Dawid Hallmann (left) takes over the German CEO position from Marc-Andreas Albert. In Paris, Sylvain Andries becomes new CFO (Webedia) People Webedia makes Sylvain Andries New Group CFO and Dawid Hallmann New German CEO Dawid Hallmann becomes the new CEO of Webedia Germany, taking over from Marc-Andreas Albert. At the Paris group mother, Sylvain Andries will become CFO in September. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
Second Stone and The 9th Dragon are what two games of the four that Headup brings to gamescom 2026 (Headup) gamescom Headup Announces gamescom 2026 Lineup Düren publisher Headup has revealed its full lineup for gamescom 2026. It's four games this year: Second Stone by Skyward Entertainment and The 9th Dragon by FrameOver are public, the others not yet. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
The projects receiving the highest sums in production funding: Bellfrost and Jeppe & Oswald Funding NRW is Funding 10 Games With 603,000 Euros At its latest meeting, the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW’s Digital Games Funding Committee approved just over 600,000 euros in funding. This will go to a total of 10 projects at various stages of development. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
(Background: Indie Arena Booth at gamescom 2025; Indie Arena Booth 2025/Rolf Otzipka) gamescom Indie Arena Booth: Full gamescom 2026 Lineup The Indie Arena Booth at gamescom 2026 features 11 delegations, 17 publishers and over 180 developers showing their game in the entertainment area. Find every single one in our list. By Pascal Wagner • 5 min read
Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Marius Loewe, President of e-sport.nrw (right; Picture: e-sport.nrw) Esports North Rhine-Westphalia is Funding 30 Apprenticeships for Esports Coaches North Rhine-Westphalia is continuing its support for esports in Germany’s most populous federal state. Thanks to new funding, 30 subsidised training places for esports coaches will be available in 2026. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Games Ground – pictured here in 2025 – will also be funded by the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg in 2026 (Picture by Games Ground9 Funding Medienboard is Funding Gaming Events in the Capital Area With Over €260,000 In the first half of the year, the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg approved €7.3m in funding for initiatives to promote the capital as a media hub. Almost €1m is being channelled into initiatives for new media, including games. Funding for games-only events totals over a quarter of a million. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Nora Klutzny and Paul Taaks (Top row) are the newest members of the selection committee. Nina Müller, Valentina Birke and Dennis Schoubye complete the selection team (bottom row, from left to right; Picture: gamecity Hamburg) Funding Hamburg Announces Second Round of Prototype Funding in 2026 From 4 to 24 September, developers in Hamburg can once again submit applications for funding for a games prototype. Up to 80,000 euros per project is available as non-repayable funding, with decisions to be made by a partially new selection committee. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
The FROG Conference will take place at Belvedere 21 in November (Picture: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Wien) Development Subotron Launches ‘Playing Art’ Competition for Austrian Developers Developers from Austria have until 30 September to submit ideas based on the Belvedere’s Open Content Collection. A jury will select games from these submissions for exhibition at Belvedere 21 and as entries for the Austrian Impact Game Idea 2026 competition. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Daily GamesMarket Daily – 13. July 26: Half-year Charts, Austria, gamescom, Chris Chung, Spiel des Jahres, Forensics The week kicks off with the best-selling games released in the first half of the year, as well as sales figures for Black Flag Resynced and Mimesis. And, of course, we’ve got some new staff profiles and a bit of gamesocm too. By Stephan Steininger • 6 min read
Chris Chung, Head of the Global Business Group Neowiz People Chris Chung to Head Neowiz’s New Global Business Group South Korean publisher Neowiz has appointed Chris Chung as Head of the Global Business Group. Chung is tasked with strengthening Neowiz’s competitiveness as a global publisher. The appointment is part of a reorganisation of the group. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Funding Uzbekistan Launches First Games Funding The Uzbekistan Creative Association has launched the first games funding program of the country. It can provide capital in five stages, depending on proven game success, or assist with marketing and publishing. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
gamescom gamescom History: Innovative, Versatile And Always on Top Since 2009, gamescom has brought the international games industry together in Cologne every August as the numbers show, not least because it has always moved with the times and reinvented itself. The rise from a hunter to the hunted of the international games events. By Stephan Steininger • 7 min read
