New events and applications for Womenize! events in Cologne and Leipzig, an interview with musician Edward Ray and another with SpielFabrique accelerator PM Matthes Lindner, the results of this year's SimRacing Expo and more
What to do when publishers don't pick up many games anymore, dear readers?
A lot of studios are asking the question, and from indie to AA, the answer often becomes self-publishing. While that is by no means easy - discoverability was always a big issue, only complicated by the practice of AI clones becoming ever more present - the skills that are needed for self-publishing are useful in a lot of other cases as well. At least that is what SpielFabrique Project Manager Matthes Lindner is telling us in our interview about their current accelerator program, which aims to make studios ready for self-publishing. I know a lot of studios are wary of paid accelerator programs, especially when they are looking at the topic from a perspectice of financial pressure, but I can certainly see the idea that accelerator programs need to evolve and adapt as well, so it will be interesting to see the results.
Here are the news of the day!
Your Pascal Wagner
He didn't only make the soundtrack to Rogue Ascent: VR by Nooner Bear Studio and Frenzy Extinction as well as pieces for Meat Shot by Tolga Ay, but was also Audio Lead on FIFA Heroes: We spoke to Edward Ray about structure in game music, spotting and his work.
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by Pascal Wagner
With a new accelerator concept, SpielFabrique offers advice on self-publishing in a new sprint-focused online program. We spoke to Project Manager Matthes Lindner about the course, self-publishing as a skill even when signing a publisher, and the costs of an accelerator program.
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by Pascal Wagner
The French video game studio Don't Nod has applied to the Paris Commercial Court for a safeguard procedure due to financial difficulties. The application has been granted.
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by Marcel Kleffmann
The 2026 SimRacing Expo was the biggest yet. The event in Frankfurt will return on 17-18 September 2027.
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Over two years have passed since the announcement that Hooded Horse would take over publishing Drill Keeper from ShoulderByte in Hamburg. The release window has now been set for late 2027.
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Marcel Kleffmann
The Esports World Cup (EWC) has announced its 2027 Qualifier Programme, which is designed to enable tournament organisers and local esports communities to run official qualifying competitions as part of the Road to EWC.
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The Gothic - A Shadow's Quest crowdfunding campaign by THQ Nordic has achieved all its stretch goals. Almost 3,000 backers have pledged more than €700,000.
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With a new event one day before German Developer Award (Deutscher Entwicklerpreis, DEP) 2026 in Cologne, Womenize! is expanding. Applications for the Masterclasses on 24 November at R42 in Leipzig are open now as well.
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With a full day focusing on the new on-site games exhibition including presentations and a strong international focus with contributions from China, the US and Türkiye, FROG 2026 seems as strong as never before.
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Marcel Kleffmann
20.10. - 21.10.2026: Pocket Gamer Connects Nordics (Helsinki)
22.10. - 23.10.2026: W Love Games 2026 (Helsinki)
21.10. - 24.10.2026: Games Industry Conference (Poznan)
21.10. - 24.10.2026: EVA 2026 – Argentine Video Game Expo (Buenos Aires)
22.10. - 25.10.2026: Paris Games Week (Paris)
23.10.2026: German Esports Summit (Cologne)
23.10. - 25.10.2026: FrankenLAN (Bayreuth)
22.10. - 25.10.2026: Spiel Essen (Essen)
29.10. - 01.11.2026: gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show (Bangkok)
03.11. - 04.11.2026: GodotFest (Munich)
03.11. - 04.11.2026: Game Research Days (Jyväskylä)
04.11.2026: Online Service Summit (Stockholm)
05.11. - 08.11.2026: Games Ground (Berlin)
07.11. - 08.11.2026: AdventureX (London)
10.11. - 11.11.2026: MIGS - Montréal International Game Summit (Montréal) 04.11.2026: Invest in Games (Stockholm)
12.11. - 13.11.2026: The Games Forum Roma (Roma)
14.11. - 22.11.2026: Dutch Games Week (Breda)
17.11. - 18.11.2026: DevGamm Lisbon (Lisbon)
18.11.2026: DevGamm Awards (Lisbon)
18.11. - 21.11.2026: Play26 Festival (Hamburg)
Find more events in our GamesMarket calendar.
