At the beginning of 2026, Dr Carsten Brosda, the Senator for Culture and Media, met with representatives from Hamburg's games companies and Gamecity Hamburg to discuss the current state of the city's games industry.
On 5 February 2026, Hamburg's games industry came together for the annual Senator's Roundtable – the same procedure as every year. This format facilitates direct dialogue between politicians and industry leaders. Dr Carsten Brosda, the Senator for Culture and Media, and Gamecity Hamburg invited the managing directors and representatives of leading Hamburg-based games companies and organisations to discuss the industry's current conditions and challenges, and to provide an overview of Gamecity Hamburg's activities. The Ministry of Culture and Media was also fully represented at the roundtable by Senator Dr Carsten Brosda and State Secretary Jana Schiedek.
The discussions focused on topics that have been relevant to companies over the past year. Successful events such as Portside Game Assembly, Polaris Convention and Gamesforum Hamburg were highlighted as positive examples of how to strengthen Hamburg's international visibility. Events organised by Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft, such as the German Creative Economy Summit and AI Media Leaders, bring the gaming industry together with other sub-markets of the creative industry. Gamecity Hamburg is also further expanding networking opportunities for local companies throughout the year with new regular networking events, such as a CEO Meetup planned for 2026.
During the discussion on tax credits and the EU's Digital Fairness Act, the companies emphasised the importance of reliable and level playing fields for maintaining the location's competitiveness.
Companies based in Hamburg, such as 4Players, AviaGames, Beardshaker Games, Bigpoint, Curvature Games, Daedalic Entertainment, Fishlabs, gamigo, Goodgame Studios, HAW Hamburg, Initiative Creative Gaming/PLAY Festival, InnoGames, Moi Rai Games, Playa Games, Rocket Beans TV, Super Crowd Entertainment, Sunday, Tiny Roar and Twin Harbour Interactive, participated in the Senator's Roundtable 2026 and contributed to the discussion.
