Patrick Obermueller

📌 The 10 demands of the games industry in Germany 🎮 At game we are working for the comprehensive improvement of conditions for the games industry in Germany, true to our mission ‘Together we are making Germany the heart of gaming worldwide’. From this follow our 10 principal demands (in brief): 🎮 1. Promote Germany as a game location for the long term Germany must strengthen its international competitiveness as a game development hub. This means stable, predictable funding, tax incentives, and strategic marketing to attract talent and investment. 👨‍💻 2. Reinforce Germany’s commitment to game specialists To bridge the talent gap, we need better training programs and simplified immigration for skilled professionals, supported by a welcoming institutional culture. 📚 3. Strengthen games in science, research, teaching and training Recognizing games as a scientific discipline requires more university programs, research funding, and dedicated institutions like a "Games University" to set international benchmarks. 🕹️ 4. Use games to enhance learning, in school and throughout life Games have immense potential for education, offering new learning methods and promoting digital literacy. We advocate integrating games into school curricula and lifelong learning. 🛡 5. Youth protection legislation: modern, convergent and internationally compatible We need updated youth protection laws that reflect today’s digital realities while aligning with international standards to safeguard young players. 💡 6. Provide investment certainty, create value To innovate, the industry needs room to explore new business models like in-game purchases. Balancing user trust and entrepreneurial freedom is essential for sustainable growth. 🎮 7. Preserve games as a cultural heritage Germany is home to the world’s largest collection of computer games. It’s time to bring this collection together, making it accessible for research and public engagement. 🌐 8. Provide digital infrastructure for all Germany must ensure nationwide access to high-speed internet and 5G to support both game development and millions of players. A reliable digital backbone is crucial for innovation. ❌ 9. No space for haters, trolls or piracy: bring security authorities up to speed digitally We’re committed to diversity and tolerance. It’s vital that digital authorities are equipped to combat hate speech, piracy, and illegal activities in the online space. 🏅 10. Seize the opportunities created by esports: talent, tournaments and the public interest Esports has immense societal and economic potential. We advocate for better recognition, tax benefits for esports organizations, and more local support for hosting tournaments, to make Germany a global leader in esports. You can find more about our 10 demands on our website. Lars Janssen Julia Pfiffer Johanna Janiszewski Clemens Mayer-Wegelin, LL.M. Felix Falk Maren Raabe (Schulz)

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I did a talk during Devcom in Cologne. So many young faces with "Student Tickets" (they made me feel a bit older) But honestly, I love Gen Z ❤️ Before my fellow industry veterans start grumbling... Let’s be real: We’ve had our time as the pioneers. We’ve seen the gaming world evolve in ways we couldn’t have imagined. Examples: 1. We REMEMBER the days of pixelated art. ↳ So we value how far the tech has come. 2. We KNOW what it’s like to build a game. ↳ So we value the craft and the hard work. 3. We SEE the new generation stepping in. ↳ And they’re bringing fresh energy & ideas. I could keep going... But the point is: We led the way, but now it’s Gen Z’s turn. They grew up with gaming as a way of life. ↳ It’s in their DNA. They dream big. They are fearless. They are creative. They are ready to push the boundaries. And I’m here for it. SO many of the students I met at Devcom are the future of the gaming industry. They’re the ones who will take what we started and run with it. The future of gaming is in good hands. Cheers to Gen Z. Cheers to the bright future of our industry. P.S. Tag your fav Gen Z talent in gaming. ↳ Let’s show them some love ❤️

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Have you seen our latest post on gaming? It was written by Emanuel Schwarz. Not only does he know a lot about video games, he is also one of our experience design experts. Creating concepts and building products has been his passion for a long time. This journey started right after university with the founding of his first company, "knowable". He later led product development at music startup Grammofy and co-organized the first IoT ThingsCon conferences. After an exciting stint in the world of freelancing, Emanuel finally found his place at HelloDigital. Do you have any questions about Emanuel's journey? Need advice of building compelling product? Just want a recommendation for the hottest video games? Drop a comment, he will answer it ;-) If you want to know more about Emanuel: https://lnkd.in/eGtVSMNz #TeamHelloDigital #MeetTheTeam #Inspiration #ProductDesign

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𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲: 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 & 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 (𝐏𝐃𝐅 & 𝐖𝐞𝐛) 🎮📃 How many millions of people in Germany play games? How many people are employed in the games industry? How does Germany compare internationally as a location for games development? The Annual Report on the German Games Industry 2024 is now live and packed with key insights to answer these questions and more! Whether you're an industry insider, a policy maker or a gaming enthusiast, this comprehensive report is your go-to source for the latest data and trends shaping the future of the games industry in Germany. Some highlights from the report: 📈 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: Key statistics on the German games market 💼 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞: All information about the German games industry from companies to employees 👥 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬: Explore who’s playing games in Germany—age groups, platforms of choice, top games & more 🤝 Own chapters for our instiutions: devcom, esports player foundation, Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur, Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle USK 🎙 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬: Interviews with experts on developments in the protection of minors in Germany, environmental and climate protection in the games industry, and diversity key facts about gamescom & so much more! Read and download the full report for free ⤵ 🔗 English version: https://lnkd.in/d5Ad94jW 🔗 German version: jahresreport.game.de What are your favorite parts of the report? Which aspects are you interested in the most? Let us know in the comments! #gamesindustry #gamingindustry #gamedevelopment #videogames #gaming

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DICO's Event Recap: Gamescom, PAX West & XDS Vancouver 2024 As we wrap up an incredible few weeks on the road, we want to take a moment to highlight our experiences at three key events in the gaming industry: 1️⃣ Gamescom (Cologne): Our participation at the world’s largest gaming event was a massive success! We had the chance to present our latest games, services, and middleware. The level of interest and engagement was off the charts, and connecting with established partners and new faces in the industry was thrilling. 2️⃣ PAX West (Seattle): PAX West allowed us to meet directly with the gaming community and indie developers. The venue was buzzing with excitement, and we had great discussions with passionate gamers about how we can help shape the future of gaming. It was inspiring to be in the heart of such an enthusiastic and creative environment. 3️⃣ XDS Vancouver: XDS provided invaluable insights and connections, particularly in external development and collaboration. As we continue to build partnerships and push the boundaries of what’s possible in game development, XDS proved to be the perfect platform to network with industry leaders. And now, we’re gearing up for the Tokyo Game Show (TGS), where we’ll bring energy and innovation to one of the premier events in Asia. We'll be at home with many team members at the event. If you attend, we’d love to connect! Let’s discuss how DICO can help take your projects to the next level. 📅 Tokyo Game Show 2024: Let’s meet and create something extraordinary together! #Gamescom2024 #PAXWest2024 #XDS2024 #TokyoGameShow2024 #GamingIndustry #GameDevelopment #Middleware #Localization #TGS2024 #SolvingComplexProblems

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Slower workforce growth and fewer new companies: the upward trend in the German games industry is weakening 🎮 📊 How many people are working in the German games industry? What has been the trend in the number of companies over the past year? Let's dive into the data 🔎: The German games industry continues to show resilience, even as growth has slowed compared to previous years. 💼 A year ago, the number of games companies grew by 15%. In the last twelve months, this figure has fallen to 4% 📈 What is remarkable here is that 52% overall increase in the number of game companies in Germany since 2020 👥 The number of employees in German games companies continued to grow (+3.5%). However, this growth was halved compared to the previous year 🎮 The games industry provides jobs for over 30,000 people in Germany, including skilled professionals in educational institutions, the media and the public and commercial sectors Felix Falk (Managing Director of game): ‘Even this slight growth in the German games industry is remarkable in the face of the tough wave of international consolidation,’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game – The German Games Industry Association. ‘Games funding plays a decisive role in this. Although the on-going application freeze for the federal games funding has hampered the development of new projects for over a year now, the fact that many German studios were still in the middle of federally funded projects gave them stability. However, if the German government doesn’t ensure funding budgets at an internationally comparable level soon, the prospects for game companies will be all the more unclear. Along with the consolidation wave the current unpredictable and non-competitive framework conditions in Germany have now slowed the strong growth of recent years. The German government must finally make the promised funds available and return to the path of an ambitious policy of single-source game funding, as it announced in its latest growth initiative.’ #gamesindustry #gamingindustry #Germany #marketdata #data #gamescompanies #videogames Video Games Europe The data is drawn from a survey carried out by Goldmedia Group on the basis of entries on gamesmap

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At Gamescom last year, a German developer asked me in the Q&A portion of the talk what do I think about 4-day work week. I asked him two questions back: 1️⃣ Do you think that developers in countries like India, USA, China or Turkey have 20% worse equipment? 2️⃣ Do you think developers in those countries are 20% less intelligent than their European peers? He answered no to both questions. So I asked him one more question. 3️⃣ What do you think will happen over time if we Europeans work 20% less than our peers? He didn’t answer to the last question… Of course the amount of hours an individual can put in is not linear to their efficiency but rather travels through a Gauss curve. But on the society level, vilifying hard work and consistently working less than rival economies sounds unsustainable. The way I see it, working smarter and harder is the winning combination.

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🎮 Gaming is the hidden champion of team building exercises! ⚡ To be honest, I hate the (typical German) trend of constantly having to argue for the value of playing video games. There's value in it just being entertainment! But if you want to go there, it's quite easy to show what positive impact video games can have, especially when played in a team.   Ever played Counter Strike in a team? Or League of Legends? If so, you will know that communication is crucial for success. And that communication needs to be precise and efficient.   Gaming (and especially esports) is a great way of bringing people together in a team to achieve a common goal (= winning!) and have them realize that this only works if there's a strategy in place in which everyone fulfills a specific role, sticks with a plan and communicates efficiently if it's necessary to adapt the plan to changing circumstances.   What better way to bring a team together than to have them do this? It's no surprise that we already see a lot of companies participating in company esports leagues (definitely reach out to Gian Luca Vitale, Pia Büßecker and Tobias Scholz if that's a topic that interests you). 🤝 A lot of amazing companies also regularly book team events at LVL to have a fun night out that includes video games, great food and drinks - with the underlying effect of bringing the team together as part of a collaborative unit through the amazing super power of video games.   From top tier game publishers (where it's kinda obvious) to large German banks to the most prestigious tech companies on the face of the earth - we've had them all at LVL for their team nights, whether that's just a regular get together, an internal esports tournament or a fun-filled Christmas party.   ⭐ We have a streamlined team building package available at LVL that I'm happy to share in case this interests you. Feel free to message me directly if you want to bring your team to the greatest gaming venue on planet earth for a night they will never forget - filled with good vibes, food, drinks and games. Not only will your team learn valuable skills, but they will love you for it! 😎 #HR #EmployerBranding #TeamBuilding #TeamBuildingEvent #TeamEvent

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LVL is back! And we started with one of the coolest showcases in quite some time: the first Valorant Console Creator Cup powered by Mastercard was a get together of 20 of Germany's greatest gaming influencers - among them Amar, Rohat, AbuGoku, Breitenberg (Burak Türkyilmaz), SidneyEweka, Chefstrobel, Mahluna, StarletNova and many more (if you don't know who these people are, go and ask your kids 😎 ). The concept: 4 teams of 5 gaming influencers play their first tournament in Valorant's Beta on console. Valorant is Riot's FPS game and has been among the most popular games at LVL since its launch on PC in 2020 - so popular in fact that we established a monthly tournament for the local community over the past year. Now that the game is set to launch on console, it was quite the spectacle to see how some of the most well-known creators in the German Valorant community handle themselves with a Controller instead of Keyboard and Mouse... and with fun jokers interrupting their gameplay with new challenges. The result was pure entertainment broadcasted for almost 9 hours on 20 Twitch channels simultaneously, generating millions of views. What a way to relaunch LVL! Pulling this event off in such a short time-span with a much smaller team, led by the amazing Sina Turgut, felt truly rewarding. A big thank you to the great crew at MediaTotal GmbH who made this event a reality and to Mastercard and Riot Games (Adrián Padín Suárez, Kristin Banse) for making this an unforgettable night. It feels good to be back! 📸 : spyders #gaming #esports #gamesindustry #sponsoring

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🚀🎮 Exciting News! 🎮🚀 I'm thrilled to announce that I will be attending gamescom 2024 from August 21-25 in Cologne, Germany! 🌟 At LootLabs, we're passionate about connecting with fellow gaming enthusiasts, content creators, and industry professionals. Whether you're a developer, a streamer, or someone who just loves gaming, I would love to connect with you and discuss the latest trends, innovations, and opportunities in the gaming world. We offer a unique monetization tool for creators that allows you to maximize your earnings with non-intrusive, gaming-related ads. Our platform is designed to help content creators generate revenue seamlessly, without compromising on user experience. If you're a creator looking to monetize your content more effectively. Additionally, our LootLabs Agency specializes in connecting brands with gamers through influencers. We leverage the power of influencer marketing to create authentic connections between brands and the gaming community. If you're a brand looking to reach a highly engaged gaming audience. Let's talk about how we can collaborate, share ideas, and push the boundaries of gaming together. Feel free to reach out and set up a meeting, or just come find me at the event. Look forward to seeing you there! #Gamescom2024 #GamingIndustry #GamingCommunity #Networking #LootLabs #Monetization #InfluencerMarketing #GameOn

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Games location Germany: Slower employment growth and fewer new companies The upward trend in the German games industry is slowing down. The number of German games companies grew by four per cent in twelve months, and the number of people employed by devs and publishers increased by 3.5 per cent. This is considerably less than in previous years. "At first glance, the weakened yet still positive trend appears contradictory against the backdrop of the current overall decline in investment momentum and major waves of consolidation in the international games industry. While the current consolidation wave has indeed affected German game companies, its impact here has been less pronounced than in general internationally", game - the German Games Industry Association writes (game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche e.V.). One reason for this is that many games companies in Germany are currently still working on projects funded by the German government, which has helped to stabilise the entire industry. Felix Falk, Managing Director of game – the German Games Industry Association: "The current unpredictable and non-competitive framework conditions in Germany have now slowed the strong growth of recent years. The German government must finally make the promised funds available and return to the path of an ambitious policy of single-source game funding, as it announced in its latest growth initiative." https://lnkd.in/dv7KDqMw

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🎉 Exciting news! Denník N together with Pixel Federation is launching a new podcast series called "Games and us" (Hry a my) this week. They plan to bring the gaming industry closer to the general public over the next three months! 🎙️ For the first episode, our Senior Producer Robert Bartovic and I were invited to discuss the process of creating mobile games and how to build a successful and sustainable business from them. Big thanks to Tomáš Hrivňák and Matus Zdut for a great conversation! 🔗 Find the links to both the video (only in Slovak language) and transcript in the comments below. #gamingindustry #podcast #mobilegames #knowledgesharing

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Combined Federal and State Funding for Games Made in Germany announced The Federal Government will revise the current system of games funding and introduce a funding grant to be financed jointly by the Federal Government (Bund) and the federal states (Länder). It is not yet known exactly how these new funding grants, will be structured. However, this plan shows that the federal government considers the games industry to be important for Germany's economic and technological future. Felix Falk, Managing Director of game - the German Games Industry Association (game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche e.V.): "The growth initiative presented today by the Federal Government is a strong commitment and signal for Germany as a games location: never before have all three coalition partners spoken out so clearly in favour of the timely introduction of a tax incentive for games, which is to be implemented together with the federal states. (...)" https://lnkd.in/eAtVfTzV

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How the games industry is Playing for the Planet! 💚🌍 We’re excited to feature an inspiring interview with Lisa Pak from the Playing for the Planet Alliance in our Annual Report of the German Games Industry 2024! 🌱🎮 What can games companies do to help protect the environment? What is the goal of the Playing for The Planet Alliance? How do they work together with game companies? 🤔 Lisa answers these and other questions in our interview, shedding light on effective environmental measures and how the global games industry can drive greater impact through collaboration. From the Green Game Jam—which planted over 2.5 million trees! 🌳—to launching the first industry-specific carbon calculator in 2025, Playing for the Planet is leading the charge for a more sustainable future. Discover how your studio can join the fight against climate change by embracing sustainability in your games and operations. 🔗 Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/daXTTnEm 📚 Annual Report of the German Games Industry as PDF and web version for free: https://lnkd.in/d5Ad94jW #Sustainability #EnvironmentalProtection #PlayingForThePlanet #GreenGameJam #ClimateAction #GamesIndustry

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🎮 Calling all game companies in Germany: update your data on gamesmap now 🗺 It's that time of the year again! As spring blossoms around us, we're reaching out to all game companies to kindly review and update their company data and employee numbers on gamesmap (link in the comments). Updating is a super easy: simply select your entry on gamesmap and click on "all details." If anything needs refreshing, you can suggest changes directly under "propose edit." 🤔 What is gamesmap 🎮 gamesmap is the central online directory of the German games industry 🕹 Anyone can use gamesmap to find contacts to companies, institutions and organisations in the games industry 💡 The underlying data, which is not publicly accessible, is used for market analyses of our industry, such as the annual survey of company and number of employees High data quality is of central importance for our communication and for your company. #gamesmap #data #gamesindustry #gamingindustry

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games made in Germany The independent Games Department will be abolished and integrated into the Department for Culture and Creative Economy. Through the integration, the new paper is called "Cultural and Creative Economy; Games". Even if existing projects such as the Games Promotion or the German Computer Game Prize are continued, the lack of autonomy threatens to significantly limit the ability to operate for Games projects in the future - especially since May last year the promotion has been suspended and currently both the new Promotion Policy and a solution for the additional 33 Millions of Euro support budget are pending in the budget of the Minister of Culture for 2024. The game association of the German games industry is therefore criticizing the current decision. more about this decision here: https://zurl.co/DjGL

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A conversation point in Germany is the desire to be more competitive within the gaming industry. With opportunities like cash prizes with Der Deutsche Computerspielpreis | Der DCP and game - German Games Industry Association there are active efforts to provide funding to studios and make Germany more attractive for game development. It's an interesting contrast against the layoffs across gaming that perhaps with these kind of initiatives and so much talent in the industry looking for their next opportunity - could be a launch pad for some fantastic new studios developing in Germany. https://lnkd.in/dc8srPY5

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The SDI München invited me to host a two-day workshop on #videogames #localization, and since I had never been to Munich, I of course accepted. After I spent some time exploring the city, meeting up with a few local colleagues (with whom I shared amazing glittery cake), and taking a long walk through the park near my hotel, the day of the workshop approached. Having learned a lot about the challenges in game localization while working with people new to the field, I focused the workshop primarily on writing skills — dedicating a huge chunk of time to genre studies, idioms, slang terms, and obscure cultural references. In my experience, the difference between a merely acceptable and a great translation of gaming content doesn't hinge upon how well one can render placeholder variables into grammatically sound sentences, but rather how close the translated text captures the intent, tone, and atmosphere of the original. One can always learn the mechanics of writing, but true mastery, to me, involves a deep understanding both of the genre and the nature of the game (or anything really) one is working on. These were the finer points I wanted to impart to my students — even though 12 hours were barely enough to scratch the surface. I was amazed at and delighted by the quality of my students' translations and their discussions during group assignments, even after an intense eight hours on the second day — and in spite (or because) of the strange sample sentences I had devised. I hope I managed to give these young women a glance into the fascinating and ever-changing kinds of texts that can be found in videogames. But I would have been remiss if I hadn't also taught them about the state of the industry as a whole (the good and the bad), the importance of #TranslatorsInThecredits, how to calculate and negotiate fair rates, and why it is important to understand the legal framework in which we, as freelance contractors, operate. Thanks, SDI, for having me, for the amazingly warm, friendly reception, and for giving me the opportunity to pass along some of my experience! (The above text was written in English; if you see it in any other language, it has been translated automatically by LinkedIn without my consent and does not reflect my skills as a translator.)

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