game: Government falls short of its own gaming policy goals

Two years after the last general election, game takes a sober and disillusioned look at the mid-term review. Chairman Lars Janssen calls for clear progress so that the legislative period will not be remembered as "lost time".

According to game CEO Lars Janssen, from the perspective of German games companies there is currently little reason to praise the government. The 'traffic light' coalition's half-time report is not very positive. Although the game industry praises positive progress in the area of skilled workers or the reduction of bureaucracy in the application process for funding, there is still room for improvement. The association sees the government lagging far behind its own targets in other areas. "If the current legislative period is not to be remembered as a waste of time, clear progress must now be made in the areas of games funding, the non-profit status of esports or location marketing. At the moment, the federal government is still lagging behind the goal it set itself in the coalition agreement to strengthen Germany as a games' location," the CEO of the industry association sums up at the halfway point of the current legislative period.

The industry is facing acute problems due to the freeze on applications. That's why the association reiterates its call for the budget to be increased to €125 million in the short term. The upcoming budget negotiations in the Bundestag are one reason for the vehemence with which the association is pressing this point. This is where parliamentarians can take countermeasures in the interests of the games industry. The chances of this happening are uncertain, given the global political situation. But they are not hopeless. In recent years, not only the "traffic light" parties, but also the conservative CDU/CSU and the socialist party Die Linke (The Left) have spoken out in favour of stronger support for the games industry. So there should be an interest in not stifling the progress that has been made.

But the funding budget is only one component in the games industry's catalogue of demands. In the medium term, the introduction of an additional fiscal games subsidy is necessary. Such a subsidy is unusual in Germany, but is standard in many parts of the world, especially in the games sector. The association would also like to see more and, above all, a conceptually mature commitment to location marketing.

"With the promotion of games, the independent games department and the games strategy, three central cornerstones for Germany's race to catch up as a games location were successfully laid in the last legislative period with cross-party support. One of the results was an impressive wave of start-ups. Now, however, the government is threatening to stall the upswing with a freeze on applications, unreliable funding and a games strategy that has yet to be implemented. This also creates uncertainty internationally as to whether Germany is serious about its goal of catching up with the top international locations," says Janssen. "Many nations and many of the world's most successful companies see games as a key factor for cultural and economic success, for digitalisation and innovation. The German government, especially the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, which has actively taken on the main responsibility for games, must put its money where its mouth is. We cannot survive in international competition with back and forth and political steps. We in the German games industry want to catch up with the world's best under our own steam. This is only possible under competitive conditions."