Fascinating Polaris convention drawing more visitors

"The rising visitor numbers proves the industry's importance as a key factor for the Hamburg  business centre," said Egbert Rühl, Head of Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft. "Hamburg is one of the most important gaming centre in Germany. Major studios such as InnoGames, Goodgame Studios, Gamigo and Bigpoint have been founded here, international developers have branches in the city coupled with a very lively indie and start-up scene," he stressed. Around 2,500 people in 200 companies work in the games industry across Hamburg, according to Gamecity Hamburg.

Gamecity Hamburg has lent its support to the industry with various schemes, funding and events for over 20 years. Symmetry Break Studio (SBS), for instance, qualified for both prototype funding and the Games Lift Incubator. The studio  presented its adventure game, Misgiven , which won the German Computer Game Award 2024, during Polaris. "Players slip into the role of a space adventurer who finds himself in an alien world. A poisonous fog forces people to wear masks and the aim is to look behind these masks," said Jan Barow, co-founder of SBS. “Gamecity Hamburg's funding was very important for us. In addition to the financial and technical support, the network was a great help for us as a fledgling game studio," said Anca Tutescu, CEO of SBS who completed her master's at HAW Hamburg, where the foundation for the start-up was laid.

Dr Torben Rieckmann, co-founder of the Neurodactics start-up, echoes her views on the games industry. "We are a spin-off from the University of Hamburg and this first step was made possible by EXIST funding. Thanks to Gamecity Hamburg's prototype funding, we were then able to hire our first employee and realise our Mambio app." Mambio brings numbers and quantities to life for children to playfully overcome maths problems.. "The app adapts to the  children's individual learning levels," said Wiebke Nehls, a special needs teacher at Neurodactics.

Start-ups such as Symmetry Break Studio and Neurodactics are catering to a growing market. "Gaming is becoming an increasingly important hobby in Germany. Around 53 per cent of all Germans play computer and video games occasionally at least," according to Statista. "The proportion of video game players in the 16 to 29 age group is even higher at over 91 per cent, and comes to 19 per cent in the over 65 age group." In 2023,  the gaming market earned a record EUR 10 billion. The German Ministry for Economics and Climate Protection has termed the industry a key economic factor that advances forward-looking technologies and leads to more participation and inclusion at the same time. Meanwhile, serious games are being used in the education sector to teach through play.

Gaming fans are flocking to two new venues downtown after “Xperion” opened in the Media Markt store in Mönckebergstreet in early September. The 3,500 square metre area features 200 cutting-edge gaming spaces, an event arena with around 200 seats, a large stage and LED wall. Influencers and streamers can use special booths to produce content. And Mouseports (Mouz) is opening a space on Glockengießerwall. The German esports organisation has created a three-storey, 1,400 square metre space opposite the Hamburger Kunsthalle for its professional Mouz teams. Plans are also being laid to open it up to the general public and to hold regular esports events.
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