Following the success of the „Made in Germany“ Steam Sales organized by Games Germany with more than 200 games each in 2022 and 2023, the alliance of German games funding and network institutions is organizing a new sale for the end of June 2024. The aim is to present the great diversity of German games on Steam, the most popular online distribution platform for computer games, and to enable the participating games companies to increase their sales.
Therefore, Games Germany is looking for German developers, studios and publishers who would like to submit their games for the sale. Any company headquartered in Germany can participate.
The deadline for submissions is April 18, 2024 at 11:59 pm.
According to the provider, Steam registers over 62 million active users every day. The Games Germany Steam Sale creates visibility for computer games from Germany, leading to more sales and generating attention for upcoming releases.
Further information about the Steam Sale and the conditions of participation can be found at: https://www.games-germany.de/
Games Germany – Regional Funds and Networks offers all parties involved in the games industry information on funding and financing as well as development, and production conditions and publishing in Germany. In addition, Games Germany – Regional Funds and Networks supports the German games industry with their presence at major national and international industry trade fairs. The underlying model is based on Focus Germany, the umbrella organization of the eight regional film foundations in Germany.
Nicht zuletzt der zweite Förderantragsstopp im Mai hat die Frage aufgeworfen, wie Deutschland bei den Rahmenbedingungen für die Spiele-Entwicklung im internationalen Vergleich dasteht. Sind die von der Bundesregierung im Koalitionsvertrag und in der Games-Strategie selbst gesteckten Ziele, den Games-Standort zu stärken und Deutschland als einen Leitmarkt im internationalen Wettbewerb zu etablieren, mit den aktuellen Rahmenbedingungen überhaupt realistisch zu erreichen? Um diese Fragen zu beantworten, hat der game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche die Studie „Die deutsche Games-Förderung im internationalen Vergleich“ in Auftrag gegeben.
Die Untersuchung wurde von Nordicity (Kanada) in Zusammenarbeit mit Goldmedia (Deutschland) in Kooperation mit Games Germany, dem Verbund der Länderförderer und Ländernetzwerke erstellt. Die Studie zeigt dabei auf: Aktuell gibt es große Unterschiede zwischen Deutschland und den internationalen Top-Standorten bei den Games-Förderprogrammen. Etablierte Produktionsstandorte wie Kanada, Frankreich oder Großbritannien setzen gezielt auf eine steuerliche Games-Förderung. Dadurch entfällt in den meisten Fällen auch die Aufstellung eines festen Förderbudgets im Haushalt, das ausgeschöpft sein kann, wenn die benötigten Mittel die zur Verfügung gestellten übersteigen.
Die Games-Förderung steht in den Ländern mit steuerlichen Fördermodellen hingegen dauerhaft zur Verfügung und ist damit planbarer und verlässlicher. Dieser Ansatz funktioniert international dabei so gut, dass auch andere Standorte wie Irland oder Australien, die international eine größere Rolle bei Games-Entwicklungen spielen wollen, auf dieses Modell setzen. Deutschland hat hingegen ein Fondsmodell mit einem festen jährlichen Budget gewählt. Die Folge: Unternehmen wissen nicht, ob Fördermittel zur Verfügung stehen werden, wenn sie diese benötigen. Dadurch lässt sich mit der Games-Förderung in Deutschland nicht verlässlich planen.
„Die Studie ‚Die deutsche Games-Förderung im internationalen Vergleich‘ ist ein deutlicher Weckruf: Die Rahmenbedingungen für die Spiele-Entwicklung in Deutschland sind international nicht konkurrenzfähig. Damit wird die Bundesregierung ihre selbstgesteckten Ziele, Deutschland zu einem Leitmarkt zu entwickeln, nicht erreichen können, wenn sie sich nicht stärker an internationalen Standards orientiert. Welche das sind, zeigt die Studie nun schwarz auf weiß“, sagt Felix Falk, Geschäftsführer des game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche. „Es muss der Anspruch Deutschlands sein, auf einem der dynamischsten und größten Medienmärkte der Welt nicht nur zuzuschauen, sondern mitzuspielen. Dafür braucht es kurzfristig für 2024 die Erhöhung der Fördermittel auf 125 Millionen Euro, um den aktuellen Förderantragsstopp wieder aufheben zu können. Außerdem braucht es zusätzlich eine steuerliche Förderung wie sie laut der vorliegenden Studie an nahezu allen erfolgreichen Games-Standorten längst Standard ist. Nur sie schafft die Planungssicherheit und Zuverlässigkeit, die Deutschland dauerhaft zu einem der international erfolgreichsten Games-Standorte machen kann.“
Was diese Unterschiede bei den Förderprogrammen in der Praxis bedeuten, zeigt der zweite Teil der Studie. Anhand dreier typischer Beispiel-Budgets für Spiele-Produktionen, wurde mittels eines wirtschaftlichen Modells durchgerechnet, wie die tatsächlichen Förderquoten an den einzelnen Standorten aussehen. Das Ergebnis: Selbst bei bestehender Förderung kommt Deutschland aktuell weder bei kleineren Produktionen noch bei Entwicklungen mit Budgets im zwei- oder gar dreistelligen Millionenbereich, über das internationale Mittelmaß hinaus. Für die Zeit des derzeit mehr als 18 Monate lang drohenden Förderantragsstopps liegt Deutschland sogar an letzter Stelle. Der Vergleich zeigt zudem, dass nicht nur etablierte Top-Standorte wie Kanada oder Großbritannien in der Regel deutlich bessere Rahmenbedingungen bieten, sondern auch Länder wie Irland, die erst vor kurzem in die Games-Förderung eingestiegen sind, um ihren Produktionsanteil auf dem internationalen Wachstumsmarkt zu steigern.
Die Studie „Die deutsche Games-Förderung im internationalen Vergleich“ wurde von Nordicity und Goldmedia erstellt. Auftraggeber ist der game-Verband in Kooperation mit Games Germany. In Games Germany engagieren sich folgende Institutionen: FFF Bayern, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, gamearea-Hessen, Gamecity Hamburg, Games/Bavaria, Game Up!Rheinland Pfalz, HessenFilm und Medien GmbH, medianet berlinbrandenburg e.V., Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MFG Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung und nordmedia – Film- und Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen/Bremen.
We would like to sincerely thank all participants and visitors of the Games Germany reception in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK). Your enthusiastic attendance and engagement made this event a complete success.
Gamescom 2023 was a remarkable platform to exchange ideas, make contacts, and showcase the remarkable achievements of German game developers. The Games Germany reception allowed for insightful discussions on current industry topics.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to all individuals and organizations who contributed to the success of this event.
The second Games Germany Steam Sale continued the success of the first one.
Until June 29, 2023, more than 215 games „Made in Germany“ could be purchased on the platform at a reduced price. Among them are a large number of well-known games and studios. Some of the winners of the German Computer Game Award and the German Developer Award will be represented at the Games Germany Steam event. Among others, „Chained Echoes“ by Matthias Linda, „Everspace 2“ by ROCKFISH Games, „Anno 1800“ by Ubisoft Mainz, „Hunt: Showdown“ by Crytek, „Dorfromantik“ by Toukana Interactive and „Signalis“ by rose-engine.
The Steam Sale was initiated and organized by Games Germany, the association of German games promotion and network institutions. The goal of Games Germany is to present the great variety of German games on the online distribution platform Steam to users worldwide and to support German studios in the distribution of their games. Major German publishers such as Crytek, Deck13 Interactive GmbH, Daedalic Entertainment, Assemble Entertainment and THQ Nordic are also making their titles available for the „Made in Germany“ sale starting June 22.
According to the manufacturer, Steam has over 69 million active users every day. Participation in this sale event offers developers the chance to expand the international reach of their games and increase their name recognition.
After last year’s great success, Games Germany will bring back a “Made in Germany” Steam Sale this summer! Therefore, we are looking for games from German developers to celebrate their creativity.
The Sale is set for the end of June 2023. We want to showcase the vast variety of games made in Germany, so don’t hesitate to apply as long as you are a studio or a publisher with a head office in Germany.
To participate in this Steam event, please fill out this form by May 12, 2023.
To guarantee a certain quality, the Steam reviews of the submitted games should be at least mostly positive (in individual cases, or if your game is reviewed positively by Steam users but doesn’t have enough reviews to generate a user rating, an exception can be made to this rule).
Each developer is allowed to submit 2 items in total (you’re free to choose if you want to feature already released or upcoming games to generate Wishlist entries; item can refer to your game or bundle). Publishers are allowed to submit more than 2 items, as long as they are developed by different devs with a head office in Germany.
Please note: It will not be possible to consider all submissions.
Need help finding your app ID? Go to the Steam page of your game, check the URL.
The app ID is included in the URL between app/…/game title, e.g.
About Games Germany – Regional Funds and Networks:Games Germany is a cooperation of funding and network institutions from different parts of Germany due to the federal political system. Under the umbrella of Games Germany (GG), these local game institutions are represented within one united national appearance.
Besides the federal funding, there are also the various regional funding houses within Germany. An overview of the various funding institutions and submission deadlines in 2021.
Please visit the respective funding institution’s page for more details, contacts, etc.
Gamecity Hamburg Prototype funding application period: 31.03.-25.05.21 Prototype funding application period (second round): 30.08.-18.10.21 Game Lift Incubator application period: end of June – end of July 2021
It was long talked about and finally got on the road in 2020: The annual 50 Mio Euro committed by the federal government for the funding of games. A regulatory framework was established and communicated and first projects got their funding.
One thing was still to do: How can that funding be combined with then regional funding? And, dear friends that issue is now resolved. It is a clear „Yes we can“. The specifics on what is possible and what is not can be found in the FAQ provided by the federal government.
For all further questions you can also directly contact your regional fund or get in touch with us and we gladly point you in the right direction.
This year’s PLAY – Creative Gaming Festival will be presented in a new hybrid form: online and on-site at selected locations in Hamburg. Under the motto „Exploring Borders“, visitors will discover the limits of digital games, measure them and even cross them.
Games Germany is supporting the Gamecity Hamburg Online Game Jam from November 6th to 8th as part of PLAY20. Registration is now possible and free of charge:
Crossing borders and trying out new things are central components of a Game Jam. New teams or game developers work together in proven constellations to create new computer games in 45 hours of collaborative work at the Online Game Jam. The focus is on fun, creativity and enthusiasm for digital games and the current challenge of working well together in virtual space.
The Online Game Jam starts on Friday, November 6 at 6:30 pm with the presentation of the topic and ends on Sunday, November 8 at 4 pm. Selected games from the Game Jam will then be presented by Twitch streamer OddNina in a Live Let’s Play.
On Saturday, November 7, the PLAY20 stream on YouTube playfestival.de will report on the progress of the Online Game Jam teams.
Who can participate?
Any person from anywhere in the world who is interested in developing a digital game within 45 hours can register. Existing teams, individuals and teams/persons who are looking for additional teams or members can participate.
After the conception of the topic on Friday, 6 November at 18.30 o’clock, in the PLAY20 live stream the team identification phase and afterwards the creative work of the participants/inside starts.
This November representatives from our Games Germany members of Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia have been visiting the fast growing games conference “Game Rome” in Italy. Within our round table talk “Connecting Across Borders – Working Together as Networking and Funding Agencies in Germany – and Europe?” on the second conference day we focused on introducing Games Germany and the federal structure of German games business development services to Italian game developer and local institutions. We were very pleased to rise some valuable questions and we managed to start a small discussion about the different landscapes of games industry and media politics in different countries. In Germany the networking and funding institutions are responsible for specific regions within Germany (e.g. Bavaria, Berlin, Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia etc.). We founded Games Germany to cooperate under one umbrella brand. With Games Germany we support national and international events, communicate with international partners and provide relevant insights on the German games industry. We are on our way to connect with European networking and funding agencies to exchange on challenges and to talk about our different approaches and solutions. Maybe we can even find a way of working together across national borders.
