1. Promote Germany as a game location for the long term

Computer and video games are a cultural asset, an economic factor and a guarantee for digital innovation. If we aim to benefit from the resulting opportunities for the economy and society in this country, Germany as a game location must catch up with the international competition. The federal government’s strategy for the game sector provides an important basis for further progress and the realisation of potential in many areas. The government wants to see Germany become a leading market for game development. In accordance with this ambition to keep up internationally and generate significantly more innovation, growth and production of creative games, strong and targeted efforts are needed to improve the country’s conditions as a game development location.

Competitiveness in game funding

The most important pillar for Germany as a successful game development location is internationally competitive games funding that will allow the country to catch up with the leading game locations worldwide. While the federal government’s games funding programme has so far proved generally successful, it has also been unpredictable, as a lack of concrete resources has led to funding application freezes over long periods. The funding programme is therefore in urgent need of further development. Key to this is the transition to a hybrid system with additional tax-based games funding – a long-established practice in the world’s leading locations – alongside an assistance fund for smaller development budgets. All measures must follow a long-term and need-based approach and be implemented in an unbureaucratic, plannable and transparent manner. This also applies to support measures of the federal states, which play an important complementary role. A dedicated funding scheme for start-up teams completes the game development funding structure. In all cases, tax revenues must be invested responsibly. Accordingly, studies are essential to regularly evaluate the effects, developments and positive leverage for the economy that emanate from a strong games industry.

Campaign for Germany as a game location

For Germany to become a top game production location, good visibility and strong networking are vital, both at home and abroad. This calls for a prominent location marketing concept that attracts skilled professionals, investors and companies. An integral part of this are the German Computer Game Awards, which together with the games industry must be further developed to achieve the highest international standard.

Building infrastructures for game development

Game hubs with incubator and accelerator programmes serve as an important corporate home for start-ups and provide opportunities for regional business locations. They promote communication between game companies and cooperation with other sectors that seek to benefit from the potential of game development. Support from the federal states and local authorities is essential in bringing these economic and innovation-linked effects into play.

2. Reinforce Germany’s commitment to game specialists

The German games industry is lacking in highly specialised, experienced professionals. Given this scarcity, training opportunities must be improved, and it must be made easier for these professionals to move here from abroad. It is important that the Federal Employment Agency and other public authorities take the occupational profiles of the games industry into account in career guidance and job placement. At the same time, a welcoming institutional culture is needed that supports incoming professionals in a positive and service-oriented manner.

3. Strengthen games in science, research, teaching and training

Game-related research and teaching must be recognised and academically instituted as an independent scientific discipline, and must also be accorded a place, above the university level, in the canon of established sciences. This will require more and better-equipped professorships, degree programmes and research clusters, support for educational and research networks, uniform accreditation standards, doctoral and post-doctoral opportunities and the founding of a beacon institution, a ‘Games University’, for game research and teaching in Germany that fulfils the highest international standards.

4. Use games to enhance learning, in school and throughout life

Computer and video games are more than entertainment. They support people in virtually all spheres, open up new approaches, are easily accessible, encourage social interaction and serve to enhance performance in many ways. Their use should therefore be promoted in all areas of life. Our education system must take advantage of the opportunities games offer for digital education in schools, vocational schools, universities and continuing training, and for lifelong learning. The development of games for use in education must be promoted and advanced in a targeted manner. Media literacy and programming knowledge are fundamental for school pupils in the digital age and must be a compulsory area of school curricula.

5. Youth protection legislation: modern, convergent and internationally compatible

The responsibilities of the federal and state governments must be fundamentally put to the test to enable a modern system for the protection of the youth in Germany. Only in this way can standardised, modern and convergent statutory youth protection provisions be created that are aligned with the media reality of children and young people and guarantee international compatibility. Many systems and technical solutions from the games industry offer a role model for the protection of children and young people in the digital world.

6. Provide investment certainty, create value

Games are becoming ever broader in scope and the range on offer to users is becoming ever larger and more diverse. We in the games industry are developing innovative business models for refinancing, such as in-game purchases, that are primarily geared to the needs of video game players and to digital practicability, and that take users’ trust in games into account as a key success factor. Many other industries are taking inspiration from these innovations and adapting them. New digital business models need ample latitude to develop, however, so a fair balance of interests between consumer rights and entrepreneurial freedom must be found in the digital world, as elsewhere. Strengthening empowered and confident users must take precedence over new regulation.

7. Preserve games as a cultural heritage

The International Computer Game Collection (ICS) could become a global beacon for Germany as a game location. Upon its opening, it would already be the world’s largest collection of computer games, with more than 60,000 game titles, along with extensive hardware. However, this great cultural treasure is currently spread over various locations and cannot be used by the public. Brought together at one site, this cultural property could be safeguarded, made accessible for research and become a unique setting for testing in the area of digital cultural asset protection. Establishing this public location will require institutional funding from the federal government in partnership with the state of Berlin.

8. Provide digital infrastructure for all

As a game location, Germany must have blanket gigabit capability to ensure the successful development of games and to serve the millions of video game players in the country. This applies to high-performance broadband internet connections as well as to a strong 5G network. Germany needs to catch up quickly across all distribution channels and must make future-proof digital infrastructure accessible to all. Only then will the special innovative power of games come to full fruition in this country.

9. No space for haters, trolls or piracy: bring security authorities up to speed digitally

In the game sector, we champion diversity and tolerance each and every day. All industry actors must come together to robustly confront hate speech as well as immoral and, in certain cases, illegal behaviour in our digital society. The digital competencies of the authorities must be expanded to create flexible and targeted solutions.

10. Seize the opportunities created by esports: talent, tournaments and the public interest

Germany should be one of the most important locations for esports. Given their high societal, cultural and economic relevance, optimal framework conditions must be created for esports. In particular, the valuable work of the organisations that offer esports should be promoted rather than further disadvantaged. These organisations thus must be accorded not-for-profit status in tax legislation. Whether or not esports are sport in a narrower sense is not a decisive factor here. As with other major events, hosting municipalities and their local economies benefit when esports tournaments are held. More local economic development agencies should therefore actively apply to host and support esports events. Esports thrive from talented players who perform at a world-class level, gain wide recognition and become ambassadors for the values of esports and their home country. Germany therefore has a natural interest in providing the best possible conditions and targeted support for esports talent in order to achieve a leading position in esports and present Germany as an attractive esports location.