Yesterday, the "unofficial Christmas party" of the German games industry came together in Cologne to celebrate the end of the year, but most importantly, the best games and game makers of Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 2025. While I knew that the German Developer Award was always a very special event, I have a confession to make: Since this year was my first one in attendance, I wasn't aware of how special and important the DEP truly is.

Especially when it came to its societal and political conscience, with clear words not just from the winners, but from the organisers as well.