How Challenging is Online Hate Crime Prevention?

People

Atari Appoints Andreas Deptolla as President for Europe and Expands Its European HQ in Münster

Atari is expanding its presence in Europe and has chosen Germany as the location for its European headquarters. Andreas Deptolla will head up the European business as President from Münster. Richard Snowdon has been appointed Vice President of Studios Europe.

By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read

Business

Asha Sharma Wields the Axe, Cutting 3,200 Jobs at Xbox

As announced, the new head of Xbox is turning Microsoft’s console unit on its head. 3,200 jobs are to be cut, 1,600 of them with immediate effect. Compulsion Games and Double Fine are being spun off via a MBO, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs are to be sold, and Arkane is working on a solution.

By Stephan Steininger • 3 min read

Business

When a Game Dies: What Do Video Game Providers Owe Their Players?

The fact that the EU Commission is not currently considering legal changes to the Stop Killing Games initiative does not mean game publishers can do anything they want. IT Law specialist Sandra Spensberger explains the practical implications in her monthly GamesMarket column.

By Sandra Spensberger • 4 min read

People

Atari Appoints Andreas Deptolla as President for Europe and Expands Its European HQ in Münster

Atari is expanding its presence in Europe and has chosen Germany as the location for its European headquarters. Andreas Deptolla will head up the European business as President from Münster. Richard Snowdon has been appointed Vice President of Studios Europe.

By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read

Events

Portside Game Assembly is Set to Continue 2027 Following Another Successful Year

For the second time, 100 carefully selected heads of indie studios have met in Hamburg as part of the Portside Game Assembly for an open exchange in a safe environment. The organisers from Gamecity Hamburg are pleased with the outcome and have announced the date for 2027.

By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read

gamescom

Pearl Abyss Confirms gamescom 2026 Presence

Pearl Abyss will cooperate with Samsung to bring Crimson Desert to the gamescom entertainment area on modern hardware this year. The developer will also hold two talks at gamescom dev.

By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read

Campus

FROG 2026 Submissions Open, Include Subotron Game Jam

Future and Reality of Gaming is leaning ever closer to the games industry this year: The game studies conference, held at Belvedere Museum in Vienna under new organisers, takes place from 20-22 November and welcomes talk submissions for the topic Playing Art until 15 September.

By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read

Development

G+ Why AI Makes Sense in All Areas, But Not For All Tasks

Sunrise Village is still online thanks to the use of AI. Thomas Lehr, Director of Game Engineering at InnoGames, talks about the reactions to the Sunrise Village case, when and how the use of AI can be effective and why InnoGames uses AI to drive growth but not for cost savings.

By Stephan Steininger • 7 min read

People

French Consumer Association on PlayStation: "Profoundly Unfair to Consumers"

French consumer association Que Choisir Ensemble sees Sony's decision to stop making physical games possible on PlayStation as a net negative for consumers: Less choice, no second-hand market, no longterm playability are the consequence, says Digital Policy Officer Frithjof Michaelsen.

By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read