Bavaria and Games/Bavaria Open 'Gamerei' in Munich on 26 July

The Bavarian Ministry for Digital Affairs and Games/Bavaria have announced the opening of a central office space for the Bavarian games industry at the end of July. Called "Die Gamerei - The Bavarian House of Game Changers", it will be located in the east of Munich and will cover almost 1,000 square metres.

On 26 July, the Bavarian games industry will get a new, state-funded home. With an area of almost 1,000 square metres, it offers eight offices on three floors with flexible conditions and in different sizes, a community space and an event area. The new Gameshouse is a Games/Bavaria project and is officially called "Die Gamerei - The Bavarian Home of Game Changers". This also avoids conflict with the "House of Games", an idea from Berlin that is now over ten years old, in which game - The German Games Industry Association is involved and which is currently being realised.

Jumpy Bit, Leyline Creations and ThreeDee have been confirmed as the Gamerei's first residents. Interested teams from the gaming and esports sector can apply now.

The Gamerei project was developed at an unusually fast pace for politics. It was only in February that the Bavarian Digital Minister, Dr Fabian Mehring, surprisingly promised that such a project would be realised in Munich in the near future. And the minister, who only took office last autumn, has delivered, not least because he has seized an opportunity: The Gamerei is located in the former offices of the internationally successful games studio Mimimi Games, which has voluntarily withdrawn from the market.

"The idea for this in-house project was born last year at a strategy workshop organised by Games/Bavaria together with the industry. It was a big wish to have our own centre again. When the opportunity for a perfectly equipped property arose, we pulled out all the stops together with the Ministry of Digital Affairs to realise the project in just a few months," says Lina Timm, Managing Director of Medien.Bayern, where the Games/Bavaria initiative is docked.

In fact, this is not the first time that Bavaria's gaming community has been given a property as a contact point. Originally, the gaming scene was a key component of Werk1, which now attracts young companies from many sectors, except for the gaming industry, with the slogan "The most start-up-friendly place in Munich". Ironically, it was people from the games community who brought the landowners and politicians together for the project.

"With our Gamerei, we are creating a home for Germany's pixel pioneers in the heart of Munich, where the heart of the German games scene will beat loudly! It is an international flagship and a central contact point for Bavaria's concentrated gaming power. It was a matter close to my heart to fulfil the long-standing wish of gamers for a visible location for Bavaria's games, and that's why I have redoubled my efforts to be able to open Gamerei this year - in the Year of Games," says Bavaria's Digital Minister Mehring. Mehring's ministry is providing 560,000 Euros in funding for the project. The project will initially run for two years, which must then be extended.

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