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
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
GTA 6 / Monster Hunter Wilds © Rockstar Games / Capcom Business 2025 to Be the Biggest Gaming Year Ever?! By Marcel Kleffmann • 7 min read
In the past few days, first the CDU/CSU and the Greens, and later the SPD and FDP, presented their election programs or preliminary election programs. © Imago/Chris Emil Janßen (Union/Grüne)/Frank Ossenbrink (SPD)/pictureteam (FDP) Business Update: Programs, Results, Consequences for Games Policy in Germany With the release of draft election programs from the Green Party and the CDU/CSU, the SPD and FDP have now also presented their program drafts. However, not all of them address games and esports explicitly. The cards for games and esports policy will be reshuffled with the Bundestag election By Team Gamesmarkt • 4 min read
© Screenshot Business Call for Projects to Fund for Diversity in SMEs The halt on applications for games funding does not mean that games companies cannot participate in other funding programs. The Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS; Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs) is currently seeking projects aimed at retaining skilled workers in SMEs through greater diversity. This initiative is By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Walid Nakschbandi, Managing Director of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW © Steffen Kauffmann Business Film- und Medienstiftung NRW Funds 26 Games Projects With €1.8m In December, the funding committee of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW decided to support 26 projects with a total of €1,808,000. Three projects were funded for production, eight prototypes and eight concepts. In addition, seven serious games were approved for funding. The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW (Film and By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
The Games Industry's Perspective on 2025 - Part #3: Games Location Germany © GamesMarkt, PP Business The Games Industry's Perspective on 2025 - Part #3: Games Location Germany By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
The team of riprip (from left to right): Chris Schnerr, Hannes Drescher, Robin Vehrs, N.B. Spiders © Michelle Haupt Business Riprip Receives Exist Start-up Grant to Implement Innovative Business Concept The Kassel-based studio Riprip can look forward to an additional grant of nearly 140,000 euros. The pilot project Terminal Crossing had already received a grant from the state of Hesse. The aim, however, is to create a gaming genre that can compete with short-form content on social media. Riprip By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© Ubisoft Business "Just Dance Is a Significant Part of Ubisoft's Identity" More than 30 Just Dance games have been released, with sales of more than 90 million copies worldwide. The dance/rhythm franchise has been a huge success for publisher Ubisoft. On the occasion of Just Dance's 15th anniversary, GamesMarkt spoke to creative director Matthew Tomkinson about the importance By Marcel Kleffmann • 5 min read
Robert Habeck, Olaf Scholz, Friedrich März und Markus Söder (from left to right) © Dominik Butzmann/Die Grünen, Thomas Trutschel/SPD, CDU/CSU Business Games and Film Included in Some Party Election Programs With the Bundestag elections approaching in February, political parties are drafting their election programs under considerable time pressure. The SPD already finalized their draft, which is not public at the moment. The Grünen (Greens) and CDU/CSU have already included film and games in their draft programs, some of which By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
