© IIDEA Products IIDEA Names First Finalists For New Games Beyond Entertainment Award On 10 October, the Italian games industry association IIDEA will present its first awards in the Games Beyond Entertainment category. The finalists have now been announced. The winners of the Italian Video Game Awards 2025 have been known since June. At that time, the Italian association IIDEA (Italian Interactive Digital By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Dr Fabian Mehring became Bavarian Minister of Digital Affairs on 8 November 2023 © Andreas Gebert Business Bavaria Strengthens Its Commitment by Doubling Its Gaming Budget The Bavarian state government is sending a very clear signal to the local gaming industry. According to Digital Minister Fabian Mehring, Prime Minister Markus Söder announced a massive expansion of games funding at a strategy retreat. The total budget for gaming policy, which includes further measures, is set to double. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
In the first round of funding alone, Rhineland-Palatinate approved as much money as in previous years. Nevertheless, according to the regional representative of game, the budget must be increased significantly. © Archive Picture by Medienförderung RLP Business Game Rhineland-Palatinate Calls for More Support From State Politicians The regional representation of the game association in Rhineland-Palatinate wants to rise from the midfield of German gaming locations. To this end, new demands have now been made on state politics, which are primarily, but not exclusively, about money. Rhineland-Palatinate (RLP) actually has numerous factors that make it By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
Screenshot from the short video on the GDC homepage © Screenshot Business GDC is Also Evolving in Its Name to Become the GDC Festival of Gaming When Mark DeLoura was appointed Executive Director of Innovation & Growth in the GDC team, Informa Festival Director Nina Brown spoke of her vision for the GDC to become an inclusive festival of gaming. This also applies to the branding, as can now be seen on the Game Developers Conference By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
© Screenshot Business European Gaming Associations VGE and EGDF Launch Pixels to Policy Industry Showcase With the “Pixels to Policy” campaign, the European gaming industry wants to inform about itself, its key figures, and its performance capabilities. The target audience of the campaign, which was initiated by the two European umbrella organizations VGE and EGDF, are decision-makers in politics, but also people who aren& By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
© K5 Products K5 Factory launches Oktoberfest 2.0 for Meta Quest as Full Release Just in time for tomorrow's start of Oktoberfest 2025, Munich-based K5 Factory is celebrating the full release of its social VR game for Meta Quest with new content. In addition, work is already underway on the next update, which is scheduled for release around Halloween. Oktoberfest 2. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© Epic Games Business Epic Games Unveils Plans for In-Game-Sales for Fortnite Creator Starting in December, Fortnite creators will also benefit from in-game sales on their islands. Epic Games has planned attractive terms, especially for the first twelve months. After that, the share for creators will fall to a level that is above that of Roblox, but still below 50%. It' By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
Grand Theft Auto is probably the best-known game IP to come out of the Scottish gaming industry, even though GTA VI, which will be released in 2026, will not be produced exclusively in Scotland, just like its predecessors. © Rockstar Games Business UKIE Wants to Attract Scottish Game Devs With Its Own Organization The British industry association UKIE has launched Interactive Entertainment Scotland (ies), its own organization for the Scottish gaming industry. The industry has grown significantly in recent years and has organized itself with the Scottish Game Developers Organization. UKIE's initiative to give Scottish companies in the British gaming industry By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
© Hans Ippisch/LOOK BEHIND YOU Products "Drei Leben für Games" by Hans Ippisch will be Published in October One month before its release, Look Behind You Verlag announced the autobiographical work "Drei Leben für Games - Mein Weg vom Commodore 64 in die Virtual Reality" by Hans Ippisch. The book includes numerous guest contributions from Chris Hülsbeck, Fritz Egner, David Perry, Jürgen Goeldner, and others. Although " By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
MediaMarktSaturn is focusing on various store concepts in Germany. The “Tech Village Berlin” on Alexanderplatz was reopened in 2022 as a "lighthouse market". © MediaMarktSaturn Business Bundeskartellamt Green-Lights JD.com's Acquisition of Ceconomy The Federal Cartel Office has no competition law concerns regarding a takeover of MediaMarkt/Saturn parent company Ceconomy by Chinese company JD.com. Concerning potential security policy aspects are subjekt to review by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. In the summer, Chinese retailer JD.com made a By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
© AEVi Business AEVI Honors DevContest Winners The Spanish video game association AEVI has announced the winners of the second DevContest competition and announced a sequel, in which it hopes to receive even more support from universities. The final of the DevContest organized by the Spanish video game association Asociación Española de Videojuegos (AEVI) took place last By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Michaela Bartelt and Dr Olaf Coenen © Michaela Bartelt and Dr. Olaf Coenen People Michaela Bartelt Has Left EA Germany, Olaf Coenen Remains MD Michaela Bartelt, who headed the German office in addition to her role as Senior Director of Worldwide Localization, has left Electronic Arts after nearly three decades. A successor has not yet been named. Michaela Bartelt was appointed co-managing director of Electronic Arts Germany, EA's German subsidiary, in By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
