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5000-square-metre international video game industry hub to be established in downtown Oulu

5000-square-metre international video game industry hub to be established in downtown Oulu

Fingersoft, known for its Hill Climb Racing mobile game and collaborations with other game companies, is to establish a video game campus at Aleksanterinkatu 4-6, taking over an entire a block in the heart of the capital of Northern Scandinavia. The facilities, previously serving as the campus of the Architecture Department of the University of Oulu, were acquired in October by rapidly growing Fingersoft and the Oulu-based Rakennusteho Group Oy. The innovative business hub in the heart of a major technology city is unique even from an international perspective. What is more, the entire venture is privately financed.

"The historically valuable buildings are reinvented as an international video game industry hub. We will be invigorating the area in the form of a public cafe, education related to the gaming industry, as well as various auxiliary services, such as a gym, a coffee shop or an accountant agency, and of course high-quality conference and sauna facilities. The block will be an incubator for Oulu-based game companies," states Teemu Närhi, CEO of Fingersoft.

The quarter's history is extensive, as the protected buildings dating back to the 19th century are a part of Oulu's cultural heritage.
"Our partner, Rakennusteho Oy, renovated the perfect facilities for us in the heart of the city, featuring everything we need from an auditorium to a recording studio," Närhi continues.

"Recession can only be beaten with innovative, bold ideas. In our view, Fingersoft's gaming industry hub is as significant to the city's development as the establishment of Technopolis over 30 years ago," Rakennusteho's Managing Director Jaakko Moilanen comments.

"Our job is to make sure that the game developers are able to concentrate on their work," Moilanen adds.
In effect, the hub enables startups to develop their business while networking with established companies. Simultaneously, the facilities provide the necessary contacts for recruitment, financing and product launching.
According to Fingersoft, the aim, naturally, is to collaborate organizations and authorities such as BusinessOulu, Finnvera, Tekes and others in order to enable the developers to concentrate on their work.

The video game campus will begin operations by the end of 2016, with the university functions moving to Linnanmaa.

The property was sold by Suomen Yliopistokiinteistöt Oy.