European Games Markets: Eastern Europe Marcel Kleffmann September 10, 2024 – 6 min read Share this post © GamesMarkt Business Sony's Exit of Physical Discs: German USK Sees Importance of Its Digital Ratings Affirmed In Germany, age ratings for physical games are assigned on a different legal basis to those for online games. The USK is officially recognised for both procedures and views Sony’s withdrawal from discs relaxed from a youth protection perspective. What matters is the reliability of age ratings. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read Vision of a virtual ICS (Picture by ICS) Business Setback For Preservation of Video Games in Germany: ICS Will Not be Continued With the international computer games collection, what is arguably Germany’s largest project for the preservation of video game culture is coming to an inglorious end. Now that the preparations have been completed, there is a lack of public support for the project’s forthcoming institutionalisation. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read Only opened in 2023 was the Istanbul studio. Now, it will be closed (IOI) Business IO Interactive Closes Istanbul Office, Gets Right to Project Fantasy IO Interactive has secured the IP for their Project Fantasy and will finish it independently. However, the loss of their publishing partner means they are closing down their Istanbul office, only established in 2023. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read The group of students and coaches at the Immersive Media Days 2026 (Benedikt Gess/HFF) Campus Immersive Media Days 2026 Showcases Nine Projects from Munich Game Students Nine projects from two cooperative study courses held by several Munich universities together, coached by experts: The Immersive Media Days are a great example of cooperation between games learning and games industry. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read Fuhon by Twinleaf Studios gets the biggest funding amount this round (Twinleaf) Funding Medienboard Gives €1,244mil to Games and XR Projects In the third funding round 2026, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg funds 11 games and 5 XR projects with 1,244 million euros. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read gamescom Gamescom Dev Talk Review: Product/Market Fit In this week's gamescom dev talk review, we look back at a presentation that explores the basics of commercial game marketing. Martin Wein from GameFlex explains what “product-market fit” means, why it's important, and why it's often missed. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read gamescom First gamescom dev legal summit Announced On gamescom dev Tuesday this year, the event will for the first time hold a legal summit. It is organised by game and Video Games Europe. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read Mundi Vondi is one of the founders of Klang Games, the company behind Seed (Klang) People G+ Mundi Vondi on Running Persistent MMO Worlds in Seed For the early access launch of Seed, we spoke to Klang Games' Mundi Vondi about the company's move from Iceland to Berlin, the challenges of persistent online economies and the rise of cosy MMOs. By Pascal Wagner • 7 min read Products Lost in Cult Holds Five Nominations for the Creativepool Awards 2026 UK media publisher Lost in Cult is nominated five times at the Creativepool 2026 awards, several times each for their Editions and Design Works. McDonald's x Minecraft is also on the shortlist for branding. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
Business Sony's Exit of Physical Discs: German USK Sees Importance of Its Digital Ratings Affirmed In Germany, age ratings for physical games are assigned on a different legal basis to those for online games. The USK is officially recognised for both procedures and views Sony’s withdrawal from discs relaxed from a youth protection perspective. What matters is the reliability of age ratings. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
Vision of a virtual ICS (Picture by ICS) Business Setback For Preservation of Video Games in Germany: ICS Will Not be Continued With the international computer games collection, what is arguably Germany’s largest project for the preservation of video game culture is coming to an inglorious end. Now that the preparations have been completed, there is a lack of public support for the project’s forthcoming institutionalisation. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Only opened in 2023 was the Istanbul studio. Now, it will be closed (IOI) Business IO Interactive Closes Istanbul Office, Gets Right to Project Fantasy IO Interactive has secured the IP for their Project Fantasy and will finish it independently. However, the loss of their publishing partner means they are closing down their Istanbul office, only established in 2023. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
The group of students and coaches at the Immersive Media Days 2026 (Benedikt Gess/HFF) Campus Immersive Media Days 2026 Showcases Nine Projects from Munich Game Students Nine projects from two cooperative study courses held by several Munich universities together, coached by experts: The Immersive Media Days are a great example of cooperation between games learning and games industry. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
Fuhon by Twinleaf Studios gets the biggest funding amount this round (Twinleaf) Funding Medienboard Gives €1,244mil to Games and XR Projects In the third funding round 2026, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg funds 11 games and 5 XR projects with 1,244 million euros. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
gamescom Gamescom Dev Talk Review: Product/Market Fit In this week's gamescom dev talk review, we look back at a presentation that explores the basics of commercial game marketing. Martin Wein from GameFlex explains what “product-market fit” means, why it's important, and why it's often missed. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
gamescom First gamescom dev legal summit Announced On gamescom dev Tuesday this year, the event will for the first time hold a legal summit. It is organised by game and Video Games Europe. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
Mundi Vondi is one of the founders of Klang Games, the company behind Seed (Klang) People G+ Mundi Vondi on Running Persistent MMO Worlds in Seed For the early access launch of Seed, we spoke to Klang Games' Mundi Vondi about the company's move from Iceland to Berlin, the challenges of persistent online economies and the rise of cosy MMOs. By Pascal Wagner • 7 min read
Products Lost in Cult Holds Five Nominations for the Creativepool Awards 2026 UK media publisher Lost in Cult is nominated five times at the Creativepool 2026 awards, several times each for their Editions and Design Works. McDonald's x Minecraft is also on the shortlist for branding. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
