strong environmental messaging. In 2023, “Nomadland” won the “Excellence Award” of the Swiss Game Awards, which is awarded to works of particularly high quality.

But what is this game really about? The story is set in a heavily polluted post-apocalyptic world where a group of people fight for survival. They perch on the backs of a giant turtle-like creature called an Onbu, which wanders the desolate landscape and itself seeks a protected habitat. You now build a settlement and engage in farming, but you always have to consider Onbu's needs. As we migrate together through different biomes, symbiotic relationships develop.

studio: Stray Fawn Studio (Zurich)
type: Settlement simulation
platform: PC, Xbox Series X|S
release date: September 14, 2022 (early access)

“Far Away: The Changing Tide”

The game also won the Swiss Game Award twice! In 2022, “FAR: Changing Tides” won both the “Best Entertainment Game Award” and the “Audience Choice Award” in the year of its release. It has already become one of the hottest awards contenders ahead of time. Zurich studio Okomotive is continuing the success story of its 2018 predecessor FAR: Lone Sails. According to the studio, it sold approximately 500,000 copies!

The two “FAR” games have some similarities, but also some differences. Both are side-scrolling games filled with puzzles; both feature a lone protagonist embarking on a journey through a desolate world. But whereas in Lone Sails you piloted a train-like vehicle with a steam boiler across desert and karst terrain, in Changing Tides you piloted a hybrid ship and submarine across Severely flooded areas. The best thing about both games is their beautiful, meditative gameplay.

studio: Okomoti (Zurich)
school: Puzzle platformer, action adventure
platform: PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch
release date: March 1, 2022 (“FAR: The Tide Turns”)

“night”

“Nocturnal” also belongs to the distinguished circle of SGA Award winners: it was named “Best Entertainment Game” in 2023. In Nocturnal, fire is a core mechanic of the game and serves many purposes. Adhir is a soldier of the Eternal Flame who returns to his home island to find it threatened by dark forces. On his way to the center of the island, he must contend with mysterious fog, nasty enemies, and difficult terrain. Traditional weapons won't work here, but Ardeshir can use firepower to disperse the fog in which he would otherwise suffocate. The dangerous journey begins…

The game from Sunnyside Games was so well received by gaming fans that it's getting a sequel. Nocturnal 2 is scheduled to launch in 2025 and will be a “full-fledged metroidvania” according to the developers. What this means: There will be fully non-linear gameplay, lots of new secrets, all-new enemies, and an “expanded arsenal of fire-based abilities.” We are so excited!

studio: Sunnyside Games (Lausanne)
school: Side-scrolling, action-adventure
platform: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch
release date: June 7, 2023