As game Rhineland-Palatinate, we are the regional representation of the members of game, the association of the German games industry.

Together with regional players and in close cooperation with partners and institutions, we are committed to the digital games location Rhineland-Palatinate. As game Rhineland-Palatinate, we are particularly committed to this at the political level and are available as a regional contact.

Preamble (click)

With its many colleges and universities in technical and design fields, Rhineland-Palatinate is extremely well-positioned as an attractive location for education and training; particularly as regards the field of game development, the federal state offers a great deal of capacity and highly specialised clusters of expertise. Innovative, future-oriented programmes of study at colleges and internationally established companies with offices in Rhineland-Palatinate shape the face of the industry far beyond the borders of the federal state. In that sense, Rhineland-Palatinate has exceptional potential for development and counteracting the skilled labour shortages and migration of qualified professionals away from the state as part of the state government’s digitalisation strategy, as well as significantly increasing the number of start-ups in the federal state.

 

As a medium, games have enormous societal relevance. Combining technology, business and culture in perfect harmony, the industry makes a unique contribution to digital transformation, and does so in a responsible manner. Companies in the games industry are dynamic innovators. Their products and interdisciplinary approaches – from IT to design and media management – create valuable transfer and spillover effects in other economic sectors.

 

Games companies are leaders in the development of artificial intelligence, visualisation and the transfer of knowledge and expertise. The extremely high export rate of digital games (a national average of 46 per cent) is impressive proof of just how international the games market is. Additionally, the majority of employees in production and publishing are salaried and subject to social insurance contributions.

 

In future, maintaining the innovative potential, entrepreneurial spirit and employment rate in the games industry of Rhineland-Palatinate will be vital, as will ensuring that the local industry builds on these strengths. The objective is to transition the numerous skilled professionals educated in Rhineland-Palatinate into highly qualified positions within the region. Improved conditions for companies in this digital industry would help prevent the migration of talented experts away from Rhineland-Palatinate, assist start-ups in becoming established businesses over the long term and intensify the level of research being conducted.

 

Further development of project funding for digital games in Rhineland-Palatinate (click)

• Establishment of games funding with EU notification on a competitive scale so that it is not subject to de minimis aid restrictions
• Funding through grants and conditionally repayable loans
• No red tape, i.e. rapid approval process without content restrictio
• Funding options for entire production and value chain: for various project levels and sizes, for publishing, for participation in trade fairs and conferences
• Support for the federal games funding agreed upon the in the federal government’s coalition agreement and ensuring compatibility with regional funding in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate

Expansion of GameUp! cluster management for the games industry in Rhineland-Palatinate (click)

• Further funding and staff for GameUp! Rhineland-Palatinate to ensure state-wide availability of games industry services
• Organisation of and support for monthly networking events in Rhineland-Palatinate
• Organisation, management and funding of joint initiatives for the representation of the regional games industry at national and international trade fairs and conferences
• Expansion of the GameUp! Contest to identify the most promising ideas and concepts in Rhineland-Palatinatez
• Establishment of a central point of contact to provide guidance regarding funding issues