Hamburg Games Conference 2022 sets course for new markets – and confirms first speakers

Author: Gamecity Hamburg

Hamburg Games Conference 2022 sets course for new markets – and confirms first speakers


Hamburg, December 9, 2021:

The hybrid conference’s program under the overarching topic "Moving Markets" on March 2 and 3, 2022 will revolve around the challenges and opportunities of the international games industry. Participants can join either on-site in Hamburg or from anywhere in the world via a custom developed, playable online conference platform. The first international experts who will contribute to the program with keynotes, talks and discussion panels have been announced. A new trailer video (https://youtu.be/e9mSPhEbqgE) gives first impressions of the extended hybrid concept of the conference. Discounted Early Bird tickets are available until December 17: https://bit.ly/HGC22.
 
With Joost van Dreunen (New York University), Alex Nichiporchik (tinyBuild Games), Kerstin Schütt (Twisted Ramble), Jakub Stokalski (11 bit studios), Jared Gerritzen (IllFonic) and Jana Grünewald (Kreativ Transfer), the first experts from academia, games industry and public funding institutions are confirmed for the conference program. More will be announced shortly.
 
An additional conference track is dedicated to the topic of "Games Funding" with news and best practices regarding Germany’s federal government games funding and regional funding offers of the federal states, such as the Games Lift Incubator and prototype funding in Hamburg.

 
The latest trailer for the Hamburg Games Conference 2022 (https://youtu.be/e9mSPhEbqgE) showcases a new central element of the hybrid event’s concept: The virtual cruise ship, which serves as an interactive conference platform playable in the browser, will call port at various international games hotspots. In line with the conference theme "Moving Markets", users can explore different international markets and get to know the conference's partner companies and speakers from these markets.

 
There will also be extensive networking and matchmaking opportunities for conference participants, both online via the conference platform and on-site at Hamburg's Zeise cinemas.


The first speakers for the Hamburg Games Conference 2022:

 
Joost van Dreunen is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at NYU Stern School of Business in New York and is one of the most internationally recognized games industry researchers. In addition to teaching at New York University, he serves as advisory board member for several games companies and start-ups and covers background topics from the games, tech and entertainment industries in his weekly newsletter SuperJoost Playlist. In his conference talk, he will assess the current state of the blockchain gaming market - whose top companies are currently collectively valued at over $12 billion. He will highlight recent successes and failures, drivers and trends, as well as how industry players look at the developments and make an outlook into the future of this market.

 
Alex Nichiporchik is CEO of the US-based publisher and developer "tinyBuild Games". In his conference presentation, he will recap the development of the "Hello Neighbor" franchise: A journey from a small 7-person studio with a failing crowdfunding campaign to a successful multimedia franchise that now has a team of over 100 people across multiple studios working on the series, including five games, merchandise, books and an animated series.

 
Kerstin Schütt is co-founder and CEO of the Berlin-based startup game studio "Twisted Ramble", which puts socially marginalized and stigmatized topics at the center of its games - balancing serious subject matter and playful entertainment. In her presentation for the Hamburg Games Conference, Kerstin Schütt will share her experiences on how challenging it is to master this balance and how their game "Duru", which addresses depression in a playful manner, finds its place in the market.
 

Jakub Stokalski is game co-director for 11 bit studios game "Frostpunk 2". His aim is to create meaningful experiences in a language native to the medium of games. For the Hamburg Games Conference 2022, he will examine how the medium of video games has matured: games enable forms of storytelling that are not possible through movies or books. Games are an integral part of (pop-)culture and, with their inherent interactivity, can pull players into a dialogue and convey a thoughtful message in their own unique way. In his talk, Jakub Stokalski will shed light on what this mature storytelling can do.
 

Jared Gerritzen, Head of Creative & Design at the Colorado-based development studio "IllFonic", will address the question of how a studio can make the transition from working on well-known IPs to creating and marketing its own IP from scratch - from idea development, to design, to the finished product.
 

Jana Grünewald is project coordinator of the funding program "Kreativ Transfer" at the "Dachverband Tanz Deutschland", through which games companies can receive funding for participation in international trade fairs and conferences as well as for international networking. In her presentation for the funding track of the Hamburg Games Conference 2022, she will present the “Kreativ Transfer” program in detail.
 

More speakers for the Hamburg Games Conference 2022 will be announced shortly. In addition to international experts from the games industry, companies who received support through various state and federal funding programs will give first-hand-insights into their experiences and share best practices in the funding track of the conference.

 
Early bird tickets extended until December 17

 
Business tickets for the Hamburg Games Conference are still available at the Early Bird price of 119 euros until December 17, 2021. After that, tickets will go on sale at the regular price. Ticket store: https://bit.ly/HGC22    

 
Business Ticket holders can participate in the online and on-site program of the conference and benefit from additional opportunities to organize appointments with other participants via a digital matchmaking system, access to an exclusive business area, and guestlist spots for the networking event "Gamecity Treff" by Gamecity Hamburg.

The Basic ticket, priced at 25 euros, includes access to the conference program online and on-site.
 

All current information about the Hamburg Games Conference is available at www.gamesconference.com.
 

The trailer for the Hamburg Games Conference 2022 is also available via Google Drive for downloading for editorial use. Photos of the speakers are also available there:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_h_RlSrMGY8sxuT6RZ_UnvPfYj7z1HeA?usp=sharing 
 

Please find attached for editorial use:
Key Visual for Hamburg Games Conference 2022 (Credit: Hamburg Games Conference / Illustrations by Sebastian Stamm)
 

For further information and questions please contact:
Johannes Klockenbring
Gamecity Hamburg
PR Manager
[email protected]

 
About the Hamburg Games Conference


Since 2010, the annual Hamburg Games Conference has been a key element of the German and international games industry and one of the most important B2B events for the games sector in Europe.
The Hamburg Games Conference is jointly organized by Gamecity Hamburg and GRAEF Rechtsanwälte. The conference is planned and produced by the event agency Super Crowd Entertainment from Hamburg, which specializes in the games industry and who hosted the Indie Arena Booth Online at gamescom 2020 and 2021, for which it was awarded a special prize by the Deutscher Computerspielpreis (German Computer Game Award).

 
About Gamecity Hamburg
Gamecity Hamburg supports, connects and makes the gaming hub Hamburg visible. The aim is to improve the general conditions for companies and founders of the games value chain in the city, to support them in their further development and to anchor Hamburg in the public perception as one of the leading games locations in Germany. Gamecity Hamburg is the contact point for Hamburg's games funding as well as the Games Lift Incubator and also offers programs, events, and services in close cooperation with the games industry to strengthen local developers. At the same time, the exchange of knowledge within the sector and with other industries is promoted. The promotion of young talent, the development of new formats that activate the strong network of games companies in the city, and internationalization are the focus of the location initiative's activities. Gamecity Hamburg is part of Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft.

 
About GRAEF Rechtsanwälte
GRAEF Rechtsanwälte, based in Hamburg and Berlin, is one of Germany's leading law firms in the field of media law, entertainment law and intellectual property. The team around Dr. Ralph Oliver Graef and Dr. Christian Rauda represents leading German and international media companies from the complete value chains of the film industry, the games industry, the publishing industry and the live entertainment industry. In addition, the firm represents "creatives" such as authors, directors, actors, photographers, designers, game developers, etc. in the protection of their creative achievements as well as, in the area of crisis communication, companies and celebrities in the protection of their personal rights.

 
About Super Crowd Entertainment
Super Crowd Entertainment organizes the annual Indie Arena Booth, the world's largest independent developer booth for video games as well as the community fair MAG. With the Super Crowd Framework, the company also offers a comprehensive yet easy-to-implement solution for digital events for all industries that brings a real trade show feeling to life despite COVID-19. With 3.6 million DACH customers reached and over 100,000 visitors, Super Crowd sets new standards for exciting online events and makes it easy to find your friends again via Super Crowd ID and stay in touch with them. 


Johannes Klockenbring
Gamecity Hamburg
PR Manager
 
Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft mbH
Hongkongstraße 5, 20457 Hamburg


[email protected]
 
www.gamecity-hamburg.de
www.kreativgesellschaft.org
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