Mika Tammenkoski, CEO and co-founder at Metacore © Jussi Ratilainen Business Metacore Shutters German and Swedish Locations, 159 Layoffs in Finland As part of the acquisition through Supercell, Metacore is not only laying off 159 people in Finland, but is fully shuttering operations in its Germany and Sweden offices. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
Arizona Sunshine, one of their best-known VR titles. (Vertigo Games) VR-XR-MR Vertigo Games Shutters Amsterdam Studio, Formerly Force Field Plaion daughter Vertigo Games has announced the closure of its Amsterdam office, the former Force Field Entertainment. CEO Richard Stitselaar says that "the VR market remains a challenging space". By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
Close, but no AI (yet): Mr Potato Head Chips Cheesie Onionton (Hasbro) Tabletop Hasbro's Launches AI Studio to Control How Its Brands are Portrayed in Generated Content With Sixth Wall, Hasbro wants to take control over how its brand characters are portrayed by genAI. The new studio partners with ElevenLabs to license twelve Hasbro characters to their AI marketplace - all from the toy and boardgame section. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
Global Esports Industry Week 2026 (c) The Esports Radar, Esports Integrity Commission, ESL Faceit Group Business Global Esports Industry Week 2026 in Cologne Global Esports Industry Week 2026 will take place in Cologne this year, coinciding with IEM Cologne. Over 400 attendees and more than 75 speakers are expected. The Global Esports Industry Week debuted last year in Austin, Texas. By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
Business In Conversation With… Benedikt Grindel In his new ‘Update,’ brand and marketing expert Zoran Roso talks to Ubisoft Blue Byte's Benedikt Grindel about the integration of a studio, on live games, German game funding, and the fundamental changes he expects to see in the financing and monetisation of AAA games. By Zoran Roso • 9 min read
Developer Center mockup (Apple) Business Europe's First Apple Developer Center to Open in Berlin The fifth Apple Developer Center worldwide and the first in Europe will open in Berlin in 2026. With it, Apple wants to support European app developers and further developer education. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
(Photo: DHWU) Business Dark Horse Voluntarily Recognises Union (Update) The workers at comic book, design works and merchandise company Dark Horse are pushing for unionisation in fear of layoffs, wage freezes, return-to-office policies and AI. Now, the publisher has recognised the union without conflict. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
OnlineFussballManager © OFM Studios Business Stillfront Sold OFM Studios Back to Its Founder In a management buyout worth €2.1 million, Stillfront Group has sold OFM Studios to its founder, Maik Dokter. This means that Dokter now owns OFM Studios GmbH outright. By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive © G. Liljevall Business Shares of Paradox Interactive Approved for Trading on Nasdaq Stockholm The Listing Committee of Nasdaq Stockholm has approved Paradox Interactive's application to admit the company's shares to trading on the Nasdaq Stockholm Main Market. By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
(GamesMarket / Pexels, cottonbro) Business G+ How Much Money Can I Make in Games in 2026? We aggregated data from US, EU, Non-EU Europe and Germany to provide salary comparisons over all Western markets. With additional layoff data, the comparison paints a picture of the state of games. By Pascal Wagner • 4 min read
Raphael Stange, CEO of Nitrado Business G+ Nitrado CEO Raphael Stange: Everything is Designed For Multiplayer Games No server, no multiplayer. What sounds so simple is a massive challenge for game studios, and Nitrado has been supporting developers in this area for over 20 years. In the latest issue, Nitrado CEO Raphael Stange spoke about a service that players only notice when it isn’t working as it should. By Stephan Steininger • 10 min read
Wreckfest 2 - This is how THQ Nordic is making its mark © THQ Nordic Business G+ THQ Nordic: The Austrian Heavyweight in the AA Market 2026 is a crucial year for THQ Nordic. With Reanimal, they released a strong title in February, and the major remake of Gothic 1 is set to launch in June — a game that, like Titan Quest II, is pushing towards AAA status. But how else is the publisher positioned? By Marcel Kleffmann • 9 min read
