GamesMarket's daily editorial editorial comment and an overview of all news of the day, not just to your inbox, but freely available online as well. The topics of the day: Science communication with games, a whole lot of gamescom news, EA's takeover and the hosts of the Future Game Show.
I will not jump you with more gamescom commentary, dear readers,
because if you scroll down, there will be more than enough coverage for 'the big one' that keeps us all up for the rest of the month. You also all know about EA's takeover by Saudi-Arabia and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law already. So let me introduce you to a topic of today that flies under the radar in the face of all the big industry news: the science around games, and I do not mean only digital games, is flourishing. In Bonn and Berlin, a new project has received funding that uses regular commercial board games for science communication. In and of itself that is a great endeavour, and I for one cannot wait to see the results. Not just because I would like to see if my favourite board and TCG games have any worth to communicate knowledge (spoiler: I do think any cultural artefact has that worth!), but especially because this is also a heated debate within video game academic discourse. Transfer knowledge between analogue and digital game and science communication would be tremendously valuable.
By the way - did you know that we have a dedicated tabletop, board game and TCG department? Just in case you want to recommend to your board game industry colleagues as well.
Here are the news of the day!
Your Pascal Wagner
Ahead of the 2026 gamescom, game - The German Games Industry Association has published a statement outlining political demands. These demands extend beyond merely strengthening Germany's and Europe's international competitiveness as a hub for game production.
(Read more...)
by Marcel Kleffmann
More gamescom News of the Day:
From emergency contacts to party guides, tips for traveling in Cologne and information for trade visitors and exhibitors: Learn everything there is to know about being at gamescom on our big service portal.
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Susanne Schredl, until now BizDev at Aesir Interactive, enters the C-Level of the company as CBO. She will be responsible for the strategical advancement of the Munich company as well as international partnerships.
(Read more...)
by Pascal Wagner
The SAGA Barcelona Game Fest is taking shape: at a press conference, Japan was revealed as the guest country, along with the visual identity designed by Conrad Roset. The first speakers were also announced.
(Read more...)
The $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts by PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners has been completed. The company will become a private company once again, while the consortium of the three firms brings long-term capital and strategic support for EA's next chapter.
(Read more...)
The gamescom edition of the Future Games Show, which will take place on the Wednesday of the fair, will feature over 40 games. The organisers have now announced the co-hosts: Nick Apostolides and Angela Sant'Albano, who worked on Resident Evil: Requiem as voice actors and motion capture performers.
(Read more...)
Science communication with regular board games, not serious games - that's the aim of a new project at the Bonn Lab for Analog Games and Imaginative Play and Freie Universität Berlin. The kickoff begins in Karlsruhe this September.
(Read more...)
Riot Games' TCG Riftbound will hold its first European Regional Championship in Stuttgart this November. Players can qualify for the World Championship as well as fight for a prize pool of $50,000.
(Read more...)
Marcel Kleffmann
06.07. - 23.08.2026: Esports World Cup (Paris)
05.08. - 07.08.2026: Serious Play Conference (Durham/USA)
23.08. - 25.08.2026: gamescom dev (Cologne)
25.08.2026: gamescom opening night live - tbc - (Cologne/Stream)
26.08. - 30.08.2026: gamescom (Cologne)
27.08.2026: gamescom congress (Cologne)
04.09. - 07.09.2026: PAX West (Seattle)
04.09. - 08.09.2026: IFA (Berlin)
18.09. - 20.09.2026: Gaming Istanbul (GIST) (Istanbul)
18.09. - 20.09.2026: Nexus Nerd Rock Festival (Leipzig)
Find more events in our GamesMarket calendar.
