Sustainable Games Alliance Develops Standard for Games Industry to Comply with Regulations Stephan Steininger August 14, 2024 – 5 min read Share this post Jiri Kupiainen, Chairman, and Maria Wagner, Managing Director Sustainable Games Alliance (SGA) © SGA Business Narranauten Set up Registered Association In 2024, several narrative designers and game writers founded the Narranauten initiative, under which they organised events in Germany. They have now set up a registered association. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read Business Instinct3 And Drinks & More Expand the Knabe-Drinks Portfolio Ahead of Gamescom Instinct3, founded by creator HandsOfBlood, has announced the launch of KnabeMix – a cola-and-orange mixed drink – in collaboration with drinks partner Drinks & More. To mark the launch, the Twitch series “Techno Freitag” is making a comeback. A campaign featuring Sonya Kraus is also planned. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read Business The €27 Billion Danger Zone: How the EU's Digital Fairness Act Threatens to Disintegrate the F2P Monetization Stack In 'Zoran's Update', experienced games manager Zoran Roso comments on current industry topics on LinkedIn. This time, he is looking at the issue from an industry perspective to see what consequences the EU’s plans might have on the monetisation of free-to-play games. By Zoran Roso • 4 min read Legendary composer Akira Yamaoka is answering our questions about game audio (photo: Yamaoka) G+ Game Music Makers: Akira Yamaoka He made the soundtracks for Silent Hill, Shadows of the Damned, Slitterhead, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and much more: We interviewed legendary composer Akira Yamaoka about making game music, his audio pipeline when making games, the best game soundtracks and his favourite ways to work. By Pascal Wagner • 4 min read Esports Leaders Honours 2026: Christopher Flato (ESBD), Maria Helmis-Arend (Mayor Cologne), Martin Blum (Leipzig eSports) and Klemens Witt (Leipzig eSports) © Invest in Film Esports Esports Leaders Honours Winners Announced; Leipzig eSports Receives the Local Hero Award The inaugural Esports Leaders Honours ceremony took place on 19 June 2026 as part of Global Esports Industry Week in Cologne. Leipzig eSports was awarded the Local Hero Award during the ceremony. By Marcel Kleffmann • 4 min read Events 15th Paris Games Week Takes Place 22-25 October 2026 The anniversary edition of Paris Games Week takes place from 22-25 October. For its 15th iteration, the organisers promise a new playable expo experience, new, out of the box partnerships and a redesigned venue. Ticket sales are online now as well. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read Background: UVW-CWA website, foreground: Artwork of MTG card Riveteer Ascendancy (Wizards of the Coast) Tabletop United Videogame Workers Endorse Wizards of the Coast Union "Like you, we are feeling the drain on our wellbeing and livelihoods that these corporations are putting on us:" The United Videogame Workers union UVW-CWA has endorsed the MTG: Arena team unionisation efforts at Wizards of the Coast. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read Dave The Diver - In The Jungle © Mintrocket Products Dave The Diver - In The Jungle In The Jungle is a substantial expansion for the million-selling game Dave The Diver, one so large and varied that Mintrocket (Nexon) could have sold it as a standalone game. What adventures await the charming diver in the jungle? By Marcel Kleffmann • 6 min read Witchspire © Envar Games Products Witchspire Survival-crafting games on PC are everywhere, almost as common as deck-building games. It's difficult to stand out in this crowded market, but Envar Games' Witchspire attempts to do so with its witch-themed setting, flying broomsticks, magical fairy-tale world and tameable familiars. By Marcel Kleffmann • 5 min read
Business Narranauten Set up Registered Association In 2024, several narrative designers and game writers founded the Narranauten initiative, under which they organised events in Germany. They have now set up a registered association. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Business Instinct3 And Drinks & More Expand the Knabe-Drinks Portfolio Ahead of Gamescom Instinct3, founded by creator HandsOfBlood, has announced the launch of KnabeMix – a cola-and-orange mixed drink – in collaboration with drinks partner Drinks & More. To mark the launch, the Twitch series “Techno Freitag” is making a comeback. A campaign featuring Sonya Kraus is also planned. By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read
Business The €27 Billion Danger Zone: How the EU's Digital Fairness Act Threatens to Disintegrate the F2P Monetization Stack In 'Zoran's Update', experienced games manager Zoran Roso comments on current industry topics on LinkedIn. This time, he is looking at the issue from an industry perspective to see what consequences the EU’s plans might have on the monetisation of free-to-play games. By Zoran Roso • 4 min read
Legendary composer Akira Yamaoka is answering our questions about game audio (photo: Yamaoka) G+ Game Music Makers: Akira Yamaoka He made the soundtracks for Silent Hill, Shadows of the Damned, Slitterhead, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and much more: We interviewed legendary composer Akira Yamaoka about making game music, his audio pipeline when making games, the best game soundtracks and his favourite ways to work. By Pascal Wagner • 4 min read
Esports Leaders Honours 2026: Christopher Flato (ESBD), Maria Helmis-Arend (Mayor Cologne), Martin Blum (Leipzig eSports) and Klemens Witt (Leipzig eSports) © Invest in Film Esports Esports Leaders Honours Winners Announced; Leipzig eSports Receives the Local Hero Award The inaugural Esports Leaders Honours ceremony took place on 19 June 2026 as part of Global Esports Industry Week in Cologne. Leipzig eSports was awarded the Local Hero Award during the ceremony. By Marcel Kleffmann • 4 min read
Events 15th Paris Games Week Takes Place 22-25 October 2026 The anniversary edition of Paris Games Week takes place from 22-25 October. For its 15th iteration, the organisers promise a new playable expo experience, new, out of the box partnerships and a redesigned venue. Ticket sales are online now as well. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
Background: UVW-CWA website, foreground: Artwork of MTG card Riveteer Ascendancy (Wizards of the Coast) Tabletop United Videogame Workers Endorse Wizards of the Coast Union "Like you, we are feeling the drain on our wellbeing and livelihoods that these corporations are putting on us:" The United Videogame Workers union UVW-CWA has endorsed the MTG: Arena team unionisation efforts at Wizards of the Coast. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
Dave The Diver - In The Jungle © Mintrocket Products Dave The Diver - In The Jungle In The Jungle is a substantial expansion for the million-selling game Dave The Diver, one so large and varied that Mintrocket (Nexon) could have sold it as a standalone game. What adventures await the charming diver in the jungle? By Marcel Kleffmann • 6 min read
Witchspire © Envar Games Products Witchspire Survival-crafting games on PC are everywhere, almost as common as deck-building games. It's difficult to stand out in this crowded market, but Envar Games' Witchspire attempts to do so with its witch-themed setting, flying broomsticks, magical fairy-tale world and tameable familiars. By Marcel Kleffmann • 5 min read