Michael Schade, CEO and co-founder of Rockfish Games © Gero Goerlich, 39pix.com Business Rockfish Games' CEO: "56.5% of the Dev Budget Comes Straight From Our Own Pocket" Rockfish Games recently received a record-breaking grant of €8 million. In this interview, CEO Michael Schade discusses the ~€20 million budget, the six-year development period, the importance of the grant for the Hamburg-based studio, and Germany as a location for the games industry. By Marcel Kleffmann • 5 min read
PEGI Director Dirk Bosmans and USK MD Elisabeth Secker have worked together on the changes (PEGI/USK) Business Lootboxes Now Automatically PEGI 16, in Changes Inspired by Germany Age rating system PEGI will incorporate sweeping changes to their classification of dark patterns, inspired by the German USK. Come June, lootboxes will automatically be PEGI 16, blockchain content PEGI 18 and punishment for not logging into games daily PEGI 12. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
Titanium Court © AP Thomson and Fellow Traveller Awards Titanium Court Wins the Main Prize at the 2026 Independent Games Festival Awards Titanium Court, by AP Thomson and Fellow Traveller, won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the Independent Games Festival Awards 2026, held as part of the Game Developers Conference (GDC). None of the nominated studios from GSA won an award. By Marcel Kleffmann • 3 min read
Cover page of Subscribestar.adult (SubscribeStar) Products SubscribeStar Changes TOS Towards Stricter Adult Media Bans Content subscription marketplace SubscribeStar have changed their Terms of Service repeatedly in the last hours, incorporating more bans on adult content out of payment processor pressure. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
Business Subscribe to GamesMarkt+ and Get a Pumuckl Switch or Steam Key We are teaming up with Quantumfrog for a subscription drive and giveaway: The next 10 annual subscribers to GamesMarkt+ will receive a Switch or Steam key of their choice of Pumuckl and the Crown of the Pirate King. By Team GamesMarket • 2 min read
Business LFG Con Organises Business Hub for the First Time and Calls For Speakers This year, LFG Con will also have a business hub for the first time. There, interested parties can learn about entering the games industry through talks, panels and workshops. The organisers are looking for interested speakers until the end of April. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
John Carpenter's Toxic Commando © Saber Interactive & Focus Entertainment Products John Carpenter's Toxic Commando John Carpenter's Toxic Commando, developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Entertainment, is a game that's perfect for fans of zombies and silly, gory 1980s horror action. It combines elements of Back 4 Blood, MudRunner, and World War Z, offering wild and bloody co-op action. By Marcel Kleffmann • 4 min read
emptyvessel Game Director Emanuel Palalic © Ncsoft / emptyvessel Publishing NC America Partners With Emptyvessel to Publish Defect NC America's publishing portfolio is growing with the addition of Defect from Emptyvessel. This partnership enables the US studio to allocate resources to both multiplayer and single-player gameplay. By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
People Womenize! Inspiring Stories: Marie Pierre Thiam In their weekly interview series Womenize! features inspirational, diverse people who work in the games and tech industry, to share their experiences, give valuable advice and talk about their projects. In cooperation with Womenize! and Madeleine Egger, GamesMarkt is republishing these inspirations. By Madeleine Egger • 3 min read
Matthias Linda is suing First Press Games (Linda/FPG) People Chained Echoes: Matthias Linda is Suing First Press Games Seven year's after the Chained Echoes Kickstarter campaign, Matthias Linda is suing German distributor First Press Games over delayed physical editions. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
The four-person team at Aldamami Games comprises: (from left to right): Alice Schneider, Katharina 'Mikey' Müller, David Cafisso and Marvin Braun. Katharina 'Mikey' Müller and Marvin Braun founded the studio. © Aldamami Games Business Aldamami's Bloodletter: Competing for Attention in Turn-Based Games Aldamami Games' Bloodletter is set to launch on Early Access at the end of the month. We spoke to Katharina 'Mikey' Müller about the wide variety of turn-based games available, the idea of altruism and healing rather than fighting, and the development of games in Berlin. By Marcel Kleffmann • 6 min read
Indie Arena Booth at gamescom 2025 (Indie Arena Booth 2025, Rolf Otzipka) Business Indie Arena Booth 2026 Submissions Open Until 13 April The submission period for Indie Arena Booth 2026 has opened today. Apart from several booth options, a range of counties from Europe as well as the bpb and Nintendo offer free exhibition slots. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
