{"id":34151,"date":"2025-09-02T15:32:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T13:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/games-stipendium.de\/?p=34151"},"modified":"2025-10-09T15:43:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T13:43:19","slug":"playing-and-networking-press-start-looks-back-on-devcom-and-gamescom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/games-stipendium.de\/en\/playing-and-networking-press-start-looks-back-on-devcom-and-gamescom\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing and networking: \u2018Press Start\u2019 looks back on devcom and gamescom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past eight months, the 132 grant holders of the \u2018Press Start: Games Founding Grant\u2019 have already taken major steps towards establishing their own game studios. Now, the second \u2018half\u2019 of the programme is officially beginning. The founding grant officially celebrated this halfway point with them in the penultimate week of August, when the gaming world traditionally looks to Cologne for the start of gamescom. \u2018Press Start\u2019 took this opportunity to follow the rest of the industry into the \u2018Heart of Gaming\u2019.<\/p>\n

Even before the opening of gamescom, all grant holders were invited to the official half-time event of the \u2018Press Start\u2019 programme. It took place on August 18th as part of the devcom game developer conference. This meant a joyful reunion in person for the grant holders, who are scattered across the country, as well as the \u2018Press Start\u2019 team. This happend for the first time since the kick-off event in Berlin in February 2025, as the regular workshops take place online. In a keynote speech, industry pioneer Don Daglow<\/strong> (\u2018Utopia,\u2019 \u2018Neverwinter Nights,\u2019 \u2018Kool-Aid Man\u2019) not only shared his knowledge, but also offered comfort in the face of current crises, as the gaming industry has already experienced several downturns \u2013 and has survived every one so far. This was followed by a thought-provoking panel discussion on combining one owns passion with economic thinking when making games. It featured Patryk Grzeszczuk<\/strong>, Marketing Director at 11 Bit Studios (\u2018This War of Mine\u2019, \u2018The Alters\u2019), Marina D\u00edez<\/strong>, Game Director at Blue Backpack (formerly btf Games, \u2018The Berlin Apartment\u2019) and games business consultant Jason Della Rocca<\/strong>. The half-day event was moderated by Melissa Lee. <\/strong>Afterwards, the grant holders were able to participate in the regular devcom programme. For many, it was their first visit to an international trade conference and a valuable step towards networking in the games industry.<\/p>\n

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Impressions of devcom and gamescom<\/h4>\n \n
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