At Gamescom, several hundred thousand visitors immerse themselves in the world of computer and video games. Hundreds of thousands of trade fair visitors are expected by the weekend.
At the start of the Gamescom computer game fair, the domestic industry must continue to worry about funding. Because according to a proposal by the Federal Ministry of Economics, only 48.7 million euros should flow to games companies in the coming year and thus less than the 70 million awarded in 2023.
The funds previously estimated for 2024 are only sufficient to service claims from applications that have already been approved – new funding applications would not be possible next year. The industry association Game considers 125 million euros to be necessary to cover the demand. Federal politicians are now reacting cautiously to the demand for more money.
“We can only spend more money if there are cuts in other areas of the budget of the Federal Ministry of Economics,” says the games policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Reinhard Houben. Simply providing additional funds without making cuts elsewhere would not be right in view of the tight budgetary situation. However, extra funds might still be freed up if the tax estimate in November turns out to be positive.
Games funding is important
The computer and video games industry has experienced strong growth because people spent a lot of time at home during the Corona period and immersed themselves in virtual gaming worlds. However, only about four percent of the sales that the industry generates with games and hardware can be traced back to domestic developments. In 2022, the industry received 50 million euros in federal funding, in 2023 it will be 70 million and in 2024, according to the proposal of the Federal Ministry of Economics, only 48.7 million euros.
“We must work to ensure that Germany is not only a large sales market for computer games, but also plays a greater role as a development and production location,” says FDP politician Houben. The promotion of games is important for this, but subsidies are not a panacea in a creative industry. “Money alone doesn’t trigger ideas for a good story that is told in a computer game,” says the liberal, pointing out the bureaucratic effort involved in funding programs.
Vague political statements
When asked about an increase in the previously planned funding for 2024, both the Greens member of the Bundestag Maik Außendorf and the SPD colleague Anna Kassautzki remain vague. The social democrat calls for “reliable economic development for the games industry in Germany, which at the same time has to be reconciled with the tight budget situation”. An evaluation report on the funding program will follow promptly, “so that we can clarify where adjustments need to be made,” says Kassautzki.
The Green Outer Village sees it as positive that the federal government’s computer game funding is “greatly popular”. Funds flow “quickly to where they are supposed to go – to the companies that make up Germany’s innovative games location”.
Long-term planning security important
Kassautzki and Außendorf are critical of the fact that applications were stopped prematurely in 2022 and 2023 because the budgets were exhausted and some companies were left empty-handed as a result. “A broad funding approach based on the first-come-first-served principle with limited financial resources leads to uncertainty in project funding overall,” says the Green. “We have to ensure long-term planning security here.” Outer village wants to support “declining funding amounts” – small funding projects would definitely get a chance, while large projects would get relatively little.
The games industry is not only committed to subsidies, but also to tax breaks. Houben, a liberal, sees this aspect positively: offsetting development costs for tax purposes and thereby reducing a company’s tax burden would be “a direct and quick form of support”. “That would be a new approach that we should discuss in the Bundestag.” The Green Outer Village, on the other hand, takes a critical view of this because qualitative funding criteria would then be missing.
Large crowds expected at Gamescom
In the evening, Gamescom will open with a stage show in Cologne, it is the world’s largest trade fair for computer games and video games. On Wednesday, journalists, trade visitors and some game fans are admitted, from Thursday to Sunday the general public is allowed in. The rush is likely to be large, the fair is already sold out for Saturday.
Last year there were 265,000 visitors at Gamescom, this year there could be more. The offer is bigger than ever, the number of exhibitors has increased from 1135 to 1227 from 63 countries and the exhibition area has increased by 10,000 to 230,000 square meters. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) is also expected as a guest.
Source: Stern
