The business initiation trip goes to Manchester and London, even if there is hardly any time for sightseeing © Pexels/Kris Schulze/Szymon Shields Business Trade Mission to UK Game Hubs Manchester and London Takes Shape Shortly after the election, a delegation of German games companies will visit the British gaming hubs of Manchester and London. The German participants have been confirmed, while British companies interested in meeting potential business partners from Germany are still welcome to register. The business matchmaking trip was launched in 2024. By Team Gamesmarkt • 1 min read
Dr Richard Wilson OBE, CEO of TIGA © TIGA Business TIGA Plans Conference During the London Games Festival The British Games Developers Association has announced its own business conference in London on 3 April, aimed at start-ups and founders in the British games industry. The event will take place during the London Games Festival, but is apparently not part of the LGF. The London Game Festival (LGF) itself By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
Farming Simulator VR © Giants Software Publishing Farming Simulator VR Announced by Giants Software This is hands-on virtual farming: Giants Software has announced Farming Simulator VR. The standalone game on Meta Quest will be available at the end of February 2025. It is the first VR game from Giants Software. Farming Simulator VR will be released on 28 February 2025 for Meta Quest 2, By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
CEO Satya Nadella / CFO Amy Hood © Microsoft Business Xbox Revenue Down Seven per Cent, but Game Pass Posts Record Sales Microsoft's Xbox division saw revenue fall by almost seven per cent year-on-year in the last quarter. While hardware sales are down, Game Pass, Call of Duty and cloud gaming are strong. Microsoft has released its financial report for Q2 FY25 (October to December 2024). The gaming division saw By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
State Councillor Jana Schiedek and Senator for Culture and Media Dr. Carsten Brosda © Jan-Marius Komorek Business Senator's Roundtable 2025 and 20 Press Start: Start-up Grants in Hamburg One of the most important recurring events at the start of the year for Hamburg's games industry is the Senator's Roundtable, which once again provided an opportunity for open dialogue between industry and politics. 20 developers from Hamburg received the Press Start: Start-up Grant. On 29 By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
Dr Andreas Bareiß and Arne Braun, State Secretary for the Arts in Baden-Württemberg © MWK Baden-Württemberg Campus Dr Andreas Bareiß to Succeed Prof. Thomas Schadt in May The renowned Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg is on the verge of a generational change: Dr Andreas Bareiß will take over as director of the film academy, which also offers game design courses, on 1 May. Bareiß will succeed Prof. Thomas Schadt, who has headed the Filmakademie since 2005. The supervisory board of By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
A PlayStation account will also be optional for Marvel's Spider-Man 2. The game is due for release on PC on 30 January 2025. © Sony, Marvel Publishing Sony Drops Requirement for PlayStation Network Account on PC Recent PC releases from Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation Publishing) have required a PlayStation Network account. For two titles already released and two upcoming titles, this requirement will become optional. The recent PlayStation releases on PC required a PlayStation Network account, which was widely criticised by gamers, especially as the games By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
© Yellow Brick Games Products Eternal Strands The first game from Canada's Yellow Brick Games, which employs renowned ex-developers from Ubisoft, Electronic Arts and BioWare, is called Eternal Strands. It's an action-adventure with surprisingly good and creative combat against towering enemies - and it seems pleasingly focused on the core elements. Magic, world By Marcel Kleffmann • 3 min read
FFF Managing Director Dorothee Erpenstein © Picture: FFF Bayern/Archive image Business FFF Confirms 2024 Games Funding Balance FFF Bayern has released its 2024 funding balance, confirming a total of €3.6 million in games funding—an amount that Bavaria’s Minister for Digital Affairs, Fabian Mehring, had already announced in December. However, it appears there was additional funding allocated to the XR sector. Traditionally, FFF Bayern presents By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© IOC Esports First Olympic Esports Games Reportedly Postponed The U.S. magazine Sports Business reports exclusively that the first Olympic Esports Games will no longer take place in 2025. While the report has not been officially confirmed, industry insiders say they would not be surprised by such a decision. The inaugural Olympic Esports Games were initially planned for By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
GOG Dreamlist © GOG.com Publishing GOG Dreamlist Started to Bring Back Games With Greater Vigour Online distribution platform GOG has launched the Dreamlist, a public tool to persuade publishers to re-release games that are no longer accessible. Also: Dino Crisis and Dino Crisis 2 have been re-released. CD Projekt's GOG.com has launched Dreamlist, a community-based tool that allows people to vote for By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
© GM Business Astro Bot and Black Myth: Wukong Receive Seven GDCA Nominations Each The nominees for this year's Game Developers Choice Awards have been announced. Two studios from Asia received the most nominations. Most of the nominated studios from Europe are based in Sweden. From Germany, Osmotic Studios was at least able to make it into the list of honourable mentions. By Stephan Steininger • 4 min read
