Gerhold: Building an Alternative to Established Labels Stephan Steininger May 24, 2024 – 2 min read Share this post Mario Gerhold © Gerhold People Womenize! Inspiring Stories: Kim Fóri 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 • 10 min read People Xbox COO Helen Chiang has Reportedly Stepped Down After just a few months as COO of Xbox at Microsoft, Helen Chiang is leaving the company. This was reported by The Verge, citing an internal message from Xbox head Asha Sharma. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read Deborah Kirkham, CEO of Side; Andrea Cordella, Global Head of Art and Chengdu Studio Head at Side; and Teppei Tachibana, Chairman of Side, President and CEO of Pole To Win Holdings, officially announce Side Chengdu (Picture: Side) Business Side Acquires Roboto, Appoints Codella and Strengthens Its Presence in China The acquisition of Roboto Entertainment is a threefold win for Side: as well as gaining further resources, the games service provider is strengthening its presence in China and, with Roboto founder Andrea Cordella, is gaining an experienced Global Head of Art. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read Daily GamesMarket Daily – 26 Oct 26: German Esports Summit, MAG-C, SkySpirit, TCG Awards, Spiel, Toukana, GameRecruit, Xbox A successful games event in Essen shaped by digital transformation, strategic moves in esports in Cologne and a surprising personnel change at Microsoft – today’s news shows that change is part of everyday life in the industry. By Team GamesMarket • 5 min read Tabletop G+ SPIEL 2026: The Board Game Industry on the Cusp of Digitalisation Board and card games are the epitome of the analogue world – and yet they face the very same issues that preoccupy their digital counterparts. At Spiel 2026 in Essen, we asked people from the industry for their views on AI and its convergence with video games. By Melanie Döring • 4 min read Nerds at Rave (Picture: Rainer Keuenhof/Nerds at Rave) Events Nerds at Rave is Creating a Party Atmosphere at MAG-C After the trade fair comes the party: the MAG-C community trade fair is once again organising an evening programme on the first day of the event in 2027. Nerds at Rave is once again in charge of the music and entertainment programme. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read Indie Treasures Sale 2026 (c) Toukana Interactive Products 200 Studios, 1 Event: Toukana Interactive Organises the Indie Treasures Sale Over 200 indie studios are joining forces for the Indie Treasures Sale on Steam, led by Berlin-based indie studio Toukana Interactive. The aim is to showcase the independent games industry and give smaller games more visibility, just ahead of the release of GTA VI. By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read Business GameRecruit Supports Career Guidance With ‘Next’ GameRecruit has launched ‘Next’, another tool aimed at schools, training organisations and relevant professional bodies, which can use it to help young people with career guidance using playful tasks. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read Jim-A Graham (right) of Wizards of the Coast accepting the award for Equality Impact on behalf of Women+ in Magic (TCG Awards) Tabletop TCG Awards 2026 Honour Women+ in Magic, Star Wars: Unlimited Wins Several Prizes At the inaugural TCG Awards at Spiel Essen, Star Wars: Unlimited won the most prizes while the big three TCGs went home empty-handed. Honoured for their engagement were Women+ in Magic, creator Pleasant Kenobi and the Mulligan TCG Shop from Hamburg. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
People Womenize! Inspiring Stories: Kim Fóri 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 • 10 min read
People Xbox COO Helen Chiang has Reportedly Stepped Down After just a few months as COO of Xbox at Microsoft, Helen Chiang is leaving the company. This was reported by The Verge, citing an internal message from Xbox head Asha Sharma. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Deborah Kirkham, CEO of Side; Andrea Cordella, Global Head of Art and Chengdu Studio Head at Side; and Teppei Tachibana, Chairman of Side, President and CEO of Pole To Win Holdings, officially announce Side Chengdu (Picture: Side) Business Side Acquires Roboto, Appoints Codella and Strengthens Its Presence in China The acquisition of Roboto Entertainment is a threefold win for Side: as well as gaining further resources, the games service provider is strengthening its presence in China and, with Roboto founder Andrea Cordella, is gaining an experienced Global Head of Art. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Daily GamesMarket Daily – 26 Oct 26: German Esports Summit, MAG-C, SkySpirit, TCG Awards, Spiel, Toukana, GameRecruit, Xbox A successful games event in Essen shaped by digital transformation, strategic moves in esports in Cologne and a surprising personnel change at Microsoft – today’s news shows that change is part of everyday life in the industry. By Team GamesMarket • 5 min read
Tabletop G+ SPIEL 2026: The Board Game Industry on the Cusp of Digitalisation Board and card games are the epitome of the analogue world – and yet they face the very same issues that preoccupy their digital counterparts. At Spiel 2026 in Essen, we asked people from the industry for their views on AI and its convergence with video games. By Melanie Döring • 4 min read
Nerds at Rave (Picture: Rainer Keuenhof/Nerds at Rave) Events Nerds at Rave is Creating a Party Atmosphere at MAG-C After the trade fair comes the party: the MAG-C community trade fair is once again organising an evening programme on the first day of the event in 2027. Nerds at Rave is once again in charge of the music and entertainment programme. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Indie Treasures Sale 2026 (c) Toukana Interactive Products 200 Studios, 1 Event: Toukana Interactive Organises the Indie Treasures Sale Over 200 indie studios are joining forces for the Indie Treasures Sale on Steam, led by Berlin-based indie studio Toukana Interactive. The aim is to showcase the independent games industry and give smaller games more visibility, just ahead of the release of GTA VI. By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
Business GameRecruit Supports Career Guidance With ‘Next’ GameRecruit has launched ‘Next’, another tool aimed at schools, training organisations and relevant professional bodies, which can use it to help young people with career guidance using playful tasks. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Jim-A Graham (right) of Wizards of the Coast accepting the award for Equality Impact on behalf of Women+ in Magic (TCG Awards) Tabletop TCG Awards 2026 Honour Women+ in Magic, Star Wars: Unlimited Wins Several Prizes At the inaugural TCG Awards at Spiel Essen, Star Wars: Unlimited won the most prizes while the big three TCGs went home empty-handed. Honoured for their engagement were Women+ in Magic, creator Pleasant Kenobi and the Mulligan TCG Shop from Hamburg. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
