Oliver Leins, Co-Founder / Nils Hausfeld, Co-Founder © Axon Flux Development Axon Flux Breaks Up and Stops the Development of Cactus Swiss independent game development studio Axon Flux announces that development of Cactus has been discontinued. At the same time, the two founders, Oliver Leins and Nils Hausfeld, are parting ways amicably. The challenges of continuing the project in its current form proved insurmountable in the studio's current circumstances. By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
© tinyBuild Development tinyBuild Wants to Help Indie Developers The successful indie label tinyBuild is launching a new podcast series, How to Pitch Games, to share its expertise with aspiring developers. The company is known for hit titles such as Hello Neighbor, Graveyard Keeper, and Potion Craft. With multiple million-selling games under its belt, tinyBuild certainly knows what it’ By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Björn Pankratz and Jennifer Pankratz at gamescom 2023. © GamesMarkt, Marcel Kleffmann Development First Game From Pithead Studio Is Cralon After the end of Piranha Bytes and going indie, Jennifer and Björn Pankratz have announced their first game. It is the 3D dungeon crawler Cralon, inspired by dungeon classics and developed with Unreal Engine 5. Cralon is a 3D dungeon crawler with RPG and adventure elements, inspired by classics such By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming / Dom Matthews, Studio Head of Ninja Theory / Katja Hofmann, Senior Principal Researcher and Lead of the Game Intelligence Team © Microsoft Development Microsoft Introduces Generative AI Model for Gameplay In a recent announcement, Microsoft unveiled Muse, a generative gameplay AI model that promises to open up new possibilities in gaming and game development. It is intended to be used for faster creative ideation and to make older games available again. Xbox has presented Muse, a generative AI model for By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
© Emergo Entertainment Development German Indie Team Emergo Entertainment Announces Train Jumble Emergo Entertainment, based in Bayreuth, has officially announced Train Jumble as its second game project and is launching a playtest on Steam. The studio’s debut game, Fireside, amassed 10,000 wishlist entries within just 24 hours on Steam. The next few hours and days will reveal whether Emergo Entertainment By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© Epic Games Development Epic Games Modifies Its Funding Programme Starting 12 February, developers worldwide can once again apply for an Epic Games MegaGrant, provided they are developing—or planning to develop—their game using Unreal Engine. However, Epic Games has announced a fundamental change to its funding programme for 2025. Instead of maintaining an open application system throughout the By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© IMAGO / SOPA Images Development Valve Rules Out Paid Advertising as a Business Model for Games on Steam According to media reports, Valve has updated its developer guidelines regarding advertising in games distributed on Steam, clarifying what is and isn’t allowed on the platform. In particular, paid ads as a core business model for a game are not permitted. However, this change could also impact publishing services. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
At the Games Summit in November, NRW Media Minister Nathanael Liminksi, seen here next to Walid Nakschbandi of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW (2nd from left), announced additional funding. The call for funding applications has now been launched. © (Archive image) Robin Teller Development NRW Launches Funding for Games Tackling Fake News, Hate, and Extremism The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW has issued an additional call for funding for games and interactive media that, among other things, focus on the prevention of extremism, particularly Islamism. The funding comes from a special budget, with potential grants exceeding those available for standard game prototypes. In November, North Rhine-Westphalian By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© EA Development Extensive Community Collaboration for Next Battlefield Electronic Arts' Battlefield studios are basing the next Battlefield game on the biggest community collaboration in the franchise's history. This is probably the publisher's way of trying to avoid another launch debacle like Battlefield 2042 in November 2021. Electronic Arts has announced the "most By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
Ted Price will leave Insomniac Games at the end of March © Sony Interactive Entertainment Business Ted Price Inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame as He Retires By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
The Global Game Jam by The Länd in Karlsruhe in 2024 was probably the largest GGJ in Germany, and it will take place again in 2025 © MFG Baden-Württemberg Development 38 Locations in GSA Confirmed for Global Game Jam As of now, slightly fewer locations in Germany have registered compared to last year. Among the participants are numerous universities, as well as hubs like Gamerei, R42, and Lab4u. Several studios, including InnoGames, Kolibri Games, and Limbic, are also joining the event. This year's Global Game Jam (GGJ) By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
© Sony Development Sony Announced XYN Solution for Spatial Content Creation During the CES press conference, Sony also presented its new XYN solution. These are software and hardware-based solutions for creating spatial digital worlds, some of which are still in the prototype stage. A central element is XYN Motion Studio, which will be available at the end of March. The main By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
