Education

Start-up: Games-Entrepreneurs

CONTACT

Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur gGmbH

030/236258940 write

An educational program aimed at games students and developers for founding indie studios in Berlin and Brandenburg.

“Start-up: Games-Entrepreneurs” was launched in 2022 as a pilot project with the aim of providing creatives from the games sector with practical knowledge for their own founding process with the help of industry experts. Having successfully established itself as a contact point for founders of indie studios in Berlin and Brandenburg in recent years, in 2024 the program became even more attractive to a broader target group by being held in English. “Start-up: Games-Entrepreneurs” will pause in 2025.

The free educational program is aimed at founders from the games industry and is specially tailored to their needs. The program consists of three pillars:

workshops on founding a successful game studio and publishing the first game,
mentoring of the individual teams by industry experts,
networking with other indie developers and within the games industry in general.

The individual workshops take place on site at the Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur or regionally based game studios and institutions in Berlin and Brandenburg. Occasionally, workshops can also take place online.

Impressions from the Kick-off 2024

Workshop Content

Here is an overview of the topics covered in the workshops.

START-UP TUTORIAL
What you need to know about founding a company
Company vision, legal questions about founding, taxes.

COLLECTING COINS
How to secure your financing
Forms of financing, business plan, funding opportunities.

FINAL BOSS
What you need to consider when publishing your game
Self-publishing, publishers, pitching, networking.

VISIBILITY BOOST
How to reach your target group
Press relations, social media marketing, community management.

TEAMPLAY
How to lead your team and company successfully
Leadership, team building, project management.

EXTRA LIFE
What moves you
We keep this part open for topics that are also important to you.

Timeline

21.05.

2024

Start of the Application Phase

Interested parties could apply via the online form until June 24, 2024 and submit their supplementary pitch deck by email.

02.07.

2024

Jury Meeting

A jury of representatives from the German games industry reviewed the application documents received and decided on the teams’ participation in the program.

The jury consisted of:

Valentina Birke (Super Crowd Entertainment, WINGS, IGDA, GAME:IN)
Johanna Janiszewski (Tiny Crocodile Studios)
Jörg Luibl (Spielvertiefung, GEE)
Lorenzo Pilia (Saftladen Indie Games Collective, BerlinGameScene.com)
Mai-Vy Thach (Ubisoft)
Thorsten S. Wiedemann (A MAZE.)

16.07.

2024

Kick-off

The official kick-off of the program took place on two consecutive days at the premises of the Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur with initial workshop content and an informal meeting with the alumni.

21.08.

2024

gamescom

In cooperation with game – Association of the German Games Industry, all participants received free trade visitor tickets for gamescom (valid from August 21 to 23). A meeting with the program’s alumni also took place on site.

gamescom

16.09.

2024

Start of the Active Workshop Phase and the Mentoring

From mid-September to mid-December, workshops or other events took place almost every week as part of the program. The participants also visited the Talk & Play and Game Circle Event, as well as the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the game – Association of the German Games Industry, the Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Unterhaltungssoftware (USK), Yager Development and the Saftladen Indie Games Collective.

The mentoring program was also available to participants during this period. Selected mentors who support the program could be contacted directly by the teams to arrange appointments. Each team had a fixed number of hours at their disposal.

14.11.

2024

Games Ground

As part of the program, participants received festival tickets for Games Ground (valid from 14 to 16 November).

Games Ground

15.11.

2024

Pitch Competition at Games Ground

The teams pitched their projects in front of an audience and a jury, and received valuable feedback.

Price: A Playtesting Voucher by G.Round worth 2500 $.

Winner: THE ROOF Interactive with “Seaward”

Jury:

Melvin Frank (INSTINCT3)
Jan Halwe (Byterockers’ Games)
Jaqueline Martin (Gentleland)

23.01.

2025

Conclusion of the Program

The program came to a close with a final workshop and a joint dinner.

Pitch Competition at Games Ground 2024

Cohorts

These start-up teams have participated in our program.

2024

Achtung Autobahn

Members:

Casilda de Zulueta
(Rüdiger Brandis)
(Isabella Spitznagel)

„We were game developers, not company owners. Thanks to this program we are closer to our objective: to create an entity to fund, make and release our own projects.”

Website

Bold Beetle Games

Members:

Ashe Foltin
Nina Ocker
Moritz Schmidt
(Moritz Hofmann)
(Elias Martinez)
(Veronika Weigandt)

Website

Interviews 1

No foolin' Games

Members:

Dr. Kenneth Norwood
Çavana Hazelton
(Belail Lee-Hampel)

„The 'Start-up: Games- Entrepreneurs' program covered everything we needed to know. All of the questions we had at the start morphed into a solid understanding of what is expected of us as well as the options which were right for our team. It was inspiring to see what our peers in the program had accomplished in terms of developing their games and their companies. It was uplifting to exchange about the struggles we faced in our teams and on our journey. We consider ourselves very lucky to have taken part and recommend it to anyone who has dreams, and endeavors in the gaming industry. We are thrilled about the contacts we made along the way.”

gypynkt Games

Members:

Sebastian Graetz

Steam

Interviews 2

Nukuna Interactive

Members:

Alexander Günther
Arvid Sprechert
Romy Sprechert

„Participating in ‚Start-up: Games-Entrepreneurs‘ was an enormous enrichment for us. Through the workshops and mentoring sessions, we were able to significantly expand our knowledge in the areas of pitching, project management and social media/marketing. We made valuable contacts in the Berlin games scene and gained the confidence we needed to drive our vision forward. An inspiring and unforgettable experience!”

Website
LinkedIn
Instagram

THE ROOF Interactive

Members:

Darya Goloborodko
Christoph Weinreich

„This program was the best thing that could have happened to us. We learned so much about running a company and are now better equipped than ever to also stay a company. The people were great and we’ve made so many wonderful connections I wouldn’t want to miss.”

Website

Interviews 3

HeadKino

Members:

Joy Wong
Philipp Bönsch

„Before joining the program, we knew very little about the business side of making games. The program covered every aspect of what we needed to know to establish an indie game business; from finance, legal matters, marketing, networking, funding, pitching to project management and more. On top of that there were very valuable mentorship sessions that offered the opportunity to gain insight and input from experienced industry professionals. The program has really helped us build confidence, cutting through the confusion and complexity of the indie business as if finding a lighthouse while lost at sea.”

Website
Bluesky

NonDescript Games

Members:

Jalil Daif

„The engaging workshops, the valuable one-on-one mentoring and the networking events provided me with a strong foundation to confidently approach the challenging yet inspiring world of indie game development. The program highlighted the competitive nature of the industry but also fostered a sense of possibility and excitement about the future, which was a valuable experience to me.”

Linktree

Sunbeam Games

Members:

Linsey Raymaekers

„Without this program I'm not sure I would have had the courage to take the leap! It brings you up to speed with the most important aspects of running a company, connects you with other founders and experts in the industry, and ultimately helps you build the confidence you'll need to succeed in your start up journey.”

Bluesky

2023

iceburner art

Members:

Alois Amadeus Eisbrenner

"As a solo developer, it's difficult to keep track of all the other skills required for a smooth founding and subsequent release of the game in addition to game production. The program gives you a good overview and a networking kickstart."

Website
Twitter / X

indiependence

Members:

Jakob Hofmann
Nixon Scherbarth

"We learned an immense amount, were able to gain knowledge and experience that will be a great help to us on our journey and the networking - the exchange with the other teams - was a special highlight for both of us."

Kleene Games

Members:

Daniel Schutko
Philip Hildebrandt
Robin Zitt
Roman Wiegand

"The program gave us the opportunity to expand our previous knowledge and put it into a suitable context. It was very exciting to gain an insight into the Berlin game developer scene and to get to know many new faces."

Linktree

Selkies Interactive

Members:

Daria Pankau
Meike Strippel
Namin Hansen

"The program was an extremely valuable experience for all of us, regardless of where we were in our founding process and how much knowledge we brought with us. In addition to the workshops, we were able to take part in exciting events and really appreciate the fact that we got to meet great people from the industry!"

Linktree

Sentiment Games

Members:

Fabian Kozielski
Pia Seel

"Thanks to the holistic approach of the program, we were able to shed many uncertainties and sharpen our vision with new perspectives. The game and studio benefited from the mentors' experience reports and feedback as well as from the exchange with the other teams."

Twitter / X
Discord

Studio Firlefanz

Members:

Alicia Cofalla
Lion Aurel

"The workshops have initiated important processes in our production, for example in the areas of social media, project management and pitching. Thanks to the many experts and other founders, we have also become much more networked and active in the Berlin games scene. We are delighted to have been part of this great initiative!"

Website

ARIANO Games

Members:

Marian Majewski

"The best basic training for every game developer who wants to start an indie game studio!"

Twitter / X
Steam

Testimonial Video 1

2022

Schleuder Games

(formerly Two Eyed Cyclops)

Members:

Lucas Bödeker
Max Bredlau

"The program was exactly what we needed. A great overview of all the topics that were important for founding our company. Especially the direct exchange with the experts for feedback and specific questions was priceless."

Website
Instagram
Twitter / X

Copy Paste Games

Members:

Johannes Dreibach
Julius Peinelt

"One of the best things for us was getting to know other founders - both those who are just starting out and those who are already a little further along."

Website
Twitter / X

Ivy Juice Games

Members:

Linus Gärtig
Gino Georgiev
Vlad Trutniev

"In addition to our studies, the workshops, mentoring sessions and networking events were a kick-start for us in terms of founding and networking in the Berlin games industry. We are happy to be able to look back on many months full of experiences."

Website
Twitter / X

Konsole Game Labs

Members:

Maximilian Knop
Nicole Specht

"Back then, we could only roughly define the framework within which the development of our first game should take place. Thanks to the individual mentoring and the exchange with other teams, we are now a lot closer to our goal."

Website
Twitter / X

WhalesDontFly Studios

Members:

Oscar Freyer
Moritz Hofmann

"Through the 'Start-up: Games Entrepreneurs' program, we got to know inspiring experts from the games industry and made friends with developers who, like us, are still at the beginning of their careers. This has both advanced our studio and opened up completely new perspectives on our own game."

Twitter / X
Instagram

Wunderfax

Members:

Nicolas Maierhöfer
Marius Winter

"The workshops were valuable crash courses in the most important areas of founding a company, while at the same time preparing us for the long road ahead for our first games project. The close connection to the games industry was what we were missing in the usual start-up workshops."

Website
Twitter / X