Kommentar: Geld, Macht, nicht bunt Stephan Steininger November 27, 2023 – 2 min read Share this post © GamesMarkt Esports Nations Cup 2026 © ENC Esports Germany Announces Its National Coaching Staff for the Esports Nations Cup 2026 A team of experienced coaches will oversee the athletes' training in Germany. The coaches have a track record of national success and international experience in leagues and world championships, and have been tasked with preparing the team for the first Esports Nations Cup. By Marcel Kleffmann • 3 min read Nassim “Nassada-” Dahman with the trophy | Picture: DFL/Getty Images/Oliver Hardt Esports Nassim “Nassada-” Dahman is 2026 German eFootball Champion At the two-day final in Hamburg, Nassim “Nassada-” Dahman from SC Freiburg ultimately emerged as the new German eFootball champion and won the Virtual Business League Grand Final by WOW. He is also qualified for the EA SPORTS FC Pro World Championship. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read Borussia Dortmund Wins the VBL Club Championship 2026 © Photo by Oliver Hardt/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images Esports Virtual Bundesliga: "We Succeeded in Bringing the Competition Into Relevant Formats" The Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) underwent significant changes in the 2025/26 season. Ahead of the Grand Final, we spoke to Felix Rentschler, Head of the VBL, about these changes, the league's international and local importance, and how they plan to reach their target audience. By Marcel Kleffmann • 7 min read Campus Game Studies Watchlist 2026 #16 The Game Studies Watchlist newsletter, curated by Prof Dr Rudolf Inderst, is published weekly on GamesMarkt. This week's topics include Horses, the VGHF hiring, and great papers from game studies and game design. By Rudolf Inderst • 3 min read Zenless Zone Zero © HoYoverse Products Zenless Zone Zero Makes Its Debut on Steam HoYoverse's urban fantasy action RPG Zenless Zone Zero will also be released on Steam. It is still unclear whether Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail will follow. By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read Asha Sharma, Executive Vice President and CEO of Microsoft Gaming, and Matt Booty, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer of Microsoft Gaming. © Microsoft Business Strategy Update: Microsoft Gaming Becomes Xbox Almost two months after taking the helm at Xbox, Asha Sharma and Matt Booty have set the course for the future. The company intends to expand into China as well as other markets, and aims to return the business to sustainable growth. Daily Active Users are now the most important metric. By Marcel Kleffmann • 3 min read People In Conversations with... Kevin Fryers In the new ‘Zoran's Update,’ brand and marketing expert Zoran Roso talks to Kevin Fryers about the pillars of modern game publishing, Generative AI in game development, Nostalgia, and brand building. By Zoran Roso • 13 min read Dieter Marchrsreiter during the 20th anniversary of Marchsreiter Communications | Picture by: Alexander Scharf for Marchsreiter Communications Business Marchsreiter Communication is Ceasing Operations Company founder and CEO Dieter Marchsreiter announced that Marchsreiter Communications would be ceasing operations. This means that one of Germany's longest-standing Gaming PR agencies has also fallen victim to the ongoing crisis in the games sector. By Stephan Steininger • 3 min read PandaBee at their caggtus 2026 booth were Beards Go Underground was shown to the public for the first time, from left: Julien Schillinger, Gustav Mehner and Nathan Taylor. (Elisabeth Conrad) People PandaBee Studios: "Mining is One of the Best Mechanics for Games" At yesterday's Second Wind Showcase, PandaBee from Leipzig revealed their mining game Beards Go Underground, a potential deckbuilding smash hit from Germany. We talked to studio co-founder Julien Schillinger about the game idea, making mining feel smooth, and deckbuilding inspirations. By Pascal Wagner • 4 min read
Esports Nations Cup 2026 © ENC Esports Germany Announces Its National Coaching Staff for the Esports Nations Cup 2026 A team of experienced coaches will oversee the athletes' training in Germany. The coaches have a track record of national success and international experience in leagues and world championships, and have been tasked with preparing the team for the first Esports Nations Cup. By Marcel Kleffmann • 3 min read
Nassim “Nassada-” Dahman with the trophy | Picture: DFL/Getty Images/Oliver Hardt Esports Nassim “Nassada-” Dahman is 2026 German eFootball Champion At the two-day final in Hamburg, Nassim “Nassada-” Dahman from SC Freiburg ultimately emerged as the new German eFootball champion and won the Virtual Business League Grand Final by WOW. He is also qualified for the EA SPORTS FC Pro World Championship. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Borussia Dortmund Wins the VBL Club Championship 2026 © Photo by Oliver Hardt/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images Esports Virtual Bundesliga: "We Succeeded in Bringing the Competition Into Relevant Formats" The Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) underwent significant changes in the 2025/26 season. Ahead of the Grand Final, we spoke to Felix Rentschler, Head of the VBL, about these changes, the league's international and local importance, and how they plan to reach their target audience. By Marcel Kleffmann • 7 min read
Campus Game Studies Watchlist 2026 #16 The Game Studies Watchlist newsletter, curated by Prof Dr Rudolf Inderst, is published weekly on GamesMarkt. This week's topics include Horses, the VGHF hiring, and great papers from game studies and game design. By Rudolf Inderst • 3 min read
Zenless Zone Zero © HoYoverse Products Zenless Zone Zero Makes Its Debut on Steam HoYoverse's urban fantasy action RPG Zenless Zone Zero will also be released on Steam. It is still unclear whether Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail will follow. By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
Asha Sharma, Executive Vice President and CEO of Microsoft Gaming, and Matt Booty, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer of Microsoft Gaming. © Microsoft Business Strategy Update: Microsoft Gaming Becomes Xbox Almost two months after taking the helm at Xbox, Asha Sharma and Matt Booty have set the course for the future. The company intends to expand into China as well as other markets, and aims to return the business to sustainable growth. Daily Active Users are now the most important metric. By Marcel Kleffmann • 3 min read
People In Conversations with... Kevin Fryers In the new ‘Zoran's Update,’ brand and marketing expert Zoran Roso talks to Kevin Fryers about the pillars of modern game publishing, Generative AI in game development, Nostalgia, and brand building. By Zoran Roso • 13 min read
Dieter Marchrsreiter during the 20th anniversary of Marchsreiter Communications | Picture by: Alexander Scharf for Marchsreiter Communications Business Marchsreiter Communication is Ceasing Operations Company founder and CEO Dieter Marchsreiter announced that Marchsreiter Communications would be ceasing operations. This means that one of Germany's longest-standing Gaming PR agencies has also fallen victim to the ongoing crisis in the games sector. By Stephan Steininger • 3 min read
PandaBee at their caggtus 2026 booth were Beards Go Underground was shown to the public for the first time, from left: Julien Schillinger, Gustav Mehner and Nathan Taylor. (Elisabeth Conrad) People PandaBee Studios: "Mining is One of the Best Mechanics for Games" At yesterday's Second Wind Showcase, PandaBee from Leipzig revealed their mining game Beards Go Underground, a potential deckbuilding smash hit from Germany. We talked to studio co-founder Julien Schillinger about the game idea, making mining feel smooth, and deckbuilding inspirations. By Pascal Wagner • 4 min read
