© screenshot Business Harold Halibut Wins Indie Game Award for Visual Design At the Indie Game Awards, Cologne-based studio Slow Bros. took home the award in the Visual Design category. The big winner of the evening, however, was Canadian solo developer Local Thunk with Balatro. The decisions are in: during a streamed event on the night of December 19/20 (CET), the By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© The Game Awards Business The Game Awards Reaches New Record with 154m Viewer Almost 16,000 co-streams on YouTube and Twitch, but also a general increase in interest, have driven global viewership of Geoff Keighley's awards ceremony and new releases show to new record heights. The final result of 154 million viewers is perhaps only an estimate, but there is no By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© Telescope Games Publishing Telescope Games Teases Whale Singer IP with Free Mini-Game In 2026, Telescope Game Studios aims to establish Whale Singer as a transmedia universe, featuring a premium game, an interactive storybook, and an animated feature film. As an additional teaser and a special holiday treat, the Brandenburg-based company has released a narrative short game, Lani's Call, for free. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Elden Ring was developed by From Software, part of Kadokawa © Bandai Namco Business Sony Increases Stake in FromSoftware's Parent Company Kadokawa Sony and Kadokawa jointly announced that they intend to work even more closely together in the future. The alliance will be solidified by Sony's purchase of additional Kadokawa shares, making it the largest shareholder. Neither side mentioned a complete takeover when the new alliance was announced. This is By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
Hooded Horse CEO Tim Bender / Mimimi Co-Founder Johannes Roth © Bender / Simon Troll Publishing Hooded Horse Acquires Publishing Rights to Shadow Gambit From Mimimi Games US publisher Hooded Horse is taking over the publishing rights to Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew from Mimimi Games. The publisher, which specialises in strategy games, is looking forward to helping the game achieve "the long-term success it deserves". Hooded Horse has partnered with Mimimi Games to publish By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
The Games Industry's Perspective on 2025 - Part #4: Head to Head © GamesMarkt, PP Business The Games Industry's Perspective on 2025 - Part #4: Head to Head By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
Paul Schempp, Co-Founder and CEO of Aonic © Aonic Business Aonic Secures €152m Investment for Further Growth Following a year of significant revenue growth, the Aonic Group is once again gearing up for inorganic expansion. This growth will be fueled by a €152 million investment from Metric Capital Partners and Active Ownership. Approximately €100 million of the funding comes from Metric Capital Partners, which is backing Aonic’ By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Cinematic Director Kajetan Kapuściński and Narrative Director Philipp Weber © CD Projekt Red Business The Witcher IV: New Main Character, Geralt's Legacy and Huge Challenges CD Projekt Red dropped a bombshell at The Game Awards 2024 with the announcement of The Witcher IV. We spoke to Narrative Director Philipp Weber and Cinematic Director Kajetan Kapuściński about the game, the challenges and Geralt's legacy. Probably the biggest announcement at The Game Awards 2024 was By Marcel Kleffmann • 8 min read
GTA 6 / Monster Hunter Wilds © Rockstar Games / Capcom Business 2025 to Be the Biggest Gaming Year Ever?! By Marcel Kleffmann • 7 min read
In the past few days, first the CDU/CSU and the Greens, and later the SPD and FDP, presented their election programs or preliminary election programs. © Imago/Chris Emil Janßen (Union/Grüne)/Frank Ossenbrink (SPD)/pictureteam (FDP) Business Update: Programs, Results, Consequences for Games Policy in Germany With the release of draft election programs from the Green Party and the CDU/CSU, the SPD and FDP have now also presented their program drafts. However, not all of them address games and esports explicitly. The cards for games and esports policy will be reshuffled with the Bundestag election By Team Gamesmarkt • 4 min read
© Screenshot Business Call for Projects to Fund for Diversity in SMEs The halt on applications for games funding does not mean that games companies cannot participate in other funding programs. The Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS; Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs) is currently seeking projects aimed at retaining skilled workers in SMEs through greater diversity. This initiative is By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Walid Nakschbandi, Managing Director of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW © Steffen Kauffmann Business Film- und Medienstiftung NRW Funds 26 Games Projects With €1.8m In December, the funding committee of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW decided to support 26 projects with a total of €1,808,000. Three projects were funded for production, eight prototypes and eight concepts. In addition, seven serious games were approved for funding. The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW (Film and By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
