Erisia Launches Curry.gg to Increase Transparency Beyong Top Tiers Stephan Steininger June 13, 2025 – 3 min read Share this post Gaëtan Albert (Hakio) and Juliette Martin (Yaya), the founders of Erisia, have developed Curry.gg © Erisia Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Marius Loewe, President of e-sport.nrw (right; Picture: e-sport.nrw) Esports North Rhine-Westphalia is Funding 30 Apprenticeships for Esports Coaches North Rhine-Westphalia is continuing its support for esports in Germany’s most populous federal state. Thanks to new funding, 30 subsidised training places for esports coaches will be available in 2026. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read Picture by EWC Esports Esports World Cup 2026 Kicks Off With Star-Studded Ceremony The 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) kicked off in Paris last night with a grand opening ceremony featuring, amongst others, Aya Nakamura, DJ Snake, Theodora and Mosimann. Until 23 August, over 2,000 athletes from 200 clubs will compete against one another in 25 tournaments. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read Klemens Witt, Florian von Keller, Markus Möckel, Christian Hotz (from Left to Right) were elected as Vice Presidents (Picture: ESBD) People ESBD Members Elects New VPs And Create New Role For Regional Representatives At their general meeting, the members of the ESBD filled three vice-presidential posts with Klemens Witt, Christian Hotz and Markus Möckel. Florian von Keller was also appointed as a vice-president; he will be the first representative of the regional associations on the ESBD Executive Committee. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read People Womenize! Inspiring Stories: Christina Luntz In their weekly interview series Womenize! features inspirational, diverse people who work in the games and tech industry, to share their experiences, give valuable advice and talk about their projects. In cooperation with Womenize! and Madeleine Egger, GamesMarkt is republishing these inspirations. By Madeleine Egger • 3 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 Daily GamesMarket Daily – 24. July 26: Brown Leaves GDC, Funding, Caggtus, Bandai Namco x Koei Tecmo, Ubisoft, Xbox A change at the helm of the GDC, growth plans for Caggtus and more supporting events at gamescom – today’s news is dominated by events and new funding figures. By Stephan Steininger • 6 min read Nina Brown at the opening of the Festival Hall at the GDC Festival of Gaming 2026 (Photo: GDC under CC BY 4.0) People Nina Brown Has Left The GDC Team, Suzy Pallett in Charge Change at the top of the GDC Festival of Gaming: President Nina Brown has left the team. Gaming Division President Suzy Pallett will now lead the team. No further details were given. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Marius Loewe, President of e-sport.nrw (right; Picture: e-sport.nrw) Esports North Rhine-Westphalia is Funding 30 Apprenticeships for Esports Coaches North Rhine-Westphalia is continuing its support for esports in Germany’s most populous federal state. Thanks to new funding, 30 subsidised training places for esports coaches will be available in 2026. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Picture by EWC Esports Esports World Cup 2026 Kicks Off With Star-Studded Ceremony The 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) kicked off in Paris last night with a grand opening ceremony featuring, amongst others, Aya Nakamura, DJ Snake, Theodora and Mosimann. Until 23 August, over 2,000 athletes from 200 clubs will compete against one another in 25 tournaments. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
Klemens Witt, Florian von Keller, Markus Möckel, Christian Hotz (from Left to Right) were elected as Vice Presidents (Picture: ESBD) People ESBD Members Elects New VPs And Create New Role For Regional Representatives At their general meeting, the members of the ESBD filled three vice-presidential posts with Klemens Witt, Christian Hotz and Markus Möckel. Florian von Keller was also appointed as a vice-president; he will be the first representative of the regional associations on the ESBD Executive Committee. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
People Womenize! Inspiring Stories: Christina Luntz In their weekly interview series Womenize! features inspirational, diverse people who work in the games and tech industry, to share their experiences, give valuable advice and talk about their projects. In cooperation with Womenize! and Madeleine Egger, GamesMarkt is republishing these inspirations. By Madeleine Egger • 3 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
Daily GamesMarket Daily – 24. July 26: Brown Leaves GDC, Funding, Caggtus, Bandai Namco x Koei Tecmo, Ubisoft, Xbox A change at the helm of the GDC, growth plans for Caggtus and more supporting events at gamescom – today’s news is dominated by events and new funding figures. By Stephan Steininger • 6 min read
Nina Brown at the opening of the Festival Hall at the GDC Festival of Gaming 2026 (Photo: GDC under CC BY 4.0) People Nina Brown Has Left The GDC Team, Suzy Pallett in Charge Change at the top of the GDC Festival of Gaming: President Nina Brown has left the team. Gaming Division President Suzy Pallett will now lead the team. No further details were given. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read