Portside Game Assembly is the expert conference for internationally successful indie game studios. © Photos from top left to bottom right: Bjoern Weinbrandt, Bytro Labs, Scherer and Nordhaus GmbH, Jan-Marius Komorek Business Portside Game Assembly Is a New B2B Conference for Indie Game Leaders With the Portside Game Assembly, Gamecity Hamburg welcomes studio heads and directors from successful indie game studios to a new B2B conference on a ship and other locations in Hamburg. The Portside Game Assembly will celebrate its premiere as a B2B conference for international indie game leaders on 27 June By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
Between the preliminary rounds for the IEM Katowice 2025 (picture) and the grand final in front of a live audience, which begins tomorrow, ESL Faceit is announcing partnership deals like the one with Acer. © Enos Ku, ESL Business ESL Faceit Sings Acer as OEM Partner for Counter-Strike Ecosystem Shortly after extending its partnership with Intel, ESL has landed another partnership deal for its Counter-Strike ecosystem. Acer is becoming the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partner of the ESL Pro Tour. This deal was also announced shortly before the first major tournament of the year, the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive © Paradox Business Paradox Interactive Buys Haemimont Games Paradox Interactive has acquired Bulgarian developer Haemimont Games to strengthen its position in the management genre. In the past, Haemimont Games has worked with Kalypso Media, THQ Nordic and also Paradox. Paradox Interactive of Sweden has signed an agreement to acquire all shares in Haemimont Games. The acquisition of the By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
Düsseldorf's Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller with Julia Pfiffer and Tim Schmitz, both Co-CEO of astragon (from left) © Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf/Ingo Lammert Business Everplay Subsidiary Astragon Welcomes Düsseldorf's Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller The purpose of the Mayor of Düsseldorf's visit to astragon was to gain insights into the company and to discuss the positioning of North Rhine-Westphalia as a business hub, potential joint events, and the empowerment of women in STEM professions. Düsseldorf's Lord Mayor, Dr. Stephan Keller, By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA © Archive Picture Business Electronic Arts: Share Buyback, Tracab Acquisition and Switch 2 as an Opportunity EA released its Q3 report after lowering its guidance. EA Sports FC 25 regained momentum, a single Chief Technology Officer was appointed and Tracab Technologies was acquired. CEO Wilson sees Nintendo Switch 2 as an opportunity. After lowering its targets for the third quarter due to weaker performances from EA By Marcel Kleffmann • 4 min read
Chris Mitchell, Senior Director of Marketing at Razer, presented several sets of Sensa HD products to Anneke Hänel, Digital Officer at Elbschule, at Razer's EU headquarters. © Razer Business Haptic Hardware: Razer Teams up With the Elbschule in Hamburg Razer has invited pupils from the Elbschule in Hamburg to a test event at the headquarters of esports team Mouz to give hearing impaired students the chance to try out haptic hardware. The school will also receive a number of these products. In collaboration with the Elbschule in Hamburg, which By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
Participants in the Level Up Accelerator programme © David-Pierce Brill for Games/Bavaria Business Bavaria's Digital Minister Mehring: Cultivate Potential, Think Big At the closing event of the first Bavarian Games Accelerator Level Up, patron Fabian Mehring once again emphasised the importance of the games industry and stressed that Bavaria aims to leverage the potential of its young, creative game studios. The final presentation of the Level Up Accelerator took place at By Team Gamesmarkt • 2 min read
© World's Edge Publishing Two Age of Empires Games Coming to PlayStation 5 Following the announcement that Forza Horizon 5 will be coming to PlayStation 5, two more ports of Xbox games have been announced, this time successful real-time strategy games. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, first released on PC in November 2019, and Age of Mythology: Retold, first released in September By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
Wreckfest 2 © THQ Nordic and Bugbear Entertainment Publishing Wreckfest 2 Enters Early Access in March 2025 THQ Nordic and Bugbear Entertainment will release Wreckfest 2 in Early Access on PC in March 2025. The demolition racer will be built together with the community. Austrian publisher THQ Nordic and developer Bugbear Entertainment from Finland will release Wreckfest 2 in Early Access on PC on 20 March 2025. By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
Assetto Corsa Evo © 505 Games Products Assetto Corsa Evo Just over ten years after the release of Assetto Corsa, Italian developer Kunos Simulazioni has released the sequel Assetto Corsa Evo, initially in Early Access. The franchise is very important for publisher 505 Games. The sequel to Assetto Corsa (2014), Assetto Corsa Evo is the third game in the Assetto By Marcel Kleffmann • 4 min read
Intel will continue to work closely with ESL in the future, ensuring the future of the Intel Extreme Masters, like here in Cologne in 2024 © ESL/Helena Kristiansson Business ESL Faceit and Intel Extend Their Long-Standing Partnership Shortly before IEM Katowice, ESL Faceit and Intel announced an extension of their partnership, which has now lasted over 20 years. Since its launch, IEM events have accumulated more than 2 billion hours of streaming viewership. This is one of the most successful and, above all, longest-running partnerships in esports. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Stanley Pierre-Louis President & Chief Executive Officer of the ESA © Imago/Newscom World Business ESA Warns of the Consequences of Tariffs on Consoles The tariffs imposed by former US President Donald Trump on China, Mexico, and Canada will not leave the US gaming industry unscathed. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is warning of the consequences for American consumers and the broader US economy. The ESA published a statement on its website, cautioning not By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
