medianet EXCHANGE “State of the Games Industry 2024”

The discussion will shed light on the current and future challenges and opportunities facing the games industry at regional, national and international level. A key point of discussion will be the impact of the massive downsizing within the industry. We will examine the associated market changes, the reasons for the layoffs and their long-term effects on companies and the workforce. In addition, we will discuss strategies that enable companies to adapt to changing market conditions and remain resilient in a rapidly changing environment. Another important aspect of our discussion is the current state of government support and its impact on the industry. 

Our panel:

Felix Dreyfus – Games Entrepeneur 

Felix Dreyfus is a seasoned game developer and entrepreneur from the Berlin/Brandenburg metropolitan area. With a background in computer science and over a decade of experience founding startups, Felix has launched more than twelve games across various platforms. He has been recognized with three industry awards for his work on “Ad Infinitum” and recently announced his new title “Lost Legions,” which surpassed his best expectations. 

Philipp Schellbach – Co-Founder and Managing Director YAGER  

Philipp Schellbach is one of the five co-founders and one of the active managing directors at YAGER, where he mainly focuses on technology and production. Since the beginning, he has overseen all development and production-related topics and has held the position of Managing Director since 2015. With more than 25 years of industry experience, he is well connected in the German and international gaming industry. He is a member of the devcom Core Advisory Board and acts as the regional representative for GAME Berlin & Brandenburg.  

Amanda Förtsch – Funding Manager Games, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg

Amanda works as Funding Manager Games for Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the funding institution for the capital region. Her main focus is on funding local projects/events and games. Previously, she has worked on events that connect gaming with other fan cultures and implemented incubators and other support programs in the Hamburg games industry.

André Bernhardt – Host of the panel 

André Bernhardt is extensively experienced within the video games business as he has been a part of the German games industry for over 20 years – online as well as offline and mobile. In the beginning of his career, he was a producer for classical boxed console and PC-games business with the release of the Playstation 1 at Sony Computer Entertainment. Afterwards he was working for German publishers, e.g JoWood and Sunflowers, before joining RTL Games and focused on “next-gen” console publishing (PS3, X360, Wii, DS, etc.). In 2009 he joined Travian Games in Munich. Since 2012 he has been working as a freelance agent called IndieAdvisor, supporting developers to find a publisher and vice versa. 

Register here to join us live at the ALEX Berlin studios on November 25 from 5 to 6 PM! Doors open at 4:30 PM.

The talk will be held in English and broadcasted live on ALEX TV on November 25 from 5 p.m. and streamed live on our YouTube channel.