Mehring: "The Federal Government's Funding Chaos is Threatening Germany as a Games Location"

Bavaria's Digital Minister Dr Fabian Mehring has sent an open letter to Claudia Roth, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, regarding the promotion of games in Germany. He criticizes the stagnation of federal funding and the fact that no concept has yet been developed. Once again, he draws attention to the federal states, which he believes could also allocate these funds.

In an open letter to the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), Minister of State Claudia Roth, Bavarian Digital Minister Dr Fabian Mehring has reiterated his criticism of the government's games funding policy. This is due to the lack of a funding concept for the allocation of the 33.3 million Euros budget. Mehring made similar comments at this year's German Computer Game Awards in Munich and later, warning that the government's "funding chaos" should not be at the expense of the games industry. This time, however, he is directly addressing those responsible at the federal level. Dr Robert Habeck Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and game - the German Games Industry Association also received copies of the open letter, which was made available to the editorial team of GamesMarkt too.

Bavaria's Digital and Games Minister Dr Fabian Mehring explains: "The federal government's funding chaos is threatening Germany as a games location. While the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is still not accepting applications for federal games funding, the completely incomprehensible inactivity of the BKM, which surprisingly received funding from the coalition government to promote games in Germany, is now adding to this. Unfortunately, nothing has happened since this pleasant surprise. Instead, the pots of the Federal Ministry of Economics remain empty, while the BKM has 33 million euros in unused funds. It is incomprehensible to me that for months the BKM has not had the slightest idea of how to use the money, let alone a funding concept. This is extremely disappointing and sends a fatal signal for Germany as a location for games and culture."

Responsibility for federal games funding no longer lies solely with the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), as was previously the case, but also with the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Minister of State Claudia Roth. This (BMK) funding will amount to 33.3 million Euros per year and will be available from 2024 to 2026. That is almost 100 million Euros.

Mehring: "If it is too difficult for the BKM to distribute the funds, we, the federal states, are happy to help with our experience and funding expertise! Before the BKM lets the funds lapse, the states could at least help this year and distribute the funds to the German games industry. For this to happen, however, the BKM would have to finally enter into dialogue with us states and develop solutions in the interests of Germany as a games and cultural location." To his mind, it also sends a negative signal to the entire international games and culture industry. In the open letter, he mentions that Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin have been successfully funding games for several years, but that state funding is significantly lower than federal funding. This means that the states cannot fully and comprehensively replace federal funding for games.

"Further stagnation is unacceptable because games and XR are important drivers of innovation in digitalization. Significant developments in AI and XR, which the whole world is talking about today, are thanks to the pixel pioneers of the games world. In Bavaria alone, we are talking about some 200 companies with several thousand employees who are waiting every day for a signal from Berlin. We simply cannot afford to sleep on the future while the global markets of today decide the top positions in the markets of tomorrow", says Mehring.

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