As a joint organiser of gamescom, game is responsible for the world’s biggest event for computer and video games, which takes place every year in Cologne in late August. game’s association office is located in the Berlin district of Mitte, in close proximity to the government district and the German Bundestag. game is the sole stakeholder in the USK (Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body), the Foundation for Digital Games Culture (Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur) and the esports player foundation, as well as a sponsor of the German Computer Games Awards. devcom is a subsidiary of game, and among other things, it organises the gamescom developer conference of the same name. As an expert partner for media and for political and social institutions, game answers all questions on topics such as market development, games culture and media literacy.

The members of game participate in various working groups, where they work on the association’s positions on numerous issues, such as market research, law, funding, serious games and conditions for indie developers. Additionally, the game esports association includes members who actively work with esports. They include a wide range of stakeholders in the esports ecosystem, such as game developers, publishers, event organisers and agencies.

Lars Janssen, VP, Worldwide Studios & Talent of Koch Media, has been Chairman of the game Executive Board since 2022, after being confirmed as a board member by the general meeting in May of this year. His deputy is Julia Pfiffer, Co-Managing Director of astragon Entertainment. The members also elected the following individuals to the Executive Board: Johanna Janiszewski (Founder and CEO of Tiny Crocodile Studios), Christian Kluckner (Co-Founder and Managing Director of Chimera Entertainment), and Ralf Wirsing (Managing Director Europe of Ubisoft). As the strong, unified voice of the entire German games industry, game has additionally helped to support the founding of many regional offices throughout Germany since the merger.

[Daten Grafik „Der game in Zahlen“]

„Hier spielt Vielfalt“

Diversity initiative ‘Hier spielt Vielfalt’

 
The games industry is justifiably proud of how incredibly diverse its games and its communities are. More than 2.9 billion people around the world play computer and video games – regardless of age, gender, nationality, religion or sexual orientation. And the thousands of game developers around the world are just as diverse as the players.
This is why the German games industry launched the initiative ‘Hier spielt Vielfalt’ (Diversity plays here) in December 2019, with the goal of further bolstering its commitment to an open, diverse games culture. The joint declaration on the subject has thus far been signed by more than 1,500 individuals and institutions.
 
game also published a Diversity Guide to help raise awareness of the issue even further. It provides readers with specific tips and advice on building diverse teams and games communities, and it is expanded on a regular basis. The guide is available free of charge in German and English. Due to the strong interest in games industry issues and diversity, game has not only participated in numerous discussions and talks on the subject in recent years; it has also put forward many speakers for such events.
 
For further information go to www.hier-spielt-vielfalt.de

Environmental and climate protection in the games industry

The consequences of the climate crisis are already very noticeable today. We have all been made aware of what will happen if businesses, governments and society at large do not act quickly to stop the crisis from intensifying further.
 
The games industry takes its social responsibility in this area very seriously. In Germany alone, 80 per cent of games companies say that environmental and climate protection is important to them. 76 per cent of games companies are already committed to operating more sustainably, such as by implementing measures to save energy and heat, using green electricity, separating waste and the like. And around the world, growing numbers of games companies have committed to far-reaching environmental strategies.
 
game is also doing its part to protect the environment. For example, the association and its subsidiaries USK (Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body), the Foundation for Digital Games Culture (Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur), the esports player foundation and devcom are all completely climate neutral. Since mid-June 2021, game has also been an associate member of the Playing for the Planet Alliance, an environmental partnership between the UN and the games industry. As part of its membership, game has committed to measuring its environmental impact annually, implementing measures to achieve complete climate neutrality – which game has already accomplished – and to inform its members and games companies as to how they can reduce their impact on the environment. One way game does this is by publishing a free guide on environmental and climate protection. Additionally, gamescom has launched a sustainability project called ‘gamescom forest’, the goal of which is to reforest a climate-stable mixed woodland near Bayreuth, partly financed by donations from the community. In early 2022, game joined forces with co-organiser Koelnmesse as part of gamescom 2022 to launch the ‘gamescom goes green’ sustainability initiative. The new sustainability concept makes gamescom the first climate-friendly games event. Building on previous initiatives, all emissions from the core event will now be 100 per cent offset in cooperation with the climate experts at ClimatePartner.
 
For further information go to www.game.de/guides/game-umwelt-guide/editorial