Design Zentrum Hamburg

The Games Lift Incubator, an initiative by Gamecity Hamburg, utilizes international industry conventions like the Nordic Game conference in Malmö, Sweden, as a strategic cornerstone for developer growth. The primary objective of these excursions is to provide emerging game studios with essential networking opportunities, direct access to international publishers, and exposure to the vibrant Scandinavian gaming ecosystem. By facilitating these trips, the program aims to bridge the gap between local development and the global market, ensuring that incubator participants gain practical experience in high-stakes professional environments.

The program emphasizes rigorous preparation as a prerequisite for conference success. Participants undergo extensive training through workshops led by industry experts and mentors, focusing on refining pitch presentations, managing technical challenges, and developing effective meeting strategies. These sessions cover the nuances of business development, including the importance of thorough documentation, goal setting, and maintaining professional composure under pressure. This structured approach ensures that developers are equipped to maximize their time during short, high-impact meetings with potential partners.

The scope of this initiative encompasses the 2024 Games Lift cohort, including teams such as Honeybeak, Triflgard, and Duck’n’Run Games, who showcased projects like "ForeFeathers," "Pubcrawler," and "Light of Atlantis." Beyond the immediate networking benefits, the program views conference attendance as a vital component of an ongoing learning process. By integrating these experiences into the broader incubator curriculum, Gamecity Hamburg fosters a supportive community where alumni and current teams can share insights, refine their professional conduct, and build the visibility necessary for long-term success in the competitive games industry.

The primary purpose of this resource guide is to promote visibility, awareness, and support for LGBTQIA+ individuals within the games industry during Pride Month 2025. By highlighting specific events, organizations, and educational resources, the guide serves as a central hub for developers, employers, and allies to engage with initiatives that foster diversity and inclusion. The content emphasizes that Pride in the gaming sector extends beyond celebration to include active advocacy for marginalized communities and the combatting of systemic issues like sexism.

The guide features a curated selection of industry-specific events, including the Rainbow Tech Fest, a three-day digital hack-a-thon, and the Gayming Awards 2025, which celebrate LGBTQIA+ excellence in gaming. It also highlights the ongoing Queer Games Bundle on itch.io, which features over 600 entries, and the Power Up Pride Bundle via Humble Bundle. For those focused on the German market, the guide points to local events such as the Hamburg Pride Week and the GAME:IN talk on sexuality and intimacy in digital games.

Beyond event listings, the guide provides access to critical research and advocacy tools, including the Geena Davis Institute’s report on representation in video games and the 2024 GLAAD Gaming Report. It also directs users to professional resources like the Qweerty Gamers non-profit and the Diversity Guide published by the German games industry association, game. These resources are intended to provide actionable insights for studios looking to improve representation and create safer, more inclusive work environments. The scope of the information is global, with a specific focus on the German and Hamburg-based games industry.

The Gamescom 2025 recap highlights the successful participation of Hamburg-based developers at the Indie Arena Booth, serving as a summary of the regional industry's presence at the international trade fair. Held from August 20 to 24, 2025, the event saw a significant return to pre-pandemic attendance levels, drawing over 357,000 visitors, including 34,000 trade professionals. The primary objective of the initiative was to provide local indie studios with a platform to showcase their projects, gather audience feedback, and facilitate essential networking with publishers, journalists, and media representatives.

Four specific Hamburg-based studios—Mooneye Studios, Tiny Roar, Wetterfest, and ThinMatrix—were featured at the Gamecity Hamburg booth, which was situated within the Indie Arena Booth in Hall 10.2. This area, recognized as the largest shared developer space at the event, hosted approximately 200 international indie titles. Beyond the exhibition floor, the program included various industry engagement opportunities, such as streaming interviews, stage appearances, and professional networking events organized by groups like Women in Games and other industry stakeholders.

The event underscored the vibrancy of the German indie scene, drawing attention from government officials, including Federal Minister Dorothee Bär, who toured the booth to observe the local development landscape. The initiative serves as a continuation of ongoing efforts by Gamecity Hamburg to support regional studios through its "Road to" programs, which aim to connect local talent with global industry opportunities. Following the conclusion of Gamescom, the organization shifted its focus toward upcoming regional events, such as the Polaris Convention in Hamburg, to maintain momentum for the local gaming ecosystem.

Gamecity Hamburg is set to host a prominent indie game showcase at the 2025 Polaris Convention in Hamburg, scheduled for October 10–12. The initiative serves to highlight the local gaming ecosystem by presenting eight distinct titles developed by Hamburg-based studios. This showcase is part of the broader Road to Polaris program, which aims to provide local developers with professional exposure, networking opportunities, and a platform to engage directly with the public and industry peers.

The eight featured games represent a diverse range of genres and platforms, including the family-friendly racing title Ed & Edda: GRAND PRIX, the educational math game Mambio, the cozy exploration game Map Map, and the dungeon-crawling adventure NeverLight. Other selections include the 3D platformer Super Chipflake Ü, the narrative VR experience The Amusement, the nature restoration simulation The Regreening, and the cooperative wave-defense game Vacunauts. By facilitating this presence, the program offers developers a venue to demonstrate their work while providing attendees with insights into the city’s game development landscape and available funding resources.

The Polaris Convention itself continues to grow, utilizing over 20,000 square meters of exhibition space to host approximately 150 exhibitors, stage shows, and workshops focused on gaming and Asian pop culture. Beyond the exhibition, the event serves as a hub for industry connection, underscored by the Gamecity Treff networking event. This effort aligns with the organization’s ongoing commitment to supporting the regional games industry through various funding, incubation, and promotional programs designed to foster growth and international visibility for Hamburg-based creators.

The Games Lift Incubator, a long-standing initiative by Gamecity Hamburg, held its 2025 kickoff event to introduce the latest cohort of developers and their projects. The program aims to foster professional growth within the local gaming ecosystem by providing teams with structured mentorship, networking opportunities, and a collaborative environment. By facilitating connections between current participants and program alumni, the incubator emphasizes the importance of community building over simple project completion.

The 2025 cohort features a diverse range of titles currently in development. These include The Wrong Horse, a crime adventure centered on a jockey’s death; Phasmopass, a roguelike strategy game set in a dystopian afterlife; Encaged and Ungraded, an anomaly horror game focused on card inspection; Fading Skies, an action-adventure title with nostalgic platforming elements; and Project Slimepot, a hack-and-snack game involving dungeon combat and tavern management. These projects represent a variety of genres and development stages, ranging from early concepts to more advanced prototypes.

Operating out of Hamburg, Germany, the incubator continues to serve as a vital hub for regional talent. The program’s methodology centers on intensive one-on-one mentoring, workshops, and the integration of developers into a broader industry network. By hosting events at the SPACE facility, the initiative maintains a consistent, professional atmosphere that supports both technical development and long-term career sustainability for independent studios. The ongoing success of the program is evidenced by the continued engagement of alumni and the steady pipeline of new, creative projects entering the local market.

The Games Lift Incubator, a program managed by Gamecity Hamburg, serves as a professional development hub for emerging game developers. The initiative provides participants with structured workshops, mentorship, and networking opportunities designed to bridge the gap between creative concepts and industry-ready products. A primary focus of the program is addressing common challenges in the games industry, such as visibility, marketing, and effective pitching, while fostering technical and business skills among early-stage teams.

The 2025 cohort features the project The Wrong Horse, a detective adventure game developed by illustrators Sharon Sacks and Vincent Will. The project aims to modernize the crime fiction genre by moving away from traditional dark, noir aesthetics in favor of a more colorful and interactive experience. The game centers on a journalist investigating a suspicious death at a racecourse, utilizing mechanics that emphasize clue combination and character interaction. The developers, both of whom are completing master’s degrees at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, are leveraging their combined seven years of illustration experience to drive the project’s art direction and development.

The development team is currently focused on conceptualizing puzzles and story threads, with a planned release date in 2027. While the duo manages core development, they are strategically incorporating external expertise for sound design, animation, and voice work to maintain a high-quality, compact experience. By participating in the incubator, the team is refining their project scope and business strategy, demonstrating the practical application of the program’s support in transforming independent creative visions into viable, well-rounded gaming products within the Hamburg development ecosystem.

The Portside Game Assembly 2026, organized by Gamecity Hamburg, serves as a specialized B2B conference tailored for established independent game studios. Scheduled for June 26, 2026, in Hamburg, the event aims to foster professional connections within the industry through a curated, maritime-themed environment. The conference is designed exclusively for studios that have successfully released at least one commercial title, ensuring a high level of expertise among participants.

The event structure includes the core conference, a networking brunch, and an industry party. Registration for the conference is currently open to eligible studios, with a supporter ticket option available to those wishing to contribute to the event's independent mission. Ticket sales for the associated social events are slated to begin in the first quarter of 2026.

The conference has already attracted a diverse international cohort of participants, including studios from Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Notable registered developers include Massive Monster, Eremite Games, and Landfall, among others. This gathering highlights the ongoing efforts of Gamecity Hamburg to support the independent sector through targeted networking, mentorship opportunities, and industry showcases, such as the Games Made in Hamburg initiative. The event continues the momentum established by its 2025 premiere, reinforcing Hamburg's position as a central hub for international indie game development.

The Games Lift Incubator in Hamburg serves as a critical support structure for emerging game development teams, providing professional mentorship, workshop programs, and financial resources. The program aims to foster sustainable growth for independent studios by refining their creative visions and business strategies. A primary example of this process is the development of Project Slimepot, a title currently undergoing incubation to transition from a conceptual idea to a market-ready product.

Project Slimepot is developed by Calluna Games, a four-person team leveraging two years of prior professional collaboration. The game utilizes a core loop described as "Slay, Cook, Serve," blending elements of action-adventure, crafting, and strategy. Inspired by the concept of consuming monsters for survival, the team has refined the project’s scope through incubator workshops, shifting from a tavern-management focus to a more streamlined experience centered on character progression and team-building within a dark fairy tale universe.

The incubator process emphasizes market viability and realistic project management. Through specialized workshops covering product development, competition analysis, and modern marketing, the team has successfully sharpened its creative focus and operational strategy. Currently, the developers are preparing to formalize their company structure, develop proof-of-concept demos, and secure further financing. With a projected development timeline of one to two years, the project exemplifies the incubator’s role in helping small, agile teams navigate the complexities of the games industry while maintaining the flexibility required to adapt to evolving market demands.

Gamecity Hamburg provides a strategic roadmap for the 2026 calendar year, outlining key funding opportunities, professional development programs, and industry events designed to support the local games ecosystem. The primary objective is to foster growth for Hamburg-based developers through financial assistance, networking, and international exposure.

The organization manages two major funding initiatives: Prototype Funding and the Games Lift Incubator. Prototype Funding offers up to 400,000 euros in total non-repayable grants, with individual awards covering up to 80 percent of eligible costs, capped at 80,000 euros per project. The application window for this program is scheduled for February 23 to March 30, 2026. Simultaneously, the Games Lift Incubator provides five selected teams with 15,000 euros in funding, a comprehensive one-year workshop curriculum, and professional mentoring, with applications open from April 27 to June 1, 2026.

Beyond direct funding, the organization facilitates market access through its "Road to" programs, which assist local studios in showcasing their work at major trade fairs such as gamescom and Polaris. The 2026 event calendar includes a series of B2B and educational gatherings, such as the "Game Starter" programming sessions, "Pitch Level Up" for investor readiness, and the "Portside Game Assembly," a two-day conference focused on international indie studio collaboration. These initiatives collectively aim to strengthen the regional industry by connecting local talent with global publishers, investors, and media professionals.

SalsaShark Studios, a Hamburg-based developer founded by Christian Wasser, officially released its debut title, Super Chipflake Ü: Quest for the Uncooked Schnitzel, on January 19, 2026. The game is a colorful 3D platformer available for both Nintendo Switch and PC platforms.

The gameplay centers on a cat-like protagonist navigating a semi-open world known as the Schländ. Players engage with various mini-games, puzzles, and non-player characters to progress through the narrative. A core feature of the experience is a unique merging mechanic, which allows players to combine disparate items—such as sticks and mushrooms—to create tools, platforms, or medicinal solutions for characters within the game world.

This release highlights the ongoing creative output of the Hamburg game development scene. The studio, led by the developer and YouTuber known as Samb, utilized a small team to bring the project to market. The launch is part of a broader regional ecosystem supported by initiatives like Gamecity Hamburg, which provides infrastructure, funding, and networking opportunities for local studios to showcase their work and reach international audiences.

The Games Lift Incubator, a program managed by Gamecity Hamburg, serves as a catalyst for emerging game developers to refine their projects through mentorship, workshops, and financial support. The program focuses on fostering innovation within the Hamburg games industry by providing selected teams with 15,000 euros in funding, a dedicated coaching budget, and access to international industry events. This initiative highlights the importance of iterative design and professional guidance in transforming early-stage concepts into viable market products.

A primary example of this development process is the studio Curio Compass, which utilized the incubator to pivot its debut project, Limbo City AfterLIVE. Originally conceived as a volleyball-themed game titled Phasmopass, the team shifted the project toward a narrative-driven, turn-based combat roguelite. This strategic change, influenced by incubator discussions, was designed to broaden the game's appeal and deepen its narrative impact. The game draws thematic inspiration from the real-world experiences of its creators, specifically the pressures of constant surveillance and performance, which are translated into a surreal reality television setting.

The incubator emphasizes the use of open-source tools, such as the Godot engine, reflecting a broader trend among independent developers to prioritize accessible and flexible technology. By supporting teams like Curio Compass, the program facilitates the transition from academic or experimental projects to professional prototypes. The ongoing success of such initiatives underscores the regional commitment to sustaining a vibrant, collaborative ecosystem for game development in Hamburg, providing a structured pathway for studios to navigate the complexities of the modern gaming market.