© Steininger Business Restart of Federal Game Funding with Restrictions and Reservations Immediately after Christmas, the German government surprised the games industry by restarting federal funding, albeit under less favorable conditions. The absence of a 2025 budget means uncertainty looms over how much funding will be available for larger projects and when it might run out again. While questions remain, the restart By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
© GM Business Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The GamesMarkt team is taking a well-deserved holiday break, and we’d like to extend our warmest wishes to all our readers for a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year 2024 was a challenging year for many, both in the German and international games industry, and it was By Team Gamesmarkt • 1 min read
Distribution Channels for Games © GamesMarkt, PP Business The Games Industry's Perspective on 2025 - Part #5: Products & Distribution By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
© RTL Business Toggo GG to Be Adapted for Linear TV Starting in January Starting mid-January, ten episodes of the gaming show Toggo GG will air on Toggo / Super RTL’s linear TV channel. It is not the first video game for kids to come from the digital realm and make it into the main program of a broadcasting station. The first episode of By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© screenshot Business Harold Halibut Wins Indie Game Award for Visual Design At the Indie Game Awards, Cologne-based studio Slow Bros. took home the award in the Visual Design category. The big winner of the evening, however, was Canadian solo developer Local Thunk with Balatro. The decisions are in: during a streamed event on the night of December 19/20 (CET), the By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© The Game Awards Business The Game Awards Reaches New Record with 154m Viewer Almost 16,000 co-streams on YouTube and Twitch, but also a general increase in interest, have driven global viewership of Geoff Keighley's awards ceremony and new releases show to new record heights. The final result of 154 million viewers is perhaps only an estimate, but there is no By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© Telescope Games Publishing Telescope Games Teases Whale Singer IP with Free Mini-Game In 2026, Telescope Game Studios aims to establish Whale Singer as a transmedia universe, featuring a premium game, an interactive storybook, and an animated feature film. As an additional teaser and a special holiday treat, the Brandenburg-based company has released a narrative short game, Lani's Call, for free. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Elden Ring was developed by From Software, part of Kadokawa © Bandai Namco Business Sony Increases Stake in FromSoftware's Parent Company Kadokawa Sony and Kadokawa jointly announced that they intend to work even more closely together in the future. The alliance will be solidified by Sony's purchase of additional Kadokawa shares, making it the largest shareholder. Neither side mentioned a complete takeover when the new alliance was announced. This is By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
Hooded Horse CEO Tim Bender / Mimimi Co-Founder Johannes Roth © Bender / Simon Troll Publishing Hooded Horse Acquires Publishing Rights to Shadow Gambit From Mimimi Games US publisher Hooded Horse is taking over the publishing rights to Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew from Mimimi Games. The publisher, which specialises in strategy games, is looking forward to helping the game achieve "the long-term success it deserves". Hooded Horse has partnered with Mimimi Games to publish By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
The Games Industry's Perspective on 2025 - Part #4: Head to Head © GamesMarkt, PP Business The Games Industry's Perspective on 2025 - Part #4: Head to Head By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
Paul Schempp, Co-Founder and CEO of Aonic © Aonic Business Aonic Secures €152m Investment for Further Growth Following a year of significant revenue growth, the Aonic Group is once again gearing up for inorganic expansion. This growth will be fueled by a €152 million investment from Metric Capital Partners and Active Ownership. Approximately €100 million of the funding comes from Metric Capital Partners, which is backing Aonic’ By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Cinematic Director Kajetan Kapuściński and Narrative Director Philipp Weber © CD Projekt Red Business The Witcher IV: New Main Character, Geralt's Legacy and Huge Challenges CD Projekt Red dropped a bombshell at The Game Awards 2024 with the announcement of The Witcher IV. We spoke to Narrative Director Philipp Weber and Cinematic Director Kajetan Kapuściński about the game, the challenges and Geralt's legacy. Probably the biggest announcement at The Game Awards 2024 was By Marcel Kleffmann • 8 min read