gamescom latam-CEO Gustavo Steinberg: "Year after year, gamescom latam BIG Festival has established itself as an important space not only for showcasing incredible games from around the world, but also for connecting with the audience." © gamescom latam Business Submissions for BIG Festival Awards Are Now Open Although gamescom in Cologne and gamescom asia in Bangkok are still coming up this year, it is already time to start planning for gamescom latam 2026: The BIG Festival, which is part of the event, has opened the submission phase for its awards. This year, studios from the GSA region By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© Pexels Products These Studios Received Almost €10 Million in Funding from the BKM With new elections on the horizon, the old government briefly launched a games funding programme at the turn of the year, using money from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media's (BKM; Bundeskulturstaatsministerin) budget. The games approved for funding from this pot have now been included By Stephan Steininger • 3 min read
So far, the funding commitments currently being published are still based on applications submitted before Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär took over responsibility for games funding. However, her new call for proposals, which has been open for new submissions since the beginning of August, will soon lead to a massive increase in commitments. © Bundesregierung/Steffen Kugler Business Funding Approvals for WastedStudios and King Art The federal government has approved funding of €350,000 for the two studios King Art and WastedStudios. This brings the number of approvals this year to 16. The new entries became visible after a change apparently meant that no current funding projects from the games sector were available for several By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
After his own malt drink, Maximilian Knabe (HandOfBlood) now also gets his own cola © Instinct3 Business HandOfBlood and Instinct3 Expand FMCG-Partnership With Krombacher Following the success of Knabe Malz, Maximilian Knabe (HandOfBlood), his agency Instinct3 and Drinks & More, part of Krombacher, are launching two cola drinks onto the market. Shortly before gamescom, Knabe Kola and Knabe Kola Zero Sugar will go on sale at Netto, Edeka, Globus and other selected retailers. The By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© EFGAMP Business EFGAMP Offers Its Expertise in Game Preservation to the EU The European Federation for Game Archives, Museums and Preservation Projects (EFGAMP) has published a statement on the so-called Stop Killing Videogames Initiative. In it, EFGAMP welcomes the debate sparked by the initiative and offers the EU its advice and expertise as a partner. As an association committed to the preservation By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© Screenshot Campus Raw Talent: German State Universities Organise Their Own Indie Booth Following a mini appearance at the Home of Indies Booth 2024, eleven state universities from Germany have joined forces to create their own Raw Talent Booth. Fifty teams comprising around 160 students will present their games in a 63-square-metre space. It is the dream of many game design students to By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
© MFG Business Baden-Württemberg: New Funding Guidelines in Effect, Submissions Possible Following approval by the EU, the new and revised funding guidelines for games in Baden-Württemberg are now in effect. Applications can be submitted. The next deadline is 31 August. After a break, funding for games in Baden-Württemberg has resumed. MFG Baden-Württemberg had revised and further developed the funding guidelines for By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Manual Bronstein during the RDC 2024 Stream © Screenshot People Chief Product Officer Manuel Bronstein to Leave Roblox Roblox has reported strong second-quarter figures for revenue, DAUs and payers. The net loss grew anyway. And Chief Product Officer Manuel Bronstein has announced his departure. Roblox continues to be a phenomenon. In the second quarter of 2025, the platform of the company of the same name recorded revenue of By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© Itch.io Business NSFW: Itch Begins Relisting, Banking Partners Put Pressure on Stripe In its developer updates, Itch initially announced the relisting of free NSFW content. Itch also published a disturbing statement from its payment partner Stripe. According to its own statements, the Itch platform has begun relisting NSFW content. However, in a first step, only free adult content will be made available By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
The founders of Maschinen Mensch had to make a difficult decision (from left): Johannes Kristmann and Riad Djemili © Maschinen Mensch Business Economic Situation Forces Maschinen-Mensch to Cease Operations Maschinen-Mensch is yet another award-winning German studio to close its doors. Although the Berlin-based company hopes to make a comeback, it is initially focusing on supporting its team members in their search for new opportunities. The latest release from Maschinen Mensch, a studio founded eleven years ago, came out just By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
CEO Martin Walfisz will leave Thuderful by the end of the year at the latest © Thunderful Business Restructuring, Atari Investment and CEO Change to Bring Back Success The Board of Directors of the Thunderful Group wants to get the company back on track with a series of measures. These include cost reductions and fresh capital from Atari. In addition, a change of CEO is planned and an extraordinary general meeting has been scheduled. The Swedish Thunderful Group By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
