15-Year-Old Skövde Studio Drives Success Through Strong Player Communities

A direct testament to this strong and engaged player base is, of course, game sales. Another is industry awards. The latest, in November 2024, was the PC Game of the Year award at The Golden Joystick Awards, where players voted Satisfactory as the winner.

"It’s a prestigious title," commented Snutt Treptow, Community Manager at Coffee Stain Skövde, in an interview with SVT.

Robert Lazić, a veteran in Skövde’s game industry, joined Coffee Stain in September 2024.

"I started my journey in the University of Skövde’s game development program in 2002, and right after graduation, I co-founded Colossai Studios with my classmates. That was back in 2005, and we were the second team to enter the startup incubator’s new initiative for game development at Science Park Skövde."

He recalls that time as exciting and formative — though financially tough.

"In the beginning, we survived on student loans, studying while developing games. Once we officially founded the company and could start paying salaries, they were barely higher than student aid."

The early days in the game incubator were largely a learning process.

"There were a lot of trial-and-error attempts — lots of testing, learning, and testing again. As enthusiastic students, we not only learned to develop games but also how to network with publishers and investors. It was a journey we shared with the incubator’s staff, led by Per-Arne Lundberg. Today, of course, the incubator operates on a completely different level in every aspect."

As the Studio Manager of Coffee Stain Studios in Skövde, which has 35 employees, Robert is involved in nearly all aspects of the studio’s development and future strategies.

"The company has been incredibly successful in developing and selling high-quality games. This process takes time — Satisfactory started development in 2016, and version 1.0 was only released last year. A crucial part of this success is the long-term effort to build, engage, and collaborate with our player community."

"My role is to maintain that culture but also to refine and develop it further by bringing in my experience from 20 years of working with various Skövde-based companies," Robert explains, emphasizing that the people in the company are the key to its continued success.

Part of investing in the team is the recently completed annual team-building event known as Game Jam.

"We divided all staff into five smaller teams, each tasked with developing a game based on a specific theme. The goal wasn’t to generate new game ideas for future development but rather to unleash creativity. And the results were fantastic! Each team presented playable projects, which we tested, evaluated, and rewarded with different prizes. It was a huge success, and we’re fortunate to be able to run this kind of activity."

Game development has become a significant part of Skövde’s business landscape. Coffee Stain Studios exemplifies this growth, not just in economic terms but also through its office location.

Since 2020, the company has been headquartered in Fjolner 5 on Hertig Johans Gata. This grand building previously housed Skaraborgsbanken and later served as an office for the Västra Götaland Region. Its stately architecture and historic significance add to the studio’s presence in the city.

"It’s kind of a statement to be located in ‘the bank palace’, simply a cool location. But the most important thing is that it’s centrally located and provides an excellent work environment. We have dedicated rooms for game presentations and meetings, as well as lounge areas with a kitchen, board games, a ping pong table, and shuffleboard. On top of that, we have a fully equipped private gym," concludes Robert Lazić.

Founded in 2010, Coffee Stain Studios began its journey in Science Park Skövde’s Sweden Game Startup program, just like many other game studios in Skövde. The company is part of the broader Coffee Stain brand, but the Skövde unit is the original team behind game franchises like I Love Strawberries (2010), Sanctum (2011), Goat Simulator (2014), and Satisfactory (2019).