People John Hight Steps Down as President of Wizards of the Coast John Hight, President of Wizards of the Coast under Hasbro, is leaving his position after two years. He will remain as an advisor onboarding the next president, who is not yet selected. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
People NRW Minister Neubaur Visits gamescom and Quebec Booth North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister of Economic Affairs will visit gamescom 2026 on a press tour. One of her stops: A meeting with Geneviève Rolland, General Delegate for the region of Quebec. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
Rudolf Thomas Inderst is professor for Game Design and Game Studies at University of Applied Sciences Neu-Ulm (Inderst/HNU) Campus G+ Researcher Spotlight: Rudolf Thomas Inderst In our ongoing series about games researchers, we portrait the people wo bring game studies forward and define how game making is taught and learned at universities. Today in the spotlight is Rudolf Inderst of Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences and regular science columnist here at GamesMarket. By Pascal Wagner • 6 min read
Jin-A Graham, Brand Manager (left), Rob Jansson, Director Commercial Sales Operations (right) and one of the community tour stops in 2025 at Hochschule München (center, photo by GamesMarket) Tabletop Interview: Magic: The Gathering University Clubs in Germany The university clubs for Magic: The Gathering have been running since November 2025, introducing the club program. We spoke to Jin-A Graham, Brand Manager and Rob Jansson, Director Commercial Sales Operations at WotC about this program that is unique to Germany. By Pascal Wagner • 4 min read
Naoki Yoshida at the press conference after day one of the Berlin Fan Fest 2026 (GamesMarket, Pascal Wagner) People Yoshi-P on Fostering Engaged Audiences – and Never Retiring At the Berlin press conference, director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida gave his view on how Final Fantasy fostered its enamoured audience. He also gave his view on retirement: If he ever were to retire from Square, he'd want to remain in the audience as an indie studio founder. By Pascal Wagner • 4 min read
Naoki Hamaguchi (right), director of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series, was the surprise guest of the Fan Festival key note in Berlin (Square Enix) Products Square Enix Reveals FF XIV & VII Cooperation, Call for IP Collaboration At the Final Fantasy Fan Fest keynote in Berlin, FF XIV producer Naoki Yoshida and FF 7 Director Naoki Hamagutchi presented the collaboration of both teams for the MMO's content. Yoshida also introduced a new minigame aiming for outside franchise implementation. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
Products Final Fantasy XIV Drops Switch 2 Version on 4 August At the keynote of Final Fantasy Fan Fest in Berlin today, director Naoki Yoshida has revealed the release date for the Switch 2 version of FF XIV. The game will release on 4 August with a free testing month for everyone. Afterwards, it will need a separate subscription. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
The Saarland x RLP booth has become a tradition at post-pandemic gamescom, here in 2023 (GamesMarket, Pascal Wagner) gamescom RLP And Saarland Show Joint gamescom 2026 Exhibition Booth As in recent year, Rhineland-Palatinate (RLP) and the Saarland have come together for a joint booth at gamescom 2026. Nine main exhibitors and 21 indie studios brought in by gameUp!, Medienförderung RLP, gamesAHEAD and the Saarland Ministry of Economy are exhibiting. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
Background: Botanical Garden (City of Cologne) gamescom Cologne Days: Exhibitions, Sights and Things to Do Need to get some sun outside the gamescom halls or want to fill the weekend when the business area has already closed? Find some tips for worthwhile events around Cologne here for gamescom 2026. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
Nintendo has confirmed its presence for gamescom 2026 as one of the first companies. Who is at the fair as well this year? (Background: KoelnMesse) gamescom Update: Confirmed gamescom Exhibitors 2026 Want to know which exhibitors have already confirmed their gamescom presence? We are keeping count: In our always up to date list of companies, delegations and joint booths with links to additional info on the exhibition presence. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
gamescom Aerosoft Confirms gamescom 2026 Presence Sim publisher Aerosoft has confirmed its gamescom 2026 presence. Along with Winter Resort 3 and Professional Ship Simulator, five unannounced sims will be shown for the first time: In the fields of police work, mining, firefighting, crab fishing and roadmaking. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
Tabletop ConcernedApe and Wizards of the Coast Cooperate for Stardew Valley Magic Set With a Stardew Valley x Magic: The Gathering cooperation, ConcernedApe and Wizards of the Coast team up for a Secret Lair Superdrop that even contains a unique new Land card. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
