Central Europe
Gaming Meets Business – Hamburg Games Conference 2024 brings the international games industry together
The 15th Hamburg Games Conference (HGC) gathered about 365 international trade visitors and 42 speakers from 255 companies in Hamburg on March 5 and 6. At the business conference, participants exchanged views on the status quo of the games industry and made valuable contacts in the historic Altonaer Museum. With a focus on current topics such as waves of layoffs and studio shutdowns as well as impulses for the future of the industry, the Hamburg Games Conference is once again positioning itself as a fixture in the games industry’s event calendar. On the first day of the conference, Hamburg’s First Mayor Dr. Peter Tschentscher gave a welcome address and took a tour of the conference to learn more about the current challenges facing the games industry.
The program offered a total of 17 talks, 5 panel discussions, the workshop “The Current Challenges for Public and Private Funding in Europe” with Prof. Odile Limpach, the roundtable “State of the Art of Artificial Intelligence Use Cases in the Games and Entertainment Industries” with Dr. Ralph Oliver Graef and Fabian Stösser, and the Indie Arena Booth Pitch Royal. In the Expo Area, 20 games companies and service providers, including Alibaba Cloud, Giants Software, Reactional Music, and several indie studios, presented themselves to trade visitors, who were also able to meet up in 470 meetings and an exclusive get-together event via the MeetToMatch matchmaking platform.
With the theme “Gaming meets Business”, the two stages focused on investments and licensing, current M&A trends, AI and technological innovations in game development, case studies on best practices, and panels on the state of the games industry.
Thanks to the free opportunity tickets sponsored by industry partners Plitch, InnoGames, Chrono Games, Marchsreiter Communications, Polaris, Immutable and IGDA, 70 people affected by layoffs were able to attend the HGC and benefit from the comprehensive program and matchmaking opportunities.
“In the current situation where waves of layoffs are the order of the day, our Opportunity Ticket campaign is our contribution to allowing those affected by layoffs to get in touch with potential employers. There is so much talent in the games industry and the industry needs to keep these experts,” says Wolf Lang, Managing Director of Super Crowd about the Opportunity Ticket campaign.
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Exclusive in-person event with tailor-made matchmaking
“On its two conference days, the Hamburg Games Conference once again set topics, facilitated new collaborations, and made Hamburg the top choice for all things games. Whether in the lecture halls, in the Expo area, or the Meet to Match area, the need for exchange in the industry could be felt everywhere,” commented Dr. Ralph Graef, Managing Partner of GRAEF RechtsanwĂ€lte.
Many international games companies on-site
The Hamburg-based companies Sunday, Bigpoint, The Sandbox, InnoGames, and 1SP Agency Holding supported HGC 2024 as enablers and on the Advisory Board. Many thanks also go to further sponsors Alibaba Cloud, 4Players, Bytro, Photon, Playa Games, Threaks, Tiny Roar, gamigo, Giant Games, Reactional Music, Neox Studios and Québec.
Speakers at this year’s Hamburg Games Conference came from the renowned companies Remedy Entertainment, Keen Games, Metacore, Thunderful Group, The Sandbox, Animoca Brands, Bigpoint, InnoGames, Sunday, Gamelight, London Venture Partners, Gamesindustry.biz, WINGS Interactive, Chrono Games, Lowbirth Games, Tabbler, Gamelight, Agnitio Capital, stillalive studios, Drake Star Partners, ROCKFISH Games, Spielworks, SpielFabrique 360°, Layer, The Sandbox, Rise and Play, Whow Games, 1SP Agency Holding, VIZTA Digital, Super Crowd Entertainment, GRAEF RechtsanwĂ€lte, PATI, Dotemu, Team17, INSTINCT3 and Azerion.
Central Europe
NOVOMATIC builds the Groupâs largest photovoltaic system in Lower Austria
NOVOMATIC has underscored its clear commitment to sustainability by installing the Groupâs largest photovoltaic system. More than 4,600 solar panels have been installed on the roof of the headquarters in Lower Austria, covering a total area of 20,000 m2 and ceremoniously commissioned in the presence of Lower Austrian Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner, NOVOMATICâs Executive Board and the mayor of Gumpoldskirchen, Ferdinand Köck.
The PV system, with a size equivalent to three football pitches, will produce around two million kilowatt-hours of electricity every year, thereby enabling the company to meet a substantial portion of this locationâs annual energy needs. In addition to being used in the offices and production facilities, this green electricity will also find its way into the companyâs dedicated charging stations for its fleet of e-vehicles. It is a similar situation with international subsidiaries in countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain, Romania, North Macedonia, Bosnia, Poland, South Africa and Australia, which are already meeting substantial portions of their electricity needs from dedicated PV systems.
State Governor of Lower Austria, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, emphasizes âLower Austria is a pioneer in efforts to develop the use of wind energy and photovoltaics. Half of all the wind power produced in Austria and a quarter of all the country’s photovoltaic electricity already comes from Lower Austria today. We can do this because many companies do their bit to ensure the green and sustainable future of the state’s economic engine, investing in the development of renewable energy sources. Thank you for this investment and the trust placed in the economic hub that is Lower Austria.â
âThe completion of the Groupâs largest photovoltaic plant is not just a key milestone in the sustainability strategy of NOVOMATIC AG, but it also means we have sent a clear signal of our intentions to foster a strong and efficient energy future. After all, it is only by taking responsibility that business success can be guaranteed in the long term,â says the Executive Board of the NOVOMATIC AG Group.
Installing the new PV system on already built-up areas helps NOVOMATIC to consistently reduce its carbon footprint, and enabling it now to save more than 1,100 tons of CO2 emissions every year, the equivalent of 90,500 trees compensating for CO2. The concept of âGoing Greenâ is firmly anchored in the companyâs comprehensive ESG program as Europeâs leading gaming technology group. In addition to its workÂÂ to expand the use of photovoltaics across the Group, the company is also focusing its attention on monitoring resources and expanding e-mobility, all with a view to permanently cutting international CO2 emissions.
Central Europe
ComeOn Group’s Sportsbook hub in Austria relocates to new office space to facilitate further growth
ComeOn Group announced the relocation of its sportsbook, tech and risk management hub in Graz, Austria, to a new and central office space. The new office marks yet another milestone in ComeOnâs investment to accelerate its proprietary sportsbook platform and deliver a differentiated product proposition to its sportsbook players.
ComeOnâs proprietary sportsbook platform and in-house trading team is a key part of its strategy to grow the sportsbook business according to the company’s growth strategy. The office in Austria marks the central gravity of the platform development and opens up room for the teams to grow further as ComeOn levels up its investment into their sportsbook part of the business.
Juergen Reutter, Chief Executive Officer at ComeOn Group, said: âWe are very excited about our new sportsbook engineering and trading hub in Graz. Sportsbook is a key driver of our growth plans ahead and we are well on track with the strategic goal we have set to double our sportsbook business in the next three years. By investing in technology and our proprietary sportsbook platform we are not only providing our customers with top-notch entertainment experiences but also ensuring that our employees have the tools and environment they need to innovate and excel. Our new office is not just a place to work; it’s a hub for collaboration and growth, allowing us to better serve our customers.â
The new office opened its doors officially at the beginning of October and ComeOn Group remains dedicated to providing creative and modern office spaces across all their locations for its employees to keep on innovating to deliver the most exciting entertainment experiences for their customers.
Central Europe
Wildz becomes the new sponsor of FC Schalke 04
Royal Blue has a new addition: Wildz is joining FC Schalke 04 as an official sponsor with immediate effect. An initial two-year partnership has been agreed upon with Rootz Limited, Wildz’s parent company.
Matthias Tillmann, CEO of FC Schalke 04, looks forward to the collaboration: âAs in football, Wildz focuses on fair play and the fun of the game. The company works with the world’s leading gaming providers and offers entertaining and responsible gameplay.â
Customers can control their gambling activities and thus prevent gambling addiction problems. Wildz has specialized tools to help players manage their time and spending limits and provides information on professional tools and access to customer service in five languages.
For Schalke fans, Wildz will be visible for the first time at all future home games on the board in the VELTINS-Arena. In addition, the gambling operator will now present the official crowd figures with its logo on the video cube and S04’s social media channels.
Sam Brown, CEO, Wildz: âWe are extremely excited about partnering with FC Schalke 04, one of Germanyâs most historic and iconic football clubs. S04 stands for an intense love for the game shared by its millions of unique and passionate fans. The same passion and intensity is reflected in our own philosophy at Rootz, which is why we see this collaboration as a perfect synergy to reach new heights together.â
As a licensed and regulated gaming operator, Wildz offers its customers a wide range of games on a sophisticated platform. In addition to a dynamic rewards system, the platform impresses with exclusive features, innovative and efficient programming, and impressive graphics and content.
In this way, Wildz has succeeded in establishing itself as a leading online gaming operator and has already won several titles, such as âMobile Operator of the Yearâ (2024). Like the best entertainment, data protection and complete privacy are top priorities at Wildz.
Rootz Limited operates its services with a license from the Joint Gambling Authority of the federal states. This license was granted throughout Germany in September 2022 for virtual machine gaming in accordance with sections 4 to 4d in conjunction with 22a GlĂŒStV 2021.
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