Stockholm is not just Sweden's capital; it is also one of Europe's most productive clusters for information technology, including video games.

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Understand

Sweden has been a forerunner in electronics and computing since the 1960s. Cooperation between the telecom provider Televerket and the telephone manufacturer Ericsson allowed early expansion of mobile phone networks. Sweden became an important player in digital piracy with the launch of The Pirate Bay in 2003, though the founders were sentenced to prison in 2010. Successful Swedish tech startups include Spotify, Skype, Klarna and King Digital.

Destinations

• 1 Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). One of the first European universities to be connected to the Internet.  
• 2 Ericsson factories. LM Ericsson's factories from the 1890s to 1939. The company was founded in the 1870s, making telephones and infrastructure for them, expanding into computer networks in the late 1900s, including mobile phones. In year 2000, they were one of Sweden's most valuable companies, but they were hit hard by the tech crisis. In 2001, they transferred the mobile phone production to Sony, but remained a world-leading developer of mobile phone networks. 
• 3 Thulehuset, Sveavägen 46. Head office of Klarna, a Swedish payment handler and one of the city's unicorn companies. Formerly the office of King Digital Entertainment. Here is also the place where Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated in 1986; see Stockholm history tour for context.  
• 4 Thule Data Center. A server hall opened in 2012 in a section of the Johannes bunker (the world's first nuclear-proof bomb shelter) branding itself as the most energy efficient in Sweden. Owned by Bahnhof, an Internet service provider famous in the hacker community for their stand for privacy and free information. 
• 5 King Digital Entertainment, Malmskillnadsgatan 19. A game studio most famous for Candy Crush Saga. Limited access to the public. 
• 6 Spotify headquarters, Regeringsgatan 19. Spotify, founded in 2008, is the world's largest music streaming service as of 2024. Limited access to the public. 
• 7 Münchenbryggeriet. A brewery built in the 1890s, today used as a conference centre with offices for tech companies; among them Mojang, the maker of Minecraft.  
• 8 Digital Illusions CE (DICE), Södermalmsallén 36. A game studio owned by Electronic Arts. 
• 9 Paradox Interactive, Magnus Ladulåsgatan 4. A studio and publisher for strategy games including Europa Universalis and Hearts of Iron. 
• 10 Pionen. A data center in a bunker. Limited access to the public.  

Go next

• 11 Thorildsplan metro station. One of many stations of Stockholm Metro renowned for its art, with motifs from low-resolution video games.  
• 12 Museum of Science and Technology (Tekniska Museet), Museivägen 7. An impressive collection of tech memorabilia, including one of the server racks from a 2008 police raid against the Pirate Bay.  
• 13 Kista Science Tower.