Hamburg Games Conference 2021 going digital

Business people, founders and students from all over the globe can explore the conference with their avatars, visit digital exhibitor booths and take part in matchmaking during video chats on the event platform. A lack of live trade shows and major events amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic means many game developers and publishers face the challenge of finding buyers. This has sparked more and more distribution models, online platforms and stores than ever before. Companies are also searching for new employees and have to bring them on board without actually meeting the candidates in person.

The Hamburg Games Conference helps German games studios find suitable funding. This is done in co-operation with the German Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), which puts the government's EUR 250 million computer games funding into practice. The ministry also advises interested parties about the application procedure. 

The conference also works with the Creative Ports initiative to network games start-ups across Europe and beyond. A special programme for start-ups and founders lets them receive 360-degree feedback from experts and their peers and gives them an opportunity to pitch to potential publishers and investors. Creative Ports consists of 14 partners in Baltic Sea countries. They include funding organisations and municipalities, international cultural institutes and universities who have joined forces in a consortium led by the Goethe-Institut Deutschland. The aim is to improve and promote collaboration between stakeholders in the cultural and creative industries and to develop internationalisation strategies. 

The Hamburg Games Conference is organised by Gamecity Hamburg and Graef Rechtsanwälte while the Super Crowd Entertainment agency, which organised the Indie Arena Booth Online in 2020, is transferring the event to the digital space. Last February, the event attracted around 400 trade visitors from all over Europe.
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