© USK Business USK Insists on Proportionality Principle and Right to Digital Participation The USK has published its statement on the planned EU guidelines for the protection of minors online. The USK addresses three fundamental issues as well as the positive experiences with the protection of minors in games in Germany and points out a possible fundamental conflict with the GDPR. At the By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
Ulrike Küchler and Prof. Thomas Langhanki © Christof Jakob Business Gamebook Studio Wins ContentShift Start-up Accelerator The start-up, which enhances books with interactive content, receives a €10,000 innovation award. In addition, Gamebook Studios and the other finalists will receive workshop days and coaching. It is a great success for Gamebook Studios and proof that books and games are not mutually exclusive media: Gamebook Studio won By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
The Microids crew at gamescom 2024, from the left: Alvin Rabary, Head of Digital; Julien Renzaho, VP Sales & Business Development; Stephane Longeard, CEO; Alexandre Breas, Managing Director France & VP Operations; Boris Hong, VP Publishing Games © Microids Publishing Microids and Arc Systems Works Enter Into Distribution Agreement Microids will distribute the retail version of Double Dragon Revive in EMEA, Australia and New Zealand. The French publisher has reached an agreement with Arc System Works. The agreement that Microids has signed with Japanese publisher Arc System Works concerns Double Dragon Revive. Microids will handle retail distribution throughout the By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Aelxis Bonte replaces Jören Larsson (right picture) © Stillfront Business Alexis Bonte Replaces Jörgen Larsson Stillfront's board of directors has appointed Alexis Bonte as interim CEO of the Swedish games group. He succeeds company founder Jörgen Larsson, who has stepped down as CEO. The personnel decisions are also related to a reorganization of the company with a focus on three business areas. " By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
HandOfBlood, Sterzig, Martin (Maddin) Schneider, Katjana Gerz, Nils Bomhoff and Milschbaum (from left to right) © JvM Sports/Sascha Vojticsek Business Jung von Matt Sports Happy With Twitch Debut of Sparkassen-Hänno After the first stream by HandOfBlood as his charakter "Sparkassen-Hänno" on Twitch, the cooperation partners of Instinct3 are satisfied. The new format was worth it and will surely return, they said. With “Brennpunkt Beratungscenter”, HandOfBlood not only launched a new format on his Twitch channel at the weekend, By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
The main sponsor of Friendly Fire 10 is Assassin's Creed Shadows, which is also clear from the trailer © eosAndy / Andreas Krupa Business Charity Stream Friendly Fire 10 is Taking Shape The countdown to the 10th edition of Friendly Fire is on, and more details are emerging. The line-up of content creators is set, as is the list of organisations that Friendly Fire will support. Since its launch, the format has already raised over €10 million. Never change a winning team By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© Instinct3/Sparkasse Business Sparkasse, Instinct3 and Jung von Matt Plan Improvisational Special With a new format, a reinterpretation of an improvisational comedy show, the Sparkasse (Savings Bank) is entering the Twitch stage together with Jung von Matt Sports and Instinct3. The main protagonist "Sparkassen-Hänno", a character created by content creator and Instinct3 founder HandOfBlood, gets active support from comedians and By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Nintendo is the favourite Consumer Electronics brand of German families according to the YouGov BrandIndex © Imago Business Best Family Brands: Nintendo Beats PlayStation and Apple Together with the SZ Institut of Süddeutsche Zeitung, YouGov Germany has identified the top family brands of 2024. Netflix is ahead in the overall ranking, while Nintendo beats the competition in the consumer electronics sector. No dedicated gaming brand made it into the top ten of the overall evaluation, in By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
Speaker at USK's 30th anniversary with a ceremony © Natalia Morkhova for USK Business Politicians and Industry Celebrate Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle One hundred high-ranking guests from the fields of business, society, politics and administration celebrated the USK's 30th anniversary with a ceremony. There were words of praise, particularly from the world of politics, but this was not always the case over the past 30 years. The founding of the By Stephan Steininger • 3 min read
Jari-Pekka Kaleva, Managing Director of the European Game Developers Federation © EGDF Business WALGA Becomes the 24th Member of EGDF The European umbrella organisation for games developers, European Game Developers Federation (EGDF), welcomes WALGA as a new member. It is the second new member this year, after the Estonian association Gamedev Estonia. The total number of member organisations has thus increased to 24 from 22 countries. The discrepancy is due By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Sebastian Gutknecht, Director BzKJ, and Michael Terhörst, Head of KidD (right) © BzKJ/Uwe Völkner Business Germany's Youth Protection Authorities Praise Dialog With Valve The announcement by Steam that it would not display games without an age rating to German users from mid-November is being described by the BzKJ as an ‘important step’. The youth protection authorities describe the exchange with Steam as constructive and solution-oriented. It is an unusual event in every respect. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
© Quantic Dream Publishing Detroit: Become Human Reaches 10 Million Sold Units According to Quantic Dream, Detroit: Become Human, which was first released in 2018, has now sold more than ten million copies. This figure does not include the units sold through subscription services. Guillaume de Fondaumiere announced the achievement of the sales milestone. The co-CEO of the French triple-A developer Quantic By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
