Chris Hewish brings our major C-level survey on the current state of the European games industry to a close. At the same time, we continue our ‘Game Music Petri Alanko’ series. There’s also news on funding, Polaris, Minecraft and IIDEA, amongst other things.
With today's contribution from Xsolla's Chris Hewish, dear readers,
the GamesMarket Industry Leaders Survey 2026 comes to a close. Over the course of three weeks, we have featured a total of 15 interviews. Alternatively, you can find all of the interviews in one print issue (#475). A wide range of current challenges were addressed, from the 'discovery crisis' to the high expectations of European gamers and the fact that some high-quality games fail to achieve the market resonance they need or deserve.
Speaking of resonance, with Control Resonant, Finnish studio Remedy Entertainment has once again demonstrated its exceptional standing in the industry by releasing games that are a little different, full of quirky ideas and surreal and paranormal situations — even though they've replaced the popular main character and changed the genre. Such a bold move, especially outside the indie scene, deserves recognition. Initial metrics show that the game is performing well, but there’s still room for improvement. However, with nearly 43,000 concurrent users on Steam over the weekend, the studio has easily broken its record on the platform – which isn't all that surprising given that Control initially launched exclusively on the Epic Games Store.
At the very least, this disguises the flop that was FBC: Firebreak. Petri Alanko contributed to the extraordinary atmosphere of Control Resonant and gave us a detailed interview in the Game Music Makers series.
Here are the news of the day!
Your Marcel Kleffmann
Duck 'n' Run, Chasmic Drop, Tiny Roar, Heartdriven, EdelErde and thatFain: Gamecity Hamburg exhibits with six indie studios at Polaris Convention in Hamburg from 9-11 October. Playa Games will also be there.
(Read more...)
by Pascal Wagner
How do gaming executives rate Europe's position in the global market? And what key challenges and trends are currently affecting the industry? We spoke to Chris Hewish, President Xsolla (US), to find out.
(Read more...)
by Marcel Kleffmann
BAFTA-nominated Composer Petri Alanko from Helsinki in Finland has made music for Wooga and Supercell, but most importantly you know his work from Remedy's Alan Wake and Control series. We spoke to him about creative pipelines, prototyping music and much more.
(Read more...)
by Pascal Wagner
Two more game studios have received funding from the German Federal Government's Video Game Funding Programme. Grants were awarded to Wild River Games in Ismaning and neoludic games in Cologne.
(Read more...)
With 48,500 visitors, the Zurich Pop Con & Game Show has set a new record. In 2027, the community event will celebrate its tenth anniversary.
(Read more...)
Marcel Kleffmann
The Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association has further strengthened its board with two new appointments. The new members are Pier Luigi Parnofiello, CEO of PG Esports, and Manuel Del Rosso from Warner Bros.
(Read more...)
At Minecraft Live, Mojang has announced the first themed Minecraft Hotel at Minecraft World, the release date for Minecraft Dungeons II, and the first big dimension update for Minecraft Java and Bedrock since 2011 with the 'Sift'.
(Read more...)
Madeleine Egger
02.10. - 04.10.2026: Hero Fest (Bern)
03.10.2026: IAM Gaming Expo (Moray)
04.10. - 11.10.2026: New York Games Week (New York)
07.10. - 08.10.2026: Mobidictum (Istanbul)
08.10. - 09.10.2026: Gamespace Conference (Zürich)
09.10. - 11.10.2026: Polaris (Hamburg)
09.10. - 11.10.2026: SAGA Barcelona Game Fest (Barcelona)
09.10. - 11.10.2026: PAX Aus (Melbourne)
13.10.2026: More Than Just a Game Legal Conference (Brussels)
16.10. - 18.10.2026: SimRacing Expo (Frankfurt)
18.10.2026: GameOn! Games & Gründung Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Ludwigslust)
20.10. - 21.10.2026: Pocket Gamer Connects Nordics (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)
Find more events in our GamesMarket calendar.
