Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomes Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his ministers and presents them with their certificates of appointment © Bundesregierung/Guido Bergmann Business Change of Responsibilities Including Games Formally Resolved As was to be expected, the new Federal Chancellor reorganised the responsibilities of the ministries in an organisational decree at the same time as convening the first cabinet meeting. As a result, the Bundesministerium für Forschung Technilogie und Raumfahrt Ministry of Research, Technology and Space is now responsible for games, By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Dorothee Bär © Tobias Koch Business Dorothee Bär to Become 'Games Minister' in Next Federal Government In the next federal government, responsibility for games will be transferred to the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Astronautics. This 'mega-ministry' will be headed by Dorothee Bär of the CSU. During today's announcement of the CDU/CSU ministers, it was mentioned almost in passing which By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 min read
Dr Karsten Wildberger, CEO of Ceconomy © Ceconomy Business MediaMarktSaturn CEO to Become Federal Minister for Digitalisation and State Modernisation Dr Karsten Wildberger, CEO of Ceconomy, is to become Minister for Digitalisation and State Modernisation. Thorsten Frei will head the Chancellery, Karin Prien will be Minister of Education and Katherina Reiche will be Minister of Economics. The CEO of Ceconomy AG, the company behind MediaMarkt, MediaWorld and Saturn, Dr Karsten By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
Jari-Pekka Kaleva Managing Director European Games Developers Federation (EGDF) © EGDF Business EGDF welcomes EU Commission's findings on Apple and Alphabet According to the EDGF, Apple and Alphabet must be stopped from hindering third-party app stores and payment systems on their platforms. This is the response of the European Games Developers Federation (EGDF) to the latest findings of the EU Commission. Last week, the EU Commission imposed a fine of €500 By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
Hamburg City Hall © Copyright Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg Business Hamburg Coalition to Strengthen Gamecity and Tackle High In-Game Spending The coalition agreement in Hamburg has been finalised. SPD and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen want to strengthen Gamecity Hamburg and the Play Festival, build a house for the digital world and take action against excessive in-game purchases. In the coalition agreement between the SPD and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
© Imago Business The Situation in Germany: Freezing While Waiting for the Tax-Based System By Stephan Steininger • 4 min read
© game Business Games Companies Rate Competitiveness as Poor, Criticize Political Commitment Amid ongoing coalition negotiations for a new government, the game association has published data from its latest industry barometer, revealing a pessimistic mood within the German games industry. Many companies are calling for stronger political support. Felix Falk, Managing Director of game, describes the results as "alarming." According By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Felix Falk, Managing Director game - The German Games Industry Association © Dirk Mathesius/game Business Game Hopes for a Swift Formation of the New Government Even though games and games funding are not Germany’s most pressing issues after the election, the German games industry hopes the new government will begin its work quickly—especially with the next funding freeze just around the corner. The funds allocated by the outgoing government are nearly depleted, as By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
© game Business Dorothee Bär Joins the #gamechanger Talk on the 2025 Elections With the Bundestag elections just around the corner, the game association is pushing ahead with its #gamechanger livestream format. Dorothee Bär, CSU Vice Party Leader and Vice Chairwoman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, has been announced as the next guest. The talk will take place on 11 February. On By Marcel Kleffmann • 1 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
SPD General Secretary Dr. Matthias Miersch will talk to Felix Falk of game © SPD/MK Business Matthias Miersch is a Guest at the #gamechanger Talk on the 2025 Election The upcoming federal election will shape the future of games policy in Germany. To explore the parties' positions, Felix Falk from game will host conversations with leading political representatives in the coming weeks. The first guest in the new series of #gamechanger talks will be SPD General Secretary Dr. By Stephan Steininger • 1 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
