Iron Gate Studio
Iron Gate Studio is a Skövde, Sweden-based independent game developer founded in 2018 that builds Valheim, a Norse-mythology survival/crafting game distributed across PC and console storefronts to a global consumer audience of 12+ million players.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersSkövde, Sweden
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Iron Gate Studio does
Iron Gate Studio is a Swedish independent game development studio founded in 2018 by two industry veterans and headquartered in Skövde, Sweden. The studio operates with a small team (11-50 employees) and is privately held, founder-owned. Its core product is Valheim, a Viking survival and crafting game set in a procedurally generated Norse mythology world, launched in Early Access on Steam in 2021 and subsequently expanded to multiple storefronts.
Valheim has sold 12+ million copies worldwide and is distributed across Steam, the Microsoft Store, Xbox, Humble Store, the Mac App Store, and PlayStation. The product is built on established game-engine technology supporting multiplayer co-op, procedural world generation, base-building, and survival mechanics. The studio engages directly with its player community through Discord, Twitter, and YouTube, using these channels as primary user-development and retention vehicles.
The business model is a one-time purchase model, with revenue generated through direct sales on multiple digital storefronts rather than subscriptions, ads, or in-game purchases. The studio's customer base consists of long-tail individual consumers in the global PC and console gaming market, with no enterprise or B2B segment. Given the single-product concentration and absence of disclosed funding rounds or new project announcements, the company's growth levers are effectively limited to ongoing platform expansion, content updates to Valheim, and incremental unit sales.
Iron Gate Studio firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Iron Gate Studio
- Legal name
- Iron Gate Studios
- Website
- https://irongate.se
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Iron Gate Studio is a Skövde, Sweden-based independent game developer founded in 2018 that builds Valheim, a Norse-mythology survival/crafting game distributed across PC and console storefronts to a global consumer audience of 12+ million players.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Iron Gate Studio is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Skövde
- HQ country
- Sweden
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Iron Gate Studio business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Game Sales: One-time purchase revenue from Valheim sold across multiple digital storefronts including Steam, Microsoft Store, Xbox, Humble Store, Mac App Store, and PlayStation. The game has sold over 12 million copies worldwide.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard game purchase |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels4 records
Iron Gate Studio product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Iron Gate Studio develops and publishes Valheim, a Viking-themed survival and crafting adventure game in which players explore procedurally generated forests and mountains, build settlements, combat monsters banished by Odin, and progress through Norse mythology-driven gameplay, both solo and multiplayer. The game is sold as a one-time purchase across major digital PC and console storefronts and has sold over 12 million copies worldwide.
Product overview
Iron Gate Studio is a single-product game development studio that developed and publishes Valheim, a viking-themed survival adventure game available across multiple distribution platforms including Steam, Microsoft Store, Xbox, Humble Store, Mac App Store, and PlayStation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Valheim A Viking-themed survival and crafting adventure game in which players who have been slain in battle are carried to Valheim, the tenth Norse world, where they explore deep forests and freezing mountains, build settlements, battle monsters banished by Odin, and progress through gameplay inspired by Norse mythology to earn Odin's favor and become worthy of Valhalla. The game supports solo and multiplayer gameplay and is distributed globally across Steam, Microsoft Store, Xbox, Humble Store, Mac App Store, and PlayStation.
Companies that use Iron Gate Studio
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Iron Gate Studio technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Iron Gate Studio partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Iron Gate Studio competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mojang Studios: Swedish indie-turned-platform game studio behind Minecraft. Highly comparable as a small Swedish team that built a single massively successful open-world/crafting franchise on multiple storefronts.
- Larian Studios: Independently owned European studio behind Baldur's Gate 3. Comparable as a founder-led, privately held studio whose value is concentrated in one breakout IP and a long-development cycle.
- Re-Logic: Small independent developer of Terraria, a 2D survival/crafting exploration game. Directly comparable on small-team scale, survival-crafting genre, and one-time-purchase distribution model with multi-million unit sales.
- Facepunch Studios: Independently owned developer of Rust, a multiplayer survival game. Directly comparable small-studio peer in the multiplayer survival genre with comparable gameplay pillars (crafting, exploration, multiplayer co-op).
- Coffee Stain Studios: Swedish indie studio and the publisher of Valheim; also developed Satisfactory and Goat Simulator. Closest comparable as a small Swedish studio monetising survival/crafting and quirky genre games at global scale.
- Ghost Ship Games: Independent Danish studio behind Deep Rock Galactic, a co-op survival/crafting game. Comparable small-team European studio monetising a survival title across PC and console storefronts.
- Klei Entertainment: Independently owned studio behind Don't Starve and related survival-crafting titles. Directly comparable mid-sized indie studio focused on survival games with rich thematic art direction and long content updates.
- ConcernedApe (Eric Barone): Solo developer behind Stardew Valley, a farm-survival/crafting sim with 30M+ copies sold. Comparable as an extreme example of one-developer/very-small-team success in the survival-crafting genre via marketplace distribution.
Regional players
- Avalanche Studios Group: Swedish game developer behind Just Cause and Mad Max. Regional peer as a larger Sweden-based game studio; comparable on country/operating environment, but not on genre or studio scale.
- Starbreeze Studios: Swedish game developer/publisher (Payday 2). Regional peer as another Sweden-based game studio, though it operates at larger scale and in a different genre (co-op shooters).
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Iron Gate Studio social profiles
Digital presenceIron Gate Studio financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Iron Gate Studio leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Iron Gate Studio funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Iron Gate Studio M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Iron Gate Studio
What does Iron Gate Studio do?
Iron Gate Studio develops and publishes Valheim, a Viking-themed survival and crafting adventure game in which players explore procedurally generated forests and mountains, build settlements, combat monsters banished by Odin, and progress through Norse mythology-driven gameplay, both solo and multiplayer. The game is sold as a one-time purchase across major digital PC and console storefronts and has sold over 12 million copies worldwide.
Is Iron Gate Studio a public or private company?
Iron Gate Studio is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Iron Gate Studio founded?
Iron Gate Studio was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Iron Gate Studio based?
Iron Gate Studio is headquartered in Skövde, Sweden, in the Europe region.
How does Iron Gate Studio make money?
One revenue line is on record: game Sales.
Who are Iron Gate Studio's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mojang Studios, Larian Studios, Re-Logic, Facepunch Studios, Coffee Stain Studios, Ghost Ship Games, Klei Entertainment and ConcernedApe (Eric Barone). Regional players are Avalanche Studios Group and Starbreeze Studios.
Does Iron Gate Studio have an API?
No public API is recorded for Iron Gate Studio.