NG24 Spring and What GSA Companies Think of the Event

The NG24 Spring conference ended just one month ago. It is time to draw some conclusions from the conference, as GamesMarkt was also on site in Malmö. And we interviewed a number of companies from the GSA, including Gamecity Hamburg, medianet berlinbrandenburg, SwissGames, About Cannons + Sparrows, Torpor Games, Giants Software, Second Stage and Rocky Oceans Communications.

NG24 Spring, the biggest event of the Nordic Game Conference, took place for the 20th time this year. A little over a month has passed since the conference ended and it's time to sum up together with the exhibitors from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. For me it was the first Nordic Game ever and my impression was quite positive. Unlike other conferences, the programme seemed to be well filled, but especially compared to devcom, everything is smaller and more compact, almost more familiar.

The event was held in a rather unique location, the winding Slagthuset in Malmö, Sweden - although I felt that the event could have used a little more space in some areas. Some of the booths or even stages seemed to be set up in the middle of the floor or in a corner, while other booths were placed on the sloping floor, which is why some of the stands were literally crooked. The Meet-to-Match area was quite crowded with over 50 tables, although some tables had already been moved to the Developer Showcase floor.

Talking of the Developer Showcase. This area has grown considerably, whether it was joint booths or individual booths from numerous indie developers. Sometimes it was so crowded that it was difficult to get through. One booth was a bit out of the way because it was showing a game with "nudity". In total, more than 150 new and upcoming games will be presented from the Nordic countries, but also from countries around the world, including the Philippines, Canada, Spain and Germany. Away from the exhibition areas, there was a large theatre where the big presentations and keynotes were held, while other lectures, talks, (the new) fireside chats and discussions took place in closed rooms or elsewhere on the show floor. The latter was not quite as good as the former because there were always too many people walking past.

Overall, the atmosphere at NG24 Spring was good. Participants were friendly and relaxed, and despite the hustle and bustle, it was almost cozy and quiet. Although there were no typical security checks with bag searches and the like at the entrance, there was a noticeable presence of security personnel on site and all participants had to clearly and publicly accept the code of conduct on their badge. All of this may have been in response to allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct by conference staff two years ago. GamesMarkt also raised this issue in our interview with programme director and executive producer Jacob Riis and managing director Erik Robertson. An independent reporting centre has also been set up to report inappropriate behaviour. The organisers have obviously learned their lesson.

It was also noticeable how many representatives from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were at NG24 Spring. In Malmö you could see many familiar faces from GSA, such as Zoran Roso, Markus Zierhofer, CEO of AudioCreatures, Thorsten Feldmann from Thera Bytes . The newly formed marketing and PR agencies Second Stage (Matthias Mirlach and Christian Szymanski) and Rocky Oceans (Dirk Gärtner and Claudia Kühl) were also present in Malmö, while Giants Software presented itself prominently as an employer looking for specialised staff.

"Nordic Game to me is a fixed date in the calendar every year, been in Malmö to attend in person or in the online version during the Covid years for 16 years now. Nordic Game Spring is always great networking with the Scandinavian region and other European participants." - Dieter Marchsreiter, CEO & Managing Director, Marchsreiter Communications GmbH

The conference is an interesting venue for location initiatives. Gamecity Hamburg and medianet Berlin-Brandenburg shared a stand. They had a total of eight local indie developers with them, who presented their games and networked. Swiss Games had the same idea and brought several up-and-coming indie studios to the Slagthuset. Gamecity Hamburg brought About Cannons + Sparrows, Amberdive Interactive, Pipapo Games and Markus Koepke. medianet berlinbrandenburg had the following studios on site: Bad Spiele Studio, Food for Thought Media, Telescope Game Studio and Torpor Games. SwissGames came to the event with seven studios, including Early Coffee Games, Flawberry Studio, Kipwak Studio, LUAL Games, Momento Games, Strangers, and Strobetano. In addition to the German and Swiss booths, there were many other booths in the same hall, including booths from the Nordic countries and Moldova. In any case, there was a lot of creative gaming potential from all over the world on display.

And then, on Thursday evening, there was the German Reception, where beer was served in the adjacent restaurant, and as expected, the contingent was quickly exhausted. But now it's time for the GSA officials to speak, starting with Gamecity Hamburg & About Cannons + Sparrows and medianet berlinbrandenburg & Torpor Games.

Gamecity Hamburg, Location Initiative for the Games Ecosystem in Hamburg

GamesMarkt: Was it worth visiting the NG24 Spring in Malmö?

Margarete Schneider (Project Manager) and Anna Jäger (PR Manager): "We were able to make many exciting contacts from the Northern European region at NG Spring and beyond, as well as strengthen existing ones. Through the Games Policy Summit, we were able to gain new impetus, for example on new strategies for funding or suggestions for sustainable (gamedev) support systems.  We are particularly pleased that a Hamburg studio, About Cannons + Sparrows, was able to present their game project impressively in the final of the Spring Pitch Battle, with a lot of positive feedback from the audience and beyond. The other games that we brought to NG Spring with our "Road to Nordic" program also received a lot of positive feedback at their game stations and in their meetings."

GamesMarkt: Why did you decide to attend the event?

Margarete Schneider (Project Manager) and Anna Jäger (PR Manager): "Our focus is on the developer studios in Hamburg. Through our "Road to" program, we enable them to present themselves at international events, make relevant business contacts and present their games to a broad B2B and B2C audience. With its size and location, Nordic offers a suitable location for our "Road to" program. But the conference was also a good place for the Gamecity team to meet up with relevant contacts."

GamesMarkt: What did you think of this year's NG Spring 24 and would you like to be part of it again next year?

Margarete Schneider (Project Manager) and Anna Jäger (PR Manager): "We are bringing lot of good impressions and good conversations back to Hamburg from this year's event. The appointments and events organized by local organizations such as Game Habitat (Game Hub in Malmö) and WINGS (support and promotion of women and marginalized gender developers) running parallel to NG Spring also positively complemented our stay in Malmö. We will evaluate participation next year in good time."

About Cannons + Sparrows, indie video game company based in Hamburg

GamesMarkt: Was it worth visiting the NG24 Spring in Malmö?

Daniel Balzer (Co-Founder): "In short - yes! We met publishers interested in our game, got valuable player feedback for our demo, and bonded with a lot of fellow game devs. Malmö is a pretty city with nice restaurants, bars and cafes so before and after the convention there is plenty to do."

GamesMarkt: Why did you decide to attend the event?

Daniel Balzer (Co-Founder): "We are currently looking for a publishing-partner to get production funding."

GamesMarkt: What did you think of this year's NG Spring 24 and would you like to be part of it again next year?

Daniel Balzer (Co-Founder): "It all depends on whether or not we'll find a publisher soon. If yes, we'd focus on production and attend again when we are close to release."

medianet berlinbrandenburg, location initiative for the Games Ecosystem in Berlin and Brandenburg

GamesMarkt: Was it worth visiting the NG24 Spring in Malmö?

Florian Masuth (Head of medianet Games & New Business at medianet berlinbrandenburg): "NG Spring 24 was a great success for us. Not only did we continue our activities of bringing Berlin-based studios to the conference, as in many previous years. We were also able to meet interesting contacts who can play a vital role in furthering our international cooperation for the association and Germany's capital region."

GamesMarkt: Why did you decide to attend the event?

Florian Masuth (Head of medianet Games & New Business at medianet berlinbrandenburg): "We had a multi-facetted agenda for this year's conference. Besides the mentioned delegation, we took part in the NG24 policy day, cooperated for a program of our Interreg project BSG-Go with topics like mentorship, equality and the founding of a European network of game hubs and co-hosting the "Germany meets the Nordics" reception with our partners game and BMWK as part of our activities in the Games Germany network."

GamesMarkt: What did you think of this year's NG Spring 24 and would you like to be part of it again next year?

Florian Masuth (Head of medianet Games & New Business at medianet berlinbrandenburg): "With a very successful and full program on our plates and the goal of representing the Games Capital Berlin internationally, we enjoyed our time in Malmö, where Nordic Game Conference is one of the most important international games business conferences, and are firmly planning to return in 2025 and coming years."

Torpor Games, indie video game company based in Berlin

GamesMarkt: Was it worth visiting the NG24 Spring in Malmö?

Ata Sergey Nowak (Co-Founder & Managing Director): "Absolutely, it was immensely worthwhile for us. Our participation and selection in the Nordic Games Capital Summit allowed us to pitch our company and future plans to investors, attracting several potential partners. We had a booth as part of the medianet berlinbrandenburg and Hamburg teams, where we showcased our latest DLC for Suzerain, "The Kingdom of Rizia," featuring the new turn-based war mechanic. We received a lot of positive feedback from both fans and new attendees who enjoyed the game experience. Additionally, our type of games resonates well with the Nordic audience, leading to higher engagement with fans and people who appreciate our content."

GamesMarkt: Why did you decide to attend the event?

Ata Sergey Nowak (Co-Founder & Managing Director): "We attended the event to seek out new business partners and advance our fundraising efforts. Another key objective was to gather feedback on the latest iteration of our DLC war mechanic. Moreover, we wanted to stay abreast of the latest changes and developments in the Nordic games industry and get in touch with tools companies that can improve our content production. We accomplished many of our goals and even connected with new studios, including some from the Google Indie Accelerator program, which we are part of this year in 2024."

GamesMarkt: What did you think of this year's NG Spring 24 and would you like to be part of it again next year?

Ata Sergey Nowak (Co-Founder & Managing Director): "We found the event to be well-organized and dynamic. The convention felt very safe, with ample security and safety staff present at all times. There were numerous talks and opportunities for knowledge transfer. The Nordic region has a high concentration of midcore and hardcore gamers, which is crucial for us as it allows us to engage directly with our target audience and investors who have a track record of growth through iteration. We definitely plan to attend next year with new offerings from the Suzerain Universe. A special thanks to medianet for hosting us!"

Swiss Games, location initiative for the Games Ecosystem in Switzerland

GamesMarkt: Was it worth visiting the NG24 Spring in Malmö?

Cécile Vulliemin, Head of Design Pro Helvetia: "Yes very much – the SwissGames delegation, a delegation of 6 Swiss indie game studios could definitely benefit of their attendance and showcase at the NG Spring 24: some were attending such a professional gathering for the first time, with their first game, while some were more experienced - whatever phase you're studio is at, the scale as well as the quality of the event and attendees makes it worthwhile to be here to create new and maintain business relationships."

GamesMarkt: Why did you decide to attend the event?

Cécile Vulliemin, Head of Design Pro Helvetia: For our studios, building a sustainable international network of contacts is crucial for success in their upcoming projects. This network is essential not only for collaboration and industry insights but also for finding potential financing partners. Leveraging the dynamic ecosystems that the Nordics have developed over the last few decades can significantly benefit our studios in multiple ways

GamesMarkt: What did you think of this year's NG Spring 24 and would you like to be part of it again next year?

Cécile Vulliemin, Head of Design Pro Helvetia: "Nice, cosy, buzzing atmosphere with most relevant inputs in terms of the future developments of the industry. As SwissGames/Swiss Arts Council PH, an interesting moment was the Nordic Games Policy Summit to exchange with European colleagues on the ways to boost the game industries in our respective regions and share about commonalties, differences and also mistakes, so that we try to avoid them! For all the abovementioned reasons, we would most certainly like to be back next year - Nordic Game Conference is one of a kind."

Giants Software, video games developer based in Zurich

GamesMarkt: Was it worth visiting the NG24 Spring in Malmö?

Martin Rabl, als Head of Marketing & PR: "At Giants Software, we are always happy to take part in various events and present our brand to partners, players and customers. In Malmö, we not only had a stand but also contributed to the conference programme by giving a talk on esports, explaining the structure of the Farming Simulator League and how we set up a complete league to a very interested audience."

GamesMarkt: Why did you decide to attend the event?

Martin Rabl, als Head of Marketing & PR: "Our primary aim is to raise awareness of our company: we communicate our company as the market leader in the simulation genre and show the complex structures and areas of application that our Farming Simulator offers. Combined with our down-to-earth continuity and globally successful brand, we present our owner-managed company as a flexible and innovative business that has grown from a developer to a publisher with stable growth. Thanks to our ongoing activities, the level of awareness of Giants Software has increased enormously in recent years. Of course, HR is also an issue for us, as the growing tasks require additional personnel - we currently have job advertisements for all four locations. We also see a conference like this as a good opportunity to make first contact with students and job seekers."

GamesMarkt: What did you think of this year's NG Spring 24 and would you like to be part of it again next year?

Martin Rabl, als Head of Marketing & PR: "We were pleased with our presence - we were able to showcase our brand again and extend our global approach to this region. We can now justifiably call ourselves an established exhibitor and are strengthening our local contacts. Of course, the number of new contacts is lower, but we met enthusiastic fans with the same good visitor numbers. The interest is definitely there. We will be exploring opportunities for a talk next year, but it is still too early to say anything definite."

Rocky Oceans Communications, PR, marketing, events and more

GamesMarkt: Was it worth visiting the NG24 Spring in Malmö?

Dirk Gärtner and Claudia Kühl, both co-founders: "Definitely! Not only because of the many exciting indie projects we were able to see, old friends and acquaintances from the industry, potential new partners and good ideas we brought back, but also because the Nordic is just a great overall experience with its positivity and uncomplicated friendliness and open-mindedness. It's great to see it growing a little bit every year and attracting more and more visitors from other European countries and even from overseas."

GamesMarkt: Why did you decide to attend the event?

Dirk Gärtner and Claudia Kühl, both co-founders: "Weswegen habt Ihr die Veranstaltung besucht? For us, Nordic was more or less the launch event for the new agency. We weren't expecting much apart from exciting new games and catching up with friends and partners, but we did come away with a few project enquiries."

GamesMarkt: What did you think of this year's NG Spring 24 and would you like to be part of it again next year?

Dirk Gärtner and Claudia Kühl, both co-founders: "All in all, a fantastic week and we will definitely be back in 2025!"

Second Stage, marketing agency offering marketing intelligence solutions for games companies

GamesMarkt: Was it worth visiting the NG24 Spring in Malmö?

Matthias Mirlach, co-founder: "Nordic Game was an absolute success for us. We were able to establish and intensify existing contacts and gather valuable impulses in many discussions with marketers, developers and publishers from the entire Scandinavian region - and to explain our innovative offer for marketing intelligence in gaming to international partners. Nordic Game offers a very informal setting in which you can quickly make contacts, and the conference program justifies a visit in every respect."

GamesMarkt: Why did you decide to attend the event?

Matthias Mirlach, co-founder: "Together with our friends from Attract Mode Agency, we were able to present a well-attended keynote on data-driven marketing as part of the Nordic Game conference, and Nordic Game is also an important networking event for us in the Scandinavian region."

GamesMarkt: What did you think of this year's NG Spring 24 and would you like to be part of it again next year?

Matthias Mirlach, co-founder: "In our opinion, Nordic Game has outdone itself this year for its anniversary - the high number of games presented and top-class presentations such as Johan Pilestadt's presentation on Helldivers 2 underline this. For us, Nordic Game is a fixed date in the calendar, and that won't change in 2025."

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